Tshwane metro to remove refugees in east suburb
The group have been sleeping in temporary shelters made of plastic and cardboard for almost a month on the sidewalk, where they also make fires and cook food.
A group of protesting refugees who are camped outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Pretoria have 72 hours to vacate the premises.
This was after the Tshwane metro obtained an interdict against the group.
The interdict prohibits them from being in the vicinity of Waterkloof Road, Pienaar and Fehrsen streets as well as gathering and protesting between 17:00 and 08:00.
The 11 men, 26 women and 34 children have been sleeping in temporary shelters made of plastic and cardboard for almost a month on the sidewalk, where they also make fires and cook food.
The group are from areas such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Burundi and Rwanda.
The application for the interdict was joined by RAB property investments (Pty) Ltd, the Brooklyn and eastern areas citizens association and the Waterkloof homeowners association.
The order gives the refugees 72 hours from the date of the order to be removed by the Department of Home Affairs to the Lindela repatriation centre.
The order stated that members who choose not to be removed to the centre would be ordered to vacate the affected area by the police assisted by the home affairs department.
Tshwane metro police department spokesperson Issac Mahamba said they would not announce when its operation to remove the group would take place should the need for it arises.
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