Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula will appeal an order by the Pretoria High Court that he must rebuild the shacks of a group of Pretoria squatters — or face arrest.
His spokesperson, Trevor Bloem, said on Thursday Nqakula would appeal against the decision of Judge Bill Prinsloo, who on Wednesday condemned the failure of Nqakula’s department to comply with an urgent court order, granted more than a week ago, to rebuild the squatters’ shacks.
The original order gave the police 12 hours to rebuild the shacks from which they had unlawfully evicted the squatters, and interdicted the police from further harassing them and destroying their shacks.
Bloem said police have filed an appeal against this order, saying they were not involved in the demolishing of the shacks and could thus not be expected to rebuild them.
”We normally provide security for those who demolish the shacks,” he said.
On Wednesday, Prinsloo declared Nqakula to be in contempt of the August 20 court order and again gave him and his department 12 hours to comply with that order.
He ordered that the minister be committed to jail immediately ”until his contempt of the court order had been purged” and fined him R10 000 for contempt.
However, he suspended the order for two weeks, before which time the minister would have to appear personally before the court to show that he had complied with the order.
Bloem said police would also file for leave to appeal against Wednesday’s order.
The squatters obtained the original order on August 20 after about 50 shacks were set alight and they were forcibly evicted from their camp on the corner of De Villebois Mareuil and Garsfontein roads in Moreleta Park.
The police swoop earlier this month came despite an earlier undertaking to stop harassing the squatters and a landmark appeal court ruling, ordering officials to rebuild the structures they demolished in an earlier raid in March last year. — Sapa