Court strikes urgent eviction bid against 26 Constantia occupants
A Western Cape High Court judge has struck a trust’s urgent application to evict 26 Constantia occupants from the urgent roll, ruling that the trustees had not shown why the matter could not be heard in the ordinary course. The court did not decide the parties’ competing ownership or ancestral claims.
A Western Cape High Court judge has dismissed an urgent application by the Richard Harris Family Trust to evict 26 occupants from the Constantia area. The matter, which gained public attention in July, was brought by political parties and human rights activists supporting the families. The families claim a generational tie to the property, 2133 Pagasvlei Farm, dating back to the 1800s.
They were evicted in July but were later granted a temporary interdict, allowing them to return to the cottage they had been occupying. The Trustees, led by Clifford Michael Harris, sought a final eviction order under the Prevention of Illegal Eviction and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998. However, Judge Gayaat Da Silva Salie struck the application off the urgent roll, stating that the applicants had not shown urgency in their case.
The judge emphasized that while urgent intervention to remove unlawful occupants is important, it does not justify a final eviction order being determined on the urgent roll. The decision does not determine the occupants' historical or ancestral connection to the property. The Trustees plan to pursue a second application for a final eviction order.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
