Gauteng High Court orders return of occupants to N12 settlement after illegal evictions

The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has upheld an interim order allowing around 570 individuals and their families to return to the N12 informal settlement near Cloverdene in Benoni after their shacks were demolished in an operation the municipality later accepted was unlawful.

Judge dismisses municipality’s appeal

Judge Stuart Wilson dismissed an application by the City of Ekurhuleni to appeal the interim order and made clear the occupiers are allowed to return to the site until the court has finally ruled on the matter. The judge earlier interdicted and restrained the municipality from demolishing any structure erected at the settlement until final determination.

Temporary housing and oversight

The judge ordered the Ekurhuleni Municipality to erect temporary structures to house the occupiers while the application for final relief is heard. He said his deadline for completing the rebuilding could be varied if the municipality cannot meet it and directed the municipality, the mayor and the city manager to report back to him this week on progress.

Judge Wilson also undertook to oversee the implementation of the interim relief himself.

Municipality admits illegal evictions; SAHRC evidence relied on

In its attempt to appeal the order, the municipality accepted that illegal evictions took place when it carried out an operation in May to destroy informal structures on the property. The judge noted the legal issue was whether it had been established on a prima facie basis that the occupiers were illegally evicted from the property and said,

“I reject that contention. The question was always whether it had been established on a prima facie (on the face of it) basis that the occupiers were illegally evicted from the property.”

Judge Wilson pointed to the South African Human Rights Commission, which had compiled a list containing each occupier’s names, identity numbers and the stand numbers describing the plots they occupied immediately before the evictions. While the list was not placed under oath by each occupier, the SAHRC confirmed under oath that it had compiled the list; the judge said this was sufficient to establish the occupiers’ prima facie rights to be restored to the property.

Relief limited to interim protection

The judge rejected the municipality’s suggestion that the earlier order gave the occupiers a right to occupy the property, saying,

“It does no such thing”.

He explained the interim order protects occupiers while the court decides whether the evictions without a court order were justified and noted that if the court later finds the evictions were justified, the interim order would fall away and the occupiers would leave.

Hardship and losses recorded in court

The SAHRC brought the matter to court in June seeking redress for occupiers after security companies employed by the municipality demolished their shacks. The report records that many people lost everything, including their documentation, and that several of the homeless submitted affidavits describing hardships such as sleeping out in the open.

One affidavit from Jane Mmabatho described her home being destroyed with furniture and documents inside, leaving her and 11 others, including six grandchildren, homeless.

What happens next

The interim order remains in place while the matter proceeds to final determination. The municipality has been ordered to report back to Judge Wilson on its progress implementing the court’s directions.