Camps Bay Airbnb saga: Occupiers leave mansion, as second group yells at them not to

• Seven people who occupied a Camps Bay Airbnb left as requested on Thursday.
• However, as they were about to leave, another group arrived loudly threatening to "repossess what was theirs".
• The original group, the "We See You" collective, have found short term alternative accommodation to avoid being responsible for massive legal costs.

The seven people who occupied a Camps Bay Airbnb to highlight inequalities left as requested on Thursday.

However, as they were about to leave, another group arrived and threatened to "repossess what was theirs all along". 

The original group from the "We See You" collective have found short-term alternative accommodation to avoid being responsible for massive legal costs laid down in a court order last week. 

However, as they were doing a last look around for forgotten adaptors and other personal items, a group from Singapalapha arrived and started singing in the dining room.

"I'm here because I'm repossessing what was taken from me forcefully in 1652," said Yolanda Mjuza from Singapalapha.

"We See You" had shown solidarity with Singapalapha who had also faced eviction.

However, on Thursday, when the We See You group asked everybody to leave, Singapalapha confronted them on the pavement outside.

"Where is the alternative accommodation?" shouted one woman at the We See You group.

Kelly-Lee Koopman told them they had opted not to stay at the Philippi site the City of Cape Town had offered due to safety concerns.

The agent for the house arrived and the keys were handed over as agreed shortly after noon.

The agent went upstairs for a check-out inspection and later there was a dispute over whether there were damages or not as the group was not allowed in for the inspection.

The agent would not engage and left.

A woman who did not want to be identified had spent the morning cleaning the kitchen and emptying bins while the We See You group fielded media queries.

One of the occupants, Wewe Ngidi, had worked for a well known hotel which was forced to closed during lockdown.

With a reduced salary and late UIF payments, Ngidi struggled to pay R8 000 a month rent.

"I have no fight with them," said Ngidi of the hotel.

Lethabo Hanang said they had been chased out of their home. Hanang said when they began transitioning they were thrown out.

The group is still looking for alternative longer-term accommodation.

The We See You collective booked a short stay in September and then let the agent know they wanted to speak to the owner about turning it into a safe space for people such as Hanang and Ngidi.

The agent Turnkey365 let them know they had to check out by 25 September. 

This deadline was ignored and, after they were taken to court, they eventually agreed to leave.

They packed bags and groceries into cars that came to fetch them and waited outside for the agent to finish inspections.

In the meantime, Singapalapha also milled around, shouting at people driving past. 

They left at around the same time as a police car and private security company arrived. 

By 13:00, people were just chatting in the street, and the We See You group left in various vehicles that arrived to collect them.