Many Capetonians were shocked by recent images of violent clashes between police and residents of the Hangberg community in Hout Bay, Cape Town. Residents say they were resisting the demolition of informal houses on the mountainside, but the City of Cape Town has said these structures had to go because they were built on a firebreak and obstruct rainwater flow. Why is it, asks Mphuthumi Ntabeni, that it’s okay for rich mansions to climb any mountain they wish, but once poor people dare to do the same they are labelled ‘criminals’?