Saya Pierce-Jones writes that the City of Cape Town's persistent refusal to take accountability for oversights at Strandfontein could be its downfall.
In March, the Western Cape High Court found the City had no right to prevent a Chapter 9 institution from doing its job to protect vulnerable people. This, after a report from the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) found gross human rights violations of the homeless community at the notorious Strandfontein campsite.
The City had approached the courts following the release of the report last year, to seek an interdict against the SAHRC for spreading "misinformation and lies".
What was meant to be a safe shelter for 2 000 of the poorest of the poor during a global pandemic soon turned out to be a living hell for most. Talking to the media through make-shift fences, residents said officials had tricked them into boarding buses, under the guise of getting a Covid-19 check-up, only to be left stranded at the campsite.
This action was repeated later when the camp was shut down, and Muizenberg community leaders said the City had simply dumped former shelter residents on their doorstep.
The City's head of community services, Zahid Badroodien, will tell you they found new shelter placements for all residents "who were willing to accept the offer". Personally, I've never been homeless, but after what unfolded at that campsite, I can't see how anyone would be willing to trust the very people who'd failed to protect them.
Allegations of abuse at the camp
Medical experts from the SAHRC weren't surprised by the fear, confusion and rage that soon emerged from camp residents. Many substance abusers battled severe withdrawal symptoms - without proper medical support. Worse yet were the allegations of women being traded for cigarettes, rampant gang activity, a lack of adequate bedding and medical personnel, as well as the neglect of severely mentally disabled residents.
One of the concerns raised in the report was that residents were in close proximity to each other. Having addicts, the mentally ill, the elderly, women, transgendered/queer people and potential criminals all under one roof seem like a recipe for disaster. Evidence of this later emerged following the arrest of a man who'd allegedly raped a homeless 18-year-old woman.
A damning report from the SAHRC and heat from the media might prompt some officials to acknowledge the problems and take swift action to better care for our most vulnerable. However, the City's legal team decided it was a better idea to use taxpayers' money to try and silence those trying to hold them accountable.
In May last year, the City took out a court interdict preventing the SAHRC's team from visiting or monitoring the site. City officials also barred journalists from accessing the site or from talking to those locked behind the fence. They also sought a gag order against anyone from the SAHRC publishing or sharing their findings.
In his judgment this year, Judge Siraj Desai described the City's attempts as an "unconstitutional endeavour", believing the City's legal team unwisely used the justice system and "severely impinged upon the constitutional and statutory functions of the SAHRC".
This was a big moment of vindication for the commission, an organisation mandated to protect human rights, while severely underfunded. Desai also ordered the City to pay all legal costs, a judgment the City might yet try to fight…
But the mayor's office didn't stop there. It further bad-mouthed the SAHRC's commissioner, Chris Nissen, calling him a political opportunist. They reduced his constitutionally-mandated role in the Strandfontein saga as playing politics and telling "outright lies". They went on to say, "Mr Nissen need only understand going forward that we will always act to protect our staff from intimidation and aggressive political opportunism". Describing the City's SAHRC comments, Judge Desai said what was even more appalling was the disdain with which the City regarded the commission.
Wild claims
One of the SAHRC's independently appointed monitors in Strandfontein was Dr Gilles van Cutsem, an epidemiologist working as a senior HIV & TB medical practitioner from MSF or Doctors Without Borders. Despite him and his team being a well-recognised and respected global humanitarian organisation, the City's legal team brought up wild and unsubstantiated claims against Van Cutsem in court.
For me, this was possibly the most ludicrous part of the story - a municipal government telling the courts that a specialised expert in disease control, during a pandemic, was not doing his job because he tried telling the truth. And I've seen some unsettling things - including the time a City officer thought one of the homeless camp residents would magically be able to find R500 to pay a fine for "riotous behaviour".
I was a one of the people who encountered the wrath of the City's PR/legal team as they went into overdrive to contain this disaster. After penning an opinion piece on the government's treatment of the homeless, the City's spokesperson, Greg Wagner, wrote what was supposed to be a right-of-reply to the general media coverage of Strandfontein. Instead the focus was on me, with my name referenced at least half a dozen times. It also failed to refute the evidence presented in the SAHRC report. Wagner claimed that by quoting the SAHRC's report, I was peddling fake news with "outdated information from agenda-driven people" and being "sensationalist media".
When I called him out on social media, he and his team decided to contact my employer, making more wild accusations and urging them to discipline me. Thankfully, both my news editor and I have copies of the Constitution on our desks, so the issue soon fizzled out.
Thousands homeless
In the past, Cape Town mayor, Dan Plato, has admitted there aren't enough shelters to house the City's homeless people. A study conducted last year found that, despite the government's homeless population estimates, there could be up to 14 000 people currently trying to survive on the streets of the Mother City. This crisis is only set to worsen, with over a third of South Africans finding themselves jobless and facing poverty.
For the City's politicians reading this piece: Please consider that human rights experts and media criticism of your management of the site was not to play politics, but instead to live up to our role as watchdogs and protectors of the public.
Yes, the City and local NGOs have done a lot of good for the poor and it's, in fact, something I've been reporting on for the last seven years of my career. But now is not the time to play a game of 'WhatAboutism', or to present your past achievements as if this negates your responsibility to take accountability.
Perhaps you're worried this criticism will negatively impact your chances at the polls this coming election season - but, in my personal opinion, it's your persistent refusal to take accountability for oversights at Strandfontein that could be your downfall. With less than 200 days to go till we vote, perhaps now is the time to start.
I'm calling on you to pay the court's SAHRC cost order, let the media and Chapter 9 institutions do their job, work with us and reaffirm your commitment to our homeless neighbours. As the late, great Martin Luther King once said: "The time is always right to do what is right."
- Saya Pierce-Jones is a journalist and radio news anchor in the Western Cape, with a passion for social justice and environmental conservation. The views expressed here are her own.
To receive Opinions Weekly, sign up for the newsletter here. Now available to all News24 readers.
*Want to respond to the columnist? Send your letter or article to opinions@news24.com with your name and town or province. You are welcome to also send a profile picture. We encourage a diversity of voices and views in our readers' submissions and reserve the right not to publish any and all submissions received.
Disclaimer: News24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24.