There’s more frustration as judgement has been reserved in the matter dealing with land occupation and removing people from vacant land.

It appears that judges at the Western Cape High Court are struggling to consolidate the various laws dealing with this issue.

Yesterday’s hearing follows an application brought after Bulelani Qolani was forcibly removed from his shack in Khayelitsha last year.

The City of Cape Town claims that he was not evicted; rather they invoked “counter spoliation” which allows for people to reclaim their property.

The City plans to use this land to upgrade sewerage works in Khayelitsha.

The outcomes of this court application will set a precedent for how land and property occupation is handled.

These land occupations are often a direct result of the slow housing process in South Africa, forcing thousands into squalor.

[Header image: Abahlali baseMjondolo]