Two men alleged to be involved in the assault of people at the refugee camp in Bellville Paint City, were expected to appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
This, after pictures of a number of women and men who were assaulted by a group labelled as “militant refugee group” went viral at the weekend.
The families, including children, were evicted and spent two nights on the streets after the group took control of the tent.
Police spokesperson, Wesley Twigg, said Bellville police were investigating cases of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
“We can confirm that two adult males (foreign nationals) were arrested and will appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court,” he said.
Refugee, Matthieu Sabiti, said they were kicked out in the cold when they stood up to the people who damaged the tent.
“We have been mistreated, being told what to do and what not to do at the tent.
“On Thursday some of us had enough and stood up for our rights but we were confronted by people with knives and other weapons.
“They chased us out, we managed to get out with a few items such as blankets.
“Passersby who felt sorry for us bought food and bread.
“Our major concern is the safety of children. We need an urgent intervention,” said Sabiti.
Department of Home Affairs spokesperson, Siya Qoza, said incidents under the living conditions were “bound to happen”, and the only way out was for the refugees to go through the repatriation or reintegration programme.
“The protesters in Paint City should have taken one of the two options available to them.
“We believe that if they did, this would not have happened.
“As Home Affairs, we can only encourage them to either resettle back into the communities they came from or to voluntarily repatriate back to their home countries.
“Those were the offers given to them by the government and international organisations responsible for migration like the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
“Now that they rejected those offers, these types of things are bound to happen.
“There is no other alternative except the two offers mentioned above. We encourage them to take one of the two offers,” said Qoza.
Paint City and the Wingfield base in Kensington were established during the Covid-19 lockdown.
This was to temporarily house hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers, including children.
The refugees had previously occupied Greenmarket Square and the Central Methodist Mission church in the CBD since October 2019.
A voluntary repatriation programme was started in 2021, through a collaboration with the UNHCR.
The City on Sunday referred all questions to Home Affairs, saying it operated both the Bellville and Kensington sites.
Cape Times