District Six eviction battle postponed as Searle Street families push for mediation
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The Western Cape High Court postponed proceedings on Thursday in the eviction of five families from historic cottages on Searle Street, with their attorney hoping mediation will settle a case now set to resume on 27 January.
Proceedings in the Western Cape High Court over the eviction of five families from a cluster of historic cottages on Searle Street, on the border of District Six and Woodstock in Cape Town, were postponed on Thursday, with the families' attorney saying he hopes a mediation process will produce a positive outcome.
A small picket was held outside the court building, where the families and their supporters gathered to make their voices heard.
The cottages were sold 15 years ago to a private owner who has been seeking their eviction, according to EWN.
Lawyer Frankl Weber, who represents the five families, said an appeal had been lodged against the families' removal from the properties, prompting the owner of the site to launch an application to dismiss that appeal. He said there had been delays in obtaining transcripts related to the matter.
"The outcome is a common-sense outcome in that there is an agreement for us to file the papers according to a timeline," Weber said. The matter is set to proceed on 27 January, and he said he is hoping a mediation process will settle it amicably before then.
The case is one of several disputes over land and housing in District Six, the inner-city area where tens of thousands of families were displaced under apartheid forced removals and where restitution claims remain unresolved.