Mark Hackney, Westlake
I refer to your article, “Church’s ‘illegal’ containers must go, says City” as it appeared in the Echo of Thursday January 18.
Firstly, many thanks for highlighting this issue.
The one statement in your article that I do believe can be perceived as misleading is the following: “The church’s congregants protested in support of the containers on Sunday after the church had drawn flak from the community for leasing part of its property to the storage company.”
This is misleading from the following point of view: This protest was orchestrated by the Makembe family, their friends and a handful of supporters.
While a small number may be members of the church, the vast majority of congregants were not there and certainly do not support the containers being on church property.
It is a pity your article did not see to draw this distinction.
What is ironic is that the actual custodians of the church have had to apply for court order after court order, on behalf of the majority of congregants, to gain access to the church grounds for their Sunday services.
The latest order being granted on August 18, 2023.
As for Mr Pickford’s and Ms Makembe’s claims, I leave this in the hands of the City who I believe are now pursuing criminal charges as per information received from Councillor Franklin.
• The City of Cape Town confirmed that it was in the process of instituting litigation.