The City of Cape Town’s Urban Mobility Directorate has applied for an urgent court interdict against a group accused of attempting to remove a legally appointed security company at the newly built MyCiTi depots along Spine Road between Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain.

The City claims the group forcibly removed the official security service from the site on Monday and threatened to disrupt operations or damage property if their demands were not met.

These include replacing the contracted provider with a company of their choice and restricting future cleaning and security contracts to businesses based in the surrounding areas.

According to the City, tensions escalated following a meeting with community members last week during which officials were allegedly threatened with vandalism should the demands not be fulfilled.

Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Rob Quintas, strongly condemned the actions, describing them as an unlawful attempt to undermine municipal procurement processes.

“This facility is a public asset, built to serve over 1,4 million residents across more than 30 communities. It cannot be captured by any group for narrow personal gain,” added Quintas

He emphasised that procurement is governed by strict legislation and that contracts cannot be altered by intimidation or community pressure.

The City confirmed that criminal cases have been opened with SAPS and that law enforcement officers have been deployed to stabilise the situation. However, officials warned that continuously diverting resources to protect the site could impact other priority areas.

The City also stressed that subcontractor appointments fall under the responsibility of the contracted vehicle operating company and are regulated through national financial legislation.

Authorities have reiterated that any threats or interference with operations will be treated as criminal acts and prosecuted accordingly.

READ MORE: City of Cape Town moves closer to myciti rollout for Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain