Members and supporters of Reclaim the City and Sea Point for All, including Elizabeth Gqoboka (pictured), protested against an eviction in Sea Point. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks
14 December 2016
About 30 protesters held a picket in Sea Point in the hope of halting an eviction order against Thandeka Sisusa, a resident of Sea Point for 23 years. Sisusa, her daughter and granddaughter are facing eviction from a single room basement in an apartment block called Rapallo.
“It’s outrageous that Thandeka might be evicted on the streets over Christmas,” said Joey Hasson, a member of Sea Point For All. “We can’t have a situation anymore where property developers and their idea of living is going to determine the lives of people like Thandeka Sisusa.”
From before 7am, protesters could be heard singing loudly outside an apartment block called Saratoga while a handful of onlookers stared down from their windows. According to the protesters, Lior and Jacques Van Embden stay in Saratoga. Lior is the beneficiary of the Lior Chen Trust which owns the Rapallo apartment in which Sisusa stays. Jacques van Embden is also the director of the Woodstock Hub, which is the company at the centre of an eviction controversy in Bromwell Street, Woodstock.
At the time of publishing, the Lior Chen Trust attorneys had not yet responded to GroundUp’s request for comment.
Just after 7am, law enforcement officers asked the protesters to keep quiet, a request that was ignored.
Last month activists also protested against evictions in Sea Point.
Sisusa has been living in the Rapallo apartments with her daughter and granddaughter for eight years. According to Hasson, Sisusa wants to leave, but she needs her stay extended in order to find somewhere safe to live. Sisusa was once an ANC candidate in Sea Point.
A letter written to Lior van Embden by Reclaim the City and Sea Point For All states: “This letter is an appeal to your humanity. We hope that you will be sympathetic to the circumstances of Thandeka, who has cleaned for you in your home and has diligently rented from your family for years.” The Trust has not yet responded to this request.
Sisusa was advised not to comment as she will appear in court tomorrow. She has previously told GroundUp that she is being evicted because she doesn’t work at the apartment.