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Joburg Drops Controversial CCTV Law After Public Outcry and Court Battle
Why the city’s surveillance law was scrapped and what it means for you
If you’re a Joburg resident with security cameras on your property, you can breathe a little easier. The City of Johannesburg has officially repealed its controversial CCTV by-law after months of legal pressure, public criticism, and a courtroom showdown it ultimately lost.
At the heart of the storm was a law passed earlier this year that aimed to give the municipality wide-ranging powers over privately owned security cameras. Think mandatory registrations, new tariffs for installations, and restrictions on whether footage could be publicly shared. For many, it felt like a bureaucratic overreach into the very systems residents rely on to stay safe.
What the law tried to do
First passed in February, the by-law was met with immediate resistance. It would have required anyone with a CCTV system to register it with the city, pay new tariffs for future installations, and, in some cases, hand over footage only to the authorities. While the city claimed it was about streamlining urban safety and coordination, critics argued it was an unnecessary invasion into private property rights.
And that criticism was loud.
The South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa) and the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) took legal action, calling the by-law not just overreaching but fundamentally flawed. They argued that forcing residents to register personal surveillance tools, while simultaneously restricting how that footage could be shared, was counterproductive to crime prevention and legally unsound.
Eight hours, one reversal
During a council session that ran for over eight hours, the City of Johannesburg finally repealed the by-law. For opposition parties like the Democratic Alliance, it was a moment of validation.
“This was a deeply flawed piece of legislation that should never have been passed,” said DA councillor Daniel Schay, calling the repeal a victory for common sense and residents’ rights.
DA caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku went further, saying the city had wasted public funds trying to defend an indefensible law. She confirmed plans to write to the national Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), requesting that councillors who supported the by-law be held financially accountable for the legal fees incurred.
What happens next?
Though the by-law has now been repealed, the legal process isn’t quite over. Sapoa confirmed that while it welcomed the city’s about-turn, it would only formally drop its court case once the repeal is fully enacted and its legal costs have been settled.
The message from civic groups and opposition parties is clear: local government should be focusing on actual service delivery, not surveillance micromanagement. With crime and safety already top of mind for Joburgers, many residents had turned to personal CCTV solutions as a last line of defence. To make those same tools subject to municipal control felt like the wrong move at the wrong time.
A cautionary tale for council
The saga is a sharp reminder of how quickly local legislation can lose public trust when it doesn’t reflect residents’ lived realities. For now, private surveillance remains private. No registration. No tariffs. No interference.
The cameras may still be watching, but this time, it’s the city’s by-laws that were caught in the spotlight.
Also read: “A Web of Betrayal”: Court Denies Bail to Cop, Nurse, and Daughter in R10m Insurance Murder Scheme
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Source: The Citizen
Featured Image: Shutterstock
