23 September 2026
Residents from Siyangena informal settlement have blocked the busy intersection at New Eisleben and Bristol roads for three days in the past week. Photos: Sandiso Phaliso
Protesters have disrupted essential services and traffic in Philippi, Cape Town, for three days since last week.
On Monday, Philippi Village issued a warning to its tenants and visitors to avoid travelling to the site until further notice.
At 5am on Wednesday, GroundUp found residents from Siyangena informal settlement had again blocked the busy intersection at New Eisleben and Bristol roads with burning branches, mattresses and rocks. Law enforcement agencies, including the police, looked on.
The protesters are demanding that the City of Cape Town negotiate on their behalf with Oasis Crescent Property Company, the owners of the land they occupy, and Philippi Village, situated next door, for electricity to be installed. Most rely on illegal electricity connections. They also want waste removal to be provided.
Siyangena informal settlement sprang up in 2018 when about 500 people occupied the land. The community grew during the covid lockdown. Residents came from Philippi, Nyanga, Gugulethu, Khayelitsha and Langa.
Mzikayise Fongo said he had lived on the land since 2019. He said most Siyangena residents were unemployed and cannot afford gas stoves or pay someone to install an informal electricity connection from a streetlight or nearby formal houses.
“We don’t feel the City of Cape Town is doing enough to negotiate for us with the landowners. We are citizens and we deserve to be treated as such. Like every other human being, we also should be having electricity,” said Fongo.
There are 94 households in the settlement that live alongside a huge pool of water. The protesters want these households relocated.
Nosicelo Ngele said they have to close their doors and windows because the stench coming from the pond is “unbearable”.
“We cannot live like this, but we have to because we don’t have a choice,” she said.
The City said the settlement is located on private land, and it falls within an Eskom supply area.
GroundUp has not yet received comment from Oasis and Philippi Village. The article will be updated once a response has been received.
There are 94 households next to this pond.
