Leticia Nquma has been warned she’ll be evicted soon. But she’s still painting her shack pink
Dozens of families in Sinqawunqawu, Cape Town, live under the threat of eviction from land owned by Shoprite
In spite of the threat of eviction from her home in the informal settlement of Sinqawunqawu in Cape Town, Leticia Nquma is painting the wall of her shack pink. Photos: Vincent Lali
- Dozens of families are living under the daily threat of eviction from their homes in the informal settlement of Sinqawunqawu, in Cape Town.
- The land is owned by Shoprite which has obtained a court order against the families.
- Residents have asked for a meeting with Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
Leticia Nquma knows she can be evicted at any moment from the two-roomed shack she shares with her sick mother, her four children and her husband in Sinqawunqawu in Mfuleni, Cape Town. The land is owned by Shoprite and the retail giant has already obtained a court order. But when GroundUp visited her on Tuesday, Nquma was painting the inside wall of her shack pink.
“I just want to make my room look good,’’ she said.
Nquma’s is one of dozens of families in Sinqawunqawu who are living in fear of imminent eviction.
People first moved onto the land in March 2019. The settlement grew during 2020 and 2021 when many people lost their jobs as a result of the covid lockdowns. Community leaders say today there are 480 families living there, in a settlement so dense that in some places it is impossible to walk between the shacks.
Last year, residents were served with a court order, telling them to leave the site on 3 October or be evicted on 10 October.
Everyone in the settlement is afraid, say community leaders Ntombodumo Ntilo (left) and Nomonde Manya.
Community leader Nomonde Manya said Law Enforcement officers, police and the Red Ants had not been back since October 10, when residents blocked their eviction, burning tyres and protesting.
But everyone was afraid, she said. ‘’We panic at the sight of the police because we were told we could be evicted anytime.’’
Nquma’s husband works as a truck driver for a Blackheath company. One of her children attends a crèche nearby and another is at Tsitsa Primary School in Mfuleni.
‘’If Shoprite removes me from here, I will never have money to transport them to school because it’s only my husband who works,’’ she said.
Nquma said her mother is being treated for diabetes, a heart condition and high blood pressure at Groote Schuur. “I don’t know where I will accommodate my mother and my pregnant daughter if I get evicted,’’ she said.
Nquma said she settled in Sinqawunqawu after renting rooms in Philippi and Mfuleni. “When my family became bigger, I struggled to pay rent and survive on my husband’s salary,’’ she said. “I settled here so I could have my own place.’’
Soon after she moved in, she says, her shack was demolished and her building materials confiscated. But the family rebuilt the shack.
‘’It breaks my heart to hear that Shoprite wants to remove us, because it was not easy to finally settle here,’’ said Nquma.
Nowanisi Jubisa lives with her daughter Anathi (pictured) and seven grandchildren.
Pensioner Nowanisi Jubisa lives with her sick daughter and seven grandchildren. ‘’Worry keeps me awake at night because I no longer have a place in the Eastern Cape,” she said. She has no money to rent premises as her grandchildren live on her old age grant, she said.
“My chest becomes tight when people mention our removal.’’ said Jubisa, who visits a doctor twice a week to relieve a chest problem.
‘’My grandchildren want to stay here until they finish school, get jobs and buy their own houses. The government should help us and not abandon us to Shoprite,’’ she said.
Last week, residents marched to the civic centre to submit a memo to Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. They asking for a meeting and for the suspension of the eviction process.
Most of the shack dwellers don’t work and live on government grants, said Manya. ‘’Some of us lost our jobs during the covid pandemic and never got them back again.”
Shoprite declined to comment in response to our questions.
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Letters
Dear Editor
Applicable legislation is hereby acknowledged, however I am appalled by the rigid stance of Shoprite in this matter.
Shoprite is essentially evicting part of its Consumer/ Customer base, the same residents in the informal settlement are the very revenue and profit generators of Shoprite.
There are ways to remedy this matter amicably as we should all be painfully aware of the housing crisis, excessive unemployment abd increasing poverty levels in our country, the RSA.
The socio -economic and income gap widens at a rapid pace, between the well off (not only the wealthy) and the poor.
Shoprite, a well resourced super power in retail must do an introspection on this matter and place dignity over digits in finding an alternative amicable solution.
Doing the right and morally correct thing does not always find its solution in the law.
Shoprite should check its moral compass on this issue in my view and instead use its resources to find a better dignified and just solution.
We promote purple hearts as a symbol in the fight against Gender based violence, yet it seems to be business as usual when Women, often single mothers, breadwinners are evicted with their children with no better / safer place to reside at
Eviction of women and children, lawful or not could be described as part of economic and social / socio political oppression & abuse and should not be tolerated as a general acceptance.
Does Shoprite even know how many of its own employees live or grew up in informal settlements or does it not matter, as long as they turn up for work as contractually required..
Shoprite should balance dignity with digits and place the revenue / profit generating people and their familes first.
#Wake Up SA, our acceptance/ complacency levels are just too high
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