CT toilets 'violated right to dignity'

2010-06-04 17:32

Cape Town – The City of Cape Town had violated Khayelitsha residents' right to dignity by not enclosing toilets it installed for them, the SA Human Rights Commission said on Friday.

Commissioner Pregs Govender was releasing the findings of the commission's probe into the toilet saga, prompted by a complaint it received from the ANC Youth League in January.

She told a media briefing in Cape Town that the commission recommended that the city re-install the 51 toilets, which were removed this week, and enclose them with immediate effect.

The enclosures should be brick and mortar, not corrugated iron, she said.

She said the full report on the commission's investigation would be released next week.

The findings come after several days of violent protests in Khayelitsha over the toilets, in which 32 people were arrested.

The council said it erected the toilets on the understanding that they would be enclosed by the members of the community they were intended for.

When the council erected iron and wood enclosures around them last week, members of the league took the lead in breaking these down.

- SAPA