Court buys hostel kids some time

Children "smuggled" into Durban's Thokoza Women's Hostel will be allowed to remain with their mothers for the time being.

This was made possible by an interim ruling by Judge Johan Ploos van Amstel in the Durban High Courtyesterday .

Twenty-eight mothers who have taken shelter at the Thokoza Women's Hostel, in Yusuf Dadoo (Grey) Street, filed a high court application for an order overturning the eThekwini municipality's instruction that all children living in the hostel with a parent or caregiver be removed by Sunday.

The hostel, which is subsidised by the city, was built in the 1980s to house 1000 women.

In court papers the women, aided by Durban's Legal Resource Centre, said the city's instruction infringed the children's right to "dignity, freedom and security".

The women, many of whom are unemployed or work as street vendors, say the shelter, at R70 a month, is the cheapest option available to them.

Resident Nomvula Zulu said that security at the hostel was "very tight" but it was "an open secret" that some residents kept their children with them.

The municipality is opposing the finalisation of the interim order. A city spokesman said "steps are being taken to address the concerns of residents".