Did Cape Town evict ‘Castle’ homeless ahead of Prince William’s visit?

The controversial permanent removal of homeless people from the Castle of Good Hope just days before Prince William’s visit to Cape Town has sparked online commentary.

Last week, the city forcibly removed squatters who had taken up residence outside the landmark following a lengthy court battle.

The eviction, under the direction of the Sheriff of the Court and Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, was carried out by SAPS and Cape Town Metro Police.

CITY OF CAPE TOWN MAYOR  WELCOMES PRINCE WILLIAMS 

On Monday, 4 November, Prince William arrived in Cape Town as part of his Earthshot Week charity endeavour.

The royal founded the programme in 2020, which seeks to cultivate sustainable environmental solutions to challenges like climate change, pollution, and carbon markets.

Welcoming him to the city was mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, who joined the heir to the British throne for a casual game of rugby at a school in Ocean View.

He tweeted from his official X account: “We’re honoured to be hosting the @EarthshotPrize  in Cape Town this week”.

Hill-Lewis also accompanied a delegation to Signal Hill, where Prince William joined conservationist Robert Irwin to talk about local biodiversity.

The mayor also posted pictures of the city’s decision to “light up” Table Mountain and the Cape Town Stadium in green in support of hosting EarthShot Week.

DID ROYAL’S VISIT BEHIND HOMELESS PEOPLE EVICTION?

On social media, there was many insinuations that the removal of homeless people living outside the Castle of Good Hope a few days ago was a result of Prince William’s impending arrival.

@AxolileNotywala tweeted: “The City of Cape Town evicts homeless people who have been living by the Castle on Friday, 01 November 2024.  Prince William, who has started work towards ending homelessness, arrives in Cape Town on Monday, 04 November 2024.  Coincidentally, events 3 days apart.”

@Smokey058 posted: “The reason why homeless people were removed from the Castle, it suddenly makes sense.”

@CamillaMasiu added: “So the DA removed homeless people for Prince William? The same Prince William who is said to be on a mission to end homelessness? Why didn’t they take him there to help those homeless people out?”

Coincidentally, the 42-year-old has spoken about following in the footsteps of his late mother, Princess Diana, and her mission to eradicate homelessness.

The first part of the documentary We Can End Homelessness aired last week on ITV.

CASTLE OF GOOD HOPE AND THE UGLY BUSINESS OF EVICTIONS

The decision to host Earthshot Week in Cape Town was announced by Prince William a year ago. However, the legal battle to remove vagrants outside the Castle of Good Hope started years earlier.

When the COVID-19 pandemic ended, the City of Cape Town took on the task of getting eviction orders via the courts after delays from the local and national governments.

After the implementation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) in July, newly elected Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean MacPherson became the land custodian of the precinct and quickly accelerated the eviction process.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis tweeted after the controversial move: “The Castle eviction is done, and now the big clean-up begins! For years, this has been an unsafe site for urban decay. Now we can begin restoring the area.”

He added: “The City of Cape Town welcomes this positive milestone.

“Positive for the whole city, positive for this heritage site, and positive for those who were living in indignity at this site for several years”.

The National Heritage site was originally used as the headquarters for the South African Army in the Western Cape. Today, it landmark – located in the city’s CBD – houses the Castle Military Museum.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS OF CAPE TOWN’S HOMELESS ‘CLEAN UP’ AMID PRINCE WILLIAM’S VISIT?

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