Cape Town Mayor condemns attack on Dial-A-Ride vehicle in Khayelitsha

21 July 2020

Two passengers and a driver have sustained injuries after a Dial-A-Ride vehicle was stoned in Khayelitsha yesterday late afternoon. Over the past couple of days there has been an onslaught on City facilities and assets that are there to serve the most vulnerable among us. The City further condemns in the strongest possible terms the attack on a News24 journalist while covering the continued violence. This is unacceptable.

The attack on the DAR vehicle followed on a number of acts of vandalism, including the torching of part of a clinic after Mfuleni residents protested over land. It is unclear at this stage whether the stoning of the DAR vehicle is also linked to protests over land in the area.

‘It is disturbing and upsetting that a City service which assists those with special needs who cannot make use of conventional transport, has been the subject of an attack. I am appalled at the actions of the perpetrators and call on the authorities to bring these callous criminals to book,’ said the City’s Executive Mayor, Alderman Dan Plato.

‘Two passengers and a driver were injured in the Dial-A-Ride attack, all of whom sustained head injuries as they were hit with stones. One passenger was admitted to hospital after the attack and was discharged this morning. At this stage we cannot continue with the service in the area as it is too volatile to risk the lives of passengers and the staff rendering the service. It is a disgrace that we have now reached a point where protesters are focusing their anger and criminality on the vulnerable,’ said Alderman Felicity Purchase, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport.

Various areas across the metro are currently under strain from attempts to invade land for services, nature conservation land, play parks or City housing projects. The City, together with law enforcement agencies, is doing its best to thwart the attempts but it is mostly large-scale, well-planned, well-funded and orchestrated invasions. Actions to prevent the invasions or illegal occupations are also being met in some areas with extreme violence and destruction of property and the breaking down of community facilities.

Apart from what seems overwhelmingly to be orchestrated attempts, there are instances where illegal occupiers are claiming they have been evicted by their landlords as they are unable to pay rent. It must be noted this is illegal. Landlords may not evict tenants for non-payment during the lockdown period.

Attempts to illegally occupy land, City projects or community facilities include several orchestrated attempts in Mfuleni and Khayelitsha. Other areas include Wallacedene, Delft (Blikkiesdorp), Dunoon, Firgrove (Macassar), Milnerton, Nyanga among others.

This comes in the wake of the court case involving the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), represented by the pro land invasion Legal Resource Centre. It seeks to interdict the City from conducting any and all anti-land invasion operations. The SAHRC is further asking the court to void all existing court orders protecting specific sites from invasion.

The EFF has joined the SAHRC matter as a third party, but looking specifically at Mfuleni, where it is involved, the party argues the City may not perform operations on City land or to protect the nature conservation land as the case may be.
Over the weekend, Khayelitsha land invaders burned down the Desmond Tutu Hall in protest after the City prevented a land invasion in Mfuleni. The mixed-use facility was built at a cost R1 million and in response to the call by President Cyril Ramaphosa to expand capacity to combat COVID-19.

Four people have been arrested in connection with this act and if found guilty, we hope they face the full might of the law. A strong message must be sent that wanton acts of vandalism are unacceptable and only rob the community of much-needed services.

‘These actions put communities at risk and we cannot tolerate it. All of us need to stop illegal invasions and violent protests. The poor simply cannot endure this any longer,’ said Mayor Plato.

City services such as refuse collection, some electricity services (including Eskom) and basic services provision have been suspended for the time being due to the extreme volatility. The City is monitoring the situation and will do its best to resume services as soon as it is safe to do so.

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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office