About 500 foreign nationals facing eviction from two CT sites demand help

CAPE TOWN - About 500 foreign nationals facing eviction notices from two sites in Cape Town said all they want is a safe place to live.

The occupants at Wingfield in Maitland and Paint City in Bellville were relocated there during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was after they were evicted from Green Market Square in the city's CBD.

The foreign nationals, mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi, now have a month before the matter is heard in the Western Cape High Court in October.

DRC national Emeka Mazimwe has been living at the Wingfield site, in Maitland, for six years.

He, along with 150 other foreign nationals, have been housed in a massive white tent opposite a cemetery.

Mazimwe has been in South Africa for 16 years.

He said foreign nationals here are hoping for more assistance from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

"What we're demanding is help. We are seeking help from the UNHCR, but the government is trying to show how powerful they are. But we're not fighting the government because you can't fight the government."

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the occupants have refused all offers of assistance by the State and the UNHCR.

A court process to decide their fates will commence on 8 October 2025.