Students at UCT fight eviction, remain in tent on campus
STUDENT LIFE: Two students living out of a car and a tent in a parking lot
Image: Meta AI
Two students living out of a car and a tent in a parking lot adjacent to the University of Cape Town’s hockey fields will continue to live there, as UCT's court bid for eviction recently failed.
This, while the university is yet to determine its way forward, after Acting Judge of the High Court, Mushahida Adhikari, ordered that the university would need to seek its eviction in fresh proceedings brought in terms of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction (PIE) and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998.
The students - Lwazi van Staden and Mveliso Kraai - argued that both their parents have passed away, and they have no home to return to. If they are evicted from the parking lot, they argued, they would face the immediate risk of homelessness.
Since December, the students have erected a tent in the parking lot, parked a vehicle next to the tent, and taken up occupation of the tent and the vehicle.
This comes after the Western Cape High Court granted eviction orders on June 13, 2025, against five students who resided at the university's Philip Kgosana Residence (PK residence).
UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said: “The University of Cape Town notes the judgment handed down by the Western Cape High Court. The university will consider the ruling and then determine its next steps in light of the court’s findings.”
The background to the eviction action traces back to the university having made offers to the students for placement at the student accommodation in Mowbray for the 2024 academic year, subject to the proviso that the PK residence would be decommissioned to address maintenance issues.
In the eviction being given the green light, the court directed the respondents to vacate the PK residence by August 31, 2025, and if they failed to do so, the Sheriff of the court was authorised to evict the respondents from the PK residence.
However, this was subsequently extended to December 20, 2025.
The students failed to vacate by that date and the Sheriff of the court then executed the eviction order.
The Sheriff placed the belongings of the students in a parking lot owned by UCT, which is where Van Staden and Kraai continue living, some distance away from the PK residence, after three others from the initial court litigation have since found alternative accommodation.