Eviction of Kenneth Blaine escalates ideological battle between local government and Reclaim the City By Steve Kretzmann Lawyers representing the City of Cape Town have threatened legal action against activist organisation Reclaim The City unless it agrees, in writing, to not impede the City’s attempts to evict 80-year-old Kenneth Blaine from the council-owned house in Woodstock he has been living in for...

They allege that City of Cape Town officials have confiscated their private property in violation of a court order By Raymond Joseph An urgent application by seven homeless people to have Cape Town’s Mayor, a member of the Mayoral Committee and the City’s head of safety and security imprisoned for 30 days for contempt of court will be heard in the Cape...

Activists want new developments in city centre to include affordable housing  By Sandisiwe Shoba Activist organisation and law centre Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU) has launched litigation in the Cape High Court to compel the City of Cape Town to develop a housing policy that would require new developments to include affordable housing. To launch the litigation about 30 NU and Reclaim the City members...

A Pietermaritzburg High Court ruling has found that municipalities were in breach of the Constitution in not providing labour tenants and farm occupiers with essential and basic services. By Musawenkosi Cabe The recent high court judgment declaring that three municipalities in Pietermaritzburg must provide water, sanitation and waste collection on farms has been hailed as a victory for farm dwellers across...

Appointing a special master to assist the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform is not judicial overreach By Zoë Postman and Wilmien Wicomb Labour tenants scored a major victory in the Constitutional Court on Tuesday. A majority of judges in the court upheld the Land Claims Court’s (LCC) order to appoint a special master to assist the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to...

Farm workers in the Western Cape winelands are still living in single-sex hostels at Oak Valley, as they were during apartheid. Now they are taking legal action. By Ra’eesa Pather In the pristine lands of one of the Western Cape’s best known farms, workers are restless. After months of negotiations and protest action, they have filed a court application for a...

Judge refuses application for final interdict against occupation of controversial land By Mary-Anne Gontsana Social justice organisations have hailed the judgement in the case brought against them by property developers Growthpoint Properties as a victory. In the Western Cape High Court on Friday, Judge Judith Cloete discharged with costs Growthpoint’s application for a final interdict against Reclaim the City (RTC). On 4 December, RTC,...

City will appeal the court order affecting Vusimuzi in Tembisa By Zoë Postman On Friday morning, the South Gauteng High Court interdicted the City of Ekurhuleni from reblocking Vusimuzi informal settlement in Tembisa, at least until the matter is heard in July. About 130 community members, who are part of the shack dwellers movement Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM), took the City to court in...

Courts make inhumane decisions based on legal facts and are not in touch with our people on the ground, says farm workers’ rights organiser By Barbara Maregele “They are the authors of their own fate,” said Land Claims Court Acting Judge Canca, referring to the May family’s decision to squat outside the gates of the farmfrom which they were evicted in Paarl, and...

Reclaim the City contests interdict against occupation of property in centre of Cape Town By Katherine Liu An interim interdict preventing the occupation of a site in Cape Town city centre being developed by GrowthPoint Properties was extended in the Western Cape High Court on Monday. Housing activist group Reclaim the City (RTC) occupied the property by building shacks, with members of #UniteBehind...