All news items
7 January 2010
(News)
The government has agreed to let an independent curator assess the circumstances of each unaccompanied minor at the Central Methodist Church before they can be relocated. Since September, when allegations surfaced about the sexual abuse of children at the church, the government has been trying to have the children removed from the church premises, which housed more than 2,000 mostly...
14 December 2009
(Press release)
We, being civil society organizations and individuals concerned with the advancement of the constitutionally protected right to environment that is not harmful to health or well-being and the right to have the environment protected for present and future generations, state as follows:
1. We are extremely concerned about...
8 December 2009
(Press release)
The following organizations would like to express our grave concerns regarding the humanitarian crisis that faces homeless people, particularly Zimbabwean migrants, who are seeking shelter at the Central Methodist Church (CMC) in downtown Johannesburg.
We commend the selfless intervention of Bishop Paul Verryn and his colleagues at the CMC who, for several years, have responded to the...
1 December 2009
(Press release)
The residents of the Mamelodi hostel won a victory in the North Gauteng High Court today where the court confirmed the interim order issued on 18 November 2009 and found that the attempted demolition and the removal of the roof from the Mamelodi Hostel unlawful and ordered the Tshwane municipality to resurrect the roof.
On 15 and 16 November 2009, the municipality began to demolish...
26 November 2009
(Press release)
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will appear today in the North Gauteng High Court to seek an order of contempt of court against officials from the Tshwane municipality who inhumanely and with a wanton disregard for the law, allowed the destruction of the hostel in Mamelodi.
Over the weekend of 14 and 15 November 2009, municipal officials began the destruction of the Mamelodi hostel...
25 November 2009
(News)
The level of crime in South Africa has evidently sent government into emotional bewilderment. This is more so as a result of the violent crimes whose perpetrators are apparently merciless and recognise no boundary. Everyone, excluding the perpetrators and those with whom they act in cahoots, is under siege. Obviously any responsible government would want to do something to curb or rid its...
16 November 2009
(News)
Mamelodi hostel residents woke up to municipal contractors removing the roofs over their heads as their long drawn-out standoff with the Tshwane Metro Council took another turn yesterday.
According to the residents, they were not warned beforehand that the contractors would be removing the roofs, and all of them still had their possessions inside the unit.
The remaining Mamelodi hostels are in...
4 November 2009
(Press release)
In the late hours of 3 July 2009, some 350 destitute and homeless people were arrested for “loitering” in central Johannesburg. As they had nowhere else to go, they had been sleeping in the vicinity of the Central Methodist Mission (“the Church”). As part of “Operation Chachamela”, which effectively targets the destitute and homeless in...
1 November 2009
(News)
What will follow the Minister’s visit to Lindela?
The Minister’s recent visit to the Lindela Repatriation Centre (“Immigrants at Lindela on the Decrease”, The Star, 18th November)—where foreign nationals are detained pending deportation—was a welcome step in her commitment to reform the Department of Home Affairs. The Minister highlighted...
28 August 2009
(News)
August 30, 2009 marks the 26th anniversary of the International day of the Disappeared. On this day families of disappeared persons all over the world commemorate their loves ones. They are joined by human rights organisations, lawyers, journalists, government officials and many others. South Africa has still not signed this convention. Lawyers for Human Rights calls on the Minister of...