25/05/2026
Comment on Carte Blanche programme – Sunday 24 May 2026.05.25
On behalf of homeless people in Durban who have been the victims of unprovoked violence, we are grateful to the team at Carte Blanche for drawing attention to this issue in a thorough and sensitive way. After we posted the video showing the shocking attack on one particular man, the Denis Hurley Centre (DHC) sent formal letters of complaint in mid-February to the Mayor of eThekwini, the District Commissioner of SAPS and PSiRA (the security regulator). The programme results in part from our frustration at the lack of action by any of these parties against the perpetrators – whom Ensure Security have confirmed they can identify – and also the continued reports of violence that we have received from homeless people.
A number of comments have been made in on-line threads in response to the programme. We note how many people have expressed empathy for the homeless and voiced horror at the treatment experienced. Many people ask why more is not being done to shelter and to reintegrate them. The DHC has repeatedly expressed frustration that eThekwini has done less to help homeless people than almost any other Metro in South Africa. Moreover, we remain sceptical of the planned multi-million rand project in Lower Illovo which seems designed to hide the problem not to address it in a constructive way. We have also been working with the National Homeless Network for a number of years to try and develop a national policy on homelessness (with the Department of Social Development).
With our limited resources – entirely dependent on private donations since we get no support from Government – the DHC tries to do what we can: we not only feed people but we provide healthcare, family reunification, access to social workers, preparation for drug rehabilitation, and training and employment projects. Our award-winning Street Lit bookselling programme (StreetLit Durban) is just one example of how homeless people can transform themselves into entrepreneurs and productive members of society.
Comments have also been made about criminal behaviour by homeless people. We want to make it clear that we condemn criminal acts by all members of society – homeless people, private security personnel and politicians. It is true that some homeless people commit real crimes; but from our experience the majority of homeless people are not criminals and do not wish to be. There are, however, many homeless people who are placed on the wrong side of the law by legislation and policies which effectively criminalise poverty (for example the absence of 24 hour public toilets in Durban, or the difficulty of obtaining a street trading license).
Moreover, we are also clear that even if someone commits a crime (whether homeless or not) there is a process of law which should hold them accountable. Extra-judicial violence was a feature of Apartheid-era policing and there is no place for it in a democratic, free South Africa.
In response to the specific comments about homeless people using the showers on the beachfront and the use of by-laws to prevent this: our argument is not that they should use those showers but rather that the Municipality should provide alternatives so they are not forced to use them (and face police fines). The modest showers at the Denis Hurley Centre were used over 8,000 times last year (with no financial support from the Municipality) but this is clearly only a small response to the scale of homelessness in the city.
Homelessness is a complex problem that does not have easy solutions. The DHC is committed to working with all people of goodwill – individuals, corporates, other organisations, faith groups, residents associations and Government – to explore genuine solutions that are based on working with homeless people (and not against them) in order to contribute to making the city a better place for all its residents. But the starting point must always be to treat homeless people as people – with the same rights and responsibilities – of all other people who live in South Africa.
If you wish to contact us directly, or support us with financial or other donations, feel free to email our Director, Dr Raymond Perrier, [email protected] (though apologies if you do not get an immediate response). If you are incensed by the violence shown in the video and the lack of response by the Municipality and SAPS, feel free to contact Mayor Cyril Xaba via his secretary at [email protected] or Major General Kheswa SAPS District Commissioner at [email protected].
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