The Community of Grootkraal, a historically disadvantaged rural community living and working on farms in the Grootkraal-Kombuys area near Oudtshoorn, had for generations used a small portion of the farm Grootkraal for religious worship, a church, a school, and related community activities. The land was owned by the Kobot Business Trust, which purchased it in 2009. The Grootkraal UCC Primary School, a public school, operated on the property. Following a dispute about the school’s continued operation, the Trust sought the eviction of the school. Members of the Community intervened, claiming that they held long-established public rights to use the property for church, school, and community purposes and counterclaimed for the registration of a public servitude protecting those rights.
The appeal was upheld with costs. The High Court’s order was amended to declare that the Community of Grootkraal holds a public servitude over a defined portion of the farm Grootkraal for use as a Christian church, school, and related community activities. The Registrar of Deeds was directed to register the public servitude, subject to the Minister of Agriculture’s consent under section 6A(1) of the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act 70 of 1970. The Kobot Business Trust was ordered to pay the costs of the counter-application.
The case is a leading modern authority on the doctrine of vetustas in South African law. It confirms that public servitudes may be established by immemorial user, clarifies the evidentiary requirements for proving such rights, and recognises historically rooted community use rights over private land. The judgment is significant for protecting long-standing communal practices of disadvantaged rural communities and for expanding the understanding of public servitudes beyond traditional categories such as rights of way.