Gympie Street evictions

IN PICTURES: GYMPIE STREET EVICTIONS

On Thursday, April 6, the sheriff of the Cape High Court evicted residents in Gympie Street, Woodstock, Cape Town. Angry residents resisted arrest, some having lived in the street for 60 years.
The owner of the building, Dennis Robertson, says that the residents who are being evicted have not paid rent for more than a year. The rent is R1000 per month.
A fight broke out between two women, believed to be cousins, during the eviction. The one woman, who is not being evicted, lunged at her cousin, who was evicted, shouting that she should leave the paid-up residents alone.
Robertson bought the building in 2003 after the previous owner, Osman Hassan, died.
Now the residents say they will not pay the new owner, claiming that he is a stranger to them. Robertson says that he offered the residents leases, but not all the residents had agreed to sign.






Words: Nadia Samie
Pics: Zaidy Motaleb