The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality and Another v Seale and Another

In July 2023, officials of the City of Johannesburg, assisted by private security, demolished informal shacks and removed or destroyed building materials and personal belongings of approximately 292 people occupying or attempting to occupy municipal land at Allandale Farm, earmarked for low-cost housing. The affected persons, represented by Nakampa Rector Seale and the Rabie Ridge Community, approached the Gauteng Division of the High Court on an urgent basis, alleging unlawful and unconstitutional evictions. The City opposed the application, relying on a 2017 default interdict (the Sutherland J order) which purported to authorise preventative measures against land invasion. The High Court declared the evictions unlawful and unconstitutional, ordered restoration or alternative temporary accommodation, and interdicted further evictions without a court order. The City’s applications for leave to appeal were refused, leading to a reconsideration application before the Supreme Court of Appeal under s 17(2)(f) of the Superior Courts Act, prompted by the issuing of two inconsistent SCA orders refusing leave.

The prior SCA orders dated 29 November 2023 were set aside; the City’s application for leave to appeal was dismissed; and the City was ordered to pay the costs of the reconsideration application and the leave to appeal application.

The case reaffirms that municipalities may not rely on broadly framed or outdated interdicts to justify evictions or demolitions without complying with PIE and constitutional protections. It clarifies the limits of ‘preventative’ land invasion orders, underscores the protection of unlawful occupiers against arbitrary evictions, and confirms the SCA’s approach to reconsideration under s 17(2)(f) where procedural irregularities threaten the administration of justice.