Court orders Cape Town to restore Gate 7 residents' possession after demolitions

The Western Cape High Court has ordered the City of Cape Town and other respondents to restore possession of the Gate 7 site to residents and allow them to rebuild structures demolished between 23 and 25 October 2026.

The demolitions took place on land opposite Maitland Cemetery on Voortrekker Road, where residents had erected homes in recent months. The City said it was enforcing a court order obtained by the Ndabeni Communal Property Trust.

Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre said residents brought their application on Thursday, 29 October, resulting in the order. The court named the City of Cape Town, City of Cape Town Law Enforcement and the Ndabeni Communal Property Trust as respondents.

The order requires the parties to restore peaceful and undisturbed possession of the property at Wingfield Camp, 905 Voortrekker Road, Maitland, immediately, permits the applicants to re-erect their informal structures, including shacks and tents, and interdicts the respondents from evicting them except under a court order.

"We asked for a spoliation order against the City of Cape Town and Law Enforcement because Law Enforcement demolished several structures of my clients," said Ndifuna Ukwazi attorney Caitlin Turok. She said the clients left out in the cold for a week included elderly people, children under the age of seven, older children writing exams and a disabled child.

Turok said the ruling was a reminder that the City and law enforcement cannot take the law into their own hands and must obtain an eviction order, adding that the conduct was a disturbing reminder of the country's history of forced removals. The order was granted by Acting Judge Adams.