Chaos erupted at the Strandfontein Sports Ground yesterday where 2000 homeless people are being kept during the Coronavirus lockdown after four people tried to escape.
The four, from Somerset West, tried to flee from the gated facility after learning they would be kept there and not sent back home.
Three of the runaways were caught while one is still on the run.
Several videos were posted on social media with one showing a group of homeless people trying to make a run for it after they had made a hole in the vibracrete fence.
Homeless people trying to make a run for it
They were stopped by Law Enforcement officials.
There were also reports that a tent had been set alight, but the City of Cape Town has denied this, despite the Daily Voice witnessing several fire trucks leaving the scene yesterday.
Mayco Member for Safety and Security JP Smith says the firemen were on scene to conduct an inspection.
Dozens of Law Enforcement vehicles, Fire and Rescue trucks and the army were dispatched to the sports field while medical staff were escorted out of the facility and sat on a hill near the facility.
Law Enforcement vehicles, Fire and Rescue trucks and the army were dispatched to the sports field. Video: Genevieve Serra
Last week, Mayor Dan Plato said homeless people from around the city would be housed in tents at the sports field to help curb the spread of the virus.
His decision was slammed by Strandfontein residents, who questioned why people were not being housed at sports stadiums, schools or empty buildings, and were instead being dumped on an open field with no existing amenities.
On Sunday, bus loads of homeless mense arrived at the camp where they were screened for Covid-19.
But tension erupted on Tuesday when a new batch of homeless arrived from Somerset West and got angry after being told to stay there.
4 escape Strandfontein homeless camp
Smith says: “They were under the impression that they would be allowed to return to their areas after being screened at the site, and when it became clear that they were required to remain in Strandfontein, a few of them pulled down one of the internal fences and four climbed over the perimeter wall. Three have since been apprehended.”
He says any person who leaves the site will be in violation of the lockdown regulations and will be dealt with accordingly.
Ward Councillor, Elton Jansen, is not happy: “I was not part of this decision to bring them here. If I was I would have opposed it because I do not believe it is the best site. But, we are in a disaster and what I like and how I feel is not important right now.”
IRATE: Elton Jansen
Hanif Loonat, the ANC deployee for Mitchell’s Plain compared the camp to apartheid: “This is abduction and ethnic cleansing and apartheid tactics. The fact that the media is also not allowed inside is stopping the freedom of the press.”