Hundreds of foreign nations living at 2 sites in Cape Town handed eviction notices

CAPE TOWN - A Burundi national who is one of about 500 foreign nationals who were handed eviction notices at two sites in Cape Town on Wednesday, said she was disappointed with the South African government.

The occupants living at Wingfield in Maitland and Paint City in Bellville were relocated during the COVID-19 pandemic after being 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 eviction process starts in the Western Cape High Court.

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Burundi national, Kabanga Nkurikiye, said she fled conflict and poverty in her country of birth 19 years ago hoping to find a better life in Cape Town.

Six years ago, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nkurikiye was one of hundreds of foreign nationals relocated from the city's CBD.

She's been living in a large white tent along with about 150 other foreign nationals in Maitland, opposite a cemetery ever since.

On Wednesday, Nkurikiye was in tears after being handed an eviction notice to vacate the site.

"Someone who is a foreigner and comes to the country to ask for help and say 'You came to take our land'... really I feel sorry."

The foreign nationals have appealed to the United Nations High Commission for support during the eviction process.

The sheriff of the court has instructed the occupants to appear in the Western Cape High Court on 8 October for the process to commence.