South Africa’s City of Cape Town and the Departments of Home Affairs and Public Works have initiated legal action to evict foreign nationals allegedly occupying government land without authorisation.

Authorities have not identified the nationalities of the individuals, who have reportedly been living in tents on government property since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis stated that his office filed an eviction notice with the Western Cape High Court. He described the areas occupied by the foreign nationals as a source of local crime and squalor.

"This tent has been here since COVID, and it has been a source of a lot of problems, of local crime, of local grime, a lot of unsafe incidents. The living conditions have deteriorated inside the tent. We are here to announce that we are now going to file these papers to seek the eviction of these foreign nationals from this place," said Hill-Lewis.

Declined options

The mayor added the encampment was initially intended as a temporary measure during the pandemic and that offers of assistance to relocate the occupants have been declined.

"We have offered them, and Home Affairs has offered them, a lot of assistance over the years. Most of the offers have unfortunately been refused. They simply cannot stay here forever," he stressed.

According to state broadcaster SABC, the foreign nationals, before settling in the tents, reportedly left townships in 2020 due to allegations of xenophobia.

The legal action comes as South Africa's Department of Home Affairs reported a significant increase in deportations of undocumented immigrants.

The Department of Home Affairs deported 46,898 individuals in the 2024/25 financial year, the highest number in at least five years. The figure represents an 18% increase from the 39,672 deportations recorded in its 2023/24 report.