City of Cape Town must rebuild homes, demand protesters
Their shacks were demolished because they were built on sewer pipes in need of urgent maintenance
Lansdowne Road informal settlement residents protested on Baden Powell Drive in Makhaza, Khayelitsha on Tuesday. They called for the City of Cape Town to rebuild their homes which were demolished last week. Photos: Vincent Lali
Residents of Lansdowne Road informal settlement protested on Baden Powell Drive in Makhaza, Khayelitsha on Tuesday, demanding that the City of Cape Town rebuild their homes.
About 40 structures were demolished as part of the City’s plans to relocate residents living on sewer pipes in need of urgent maintenance. Earlier this week GroundUp reported the relocation of those living on the sewer line had been curbed when some of the temporary structures built by the City in Green Point, Khayelitsha, were destroyed or vandalised by residents there who say they were not consulted.
Residents set to be relocated say they are scared to go to the temporary housing as people there remain hostile. They are now demanding the City rebuild the homes it demolished. Though the City claims it only demolished unoccupied shacks.
“The City removed 40 unoccupied structures on 30 and 31 December 2025 to allow Water and Sanitation teams access to damaged infrastructure. This is an emergency situation, and the City continues to act in the best interests of the health and safety of residents in the LR section, as well as the broader Khayelitsha community,” said mayco member for human settlements, Carl Pophaim. The City said nine families in this area were relocated to temporary housing.
When GroundUp visited the Lansdowne Road settlement, mattresses, blankets and building material strewn on the ground where the shacks once stood. Residents said they also lost IDs and SASSA cards.
Broken furniture and other debris scattered on the site after shacks were demolished last week.
According to community leader Zelda Makeleni, people have been left homeless, and their furniture damaged. “We stayed in the street for three days waiting to be relocated to Green Point,” she said.
Makeleni said when the shack dwellers heard that residents had destroyed their temporary houses, they felt unsafe going there.
Makeleni said without pots or gas stoves to cook, they were forced to beg at the nearby traffic lights for food or money. She hopes the matter will be resolved before their children have to start school next week.
On Tuesday, residents handed over a memo to officials at the sub-council 10 office. Among their demands was for the affected households to be compensated for “damage to property”.
Pophaim told GroundUp that the “City is carefully considering all available options” to help the shack dwellers. “Additional land is being explored for further relocations, particularly for residents in LR informal settlement section.”
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