Shack demolitions 'inhumane'

The Swapo Party Youth League has accused the Windhoek City Council and municipality of inhumane and oppressive treatment of vulnerable residents, as well as potentially costing the ruling party votes during elections.

“We must be mindful that the actions of certain institutions will have direct effect on the people's voting choice come election time,” said SPYL acting secretary Veikko Nekundi.

Nekundi listed numerous recent actions by city authorities, including the “ill-advised, inhumane demolishing of shacks in the 7de Laan informal and black majority inhabited areas of the city, the deliberate closure of the car washes in Katutura and the breakdown of the Ishitiile welding business, the forceful removal of enterprising youth from their livelihoods and places where they trade their skills instead of stealing or being on the streets.”

He claimed that the City Police had acted “outside of the law” when they ordered the dismantling of at least 10 shacks on Monday, saying it was illegal to destroy a “fixed structure without a court order.”

Bernadine Mynhardt, a lawyer at the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), said a court order was needed before dismantling or destroying any property or before evicting any person from municipal land, whether that occupation is illegal or not.

She explained that in a previous court case on an illegal occupation dispute, the judge had made it clear that “every person should have his day in court”.

In Junias versus the Municipal Council of the Municipality of Windhoek, a judgement dating back to 2014, it was ruled that in order for a structure to be removed, even if it was illegal, “a court order would need to be obtained and it would not be open to the respondent to remove a structure possessed in that way in the absence of such an order”.

In a 2013 case, the Supreme Court in Shaanika and Others versus Windhoek City Police and Others struck down “offending provisions of the Squatters Proclamation as being in conflict with the constitution”.

In that case the court emphasised that a court order was needed before structures could be demolished or removed, in order to ensure that impartial and independent bodies determined legal disputes before any action was taken.

It was also ruled that disputes about illegal occupation of land could “give rise to social disturbance and anger, particularly because the exercise of the power may be seen to be unfair or abusive”.

The judgment also addressed the need for preventing land invasions as an “important and legitimate government purpose”, Mynhardt explained. However, the courts emphasised that the prevention of land invasions could be achieved in other ways that were less harmful to the rights and interests of citizens.



The courts acknowledged that the demolition of homes could be potentially intensely harmful to the rights and interests of people, and thus a court order was necessary to ensure an impartial and independent determination “of the legal question before the harmful process of demolition and eviction takes place,” Mynhardt said.

City Police Chief Abraham Kanime yesterday said that in the view of the police, the actions on Monday were preventive and had taken place before occupation was final.

He explained that the illegal settlers had prepared the shacks in advance, at another location, and had dug the trenches, but had not yet put everything in place when police intervened and ordered the removal of the structures.

He questioned the decision by the SPYL to announce their views at a press conference instead of approaching the City Police or other lawmakers with their concerns.

“These are the people who want to become future politicians and here they are promoting anarchy. They want to see a country ungoverned. They are creating a breeding ground for lawlessness and they should refrain from inciting lawlessness,” Kanime said.

He defended the actions of the City Police in the removal of illegal shacks as well as the closure of illegal car washes and other illegal businesses.

“I can tell you, we are professional police officers. And we are part of the community. But we have a duty and that is to protect the laws of the country.”

He also fired back at Nekundi and other critics, saying that instead of criticising the police for doing their work, political parties should encourage their followers to obey the law.

Nekundi also took aim at the City of Windhoek's administrative departments, accusing them of incompetence when processing paperwork, in particular applications to register businesses, including car washes.

He added that the City should be prepared to handle the influx of people and the need for serviced erven, an issue that had led to illegal occupation of land.

Kanime said that the car-wash campaign was launched in mid-2016, when an awareness campaign was launched to help inform car-wash owners of the requirements to run a legal operation and to provide information on the various requirements, including water saving measures.

He emphasised that although the police and the City of Windhoek had shown patience and provided guidance to businesses on how to operate lawfully, the law remained paramount.

“When we do what we do, it is with a clear conscience because we need to look into all the aspects. But law and order should be respected by all of us in the land of the brave.”

JANA-MARI SMITH