Community of Grootkraal v Kobot Business Trusts

The Community of Grootkraal had, for generations, used a small portion of the farm Grootkraal near the Cango Caves outside Oudtshoorn for religious and community purposes. The use dated back to the mid-1800s following missionary activity by the London Missionary Society. A building erected by the community in the late nineteenth century was used as a church and, from about 1930 or 1931, also as a primary school. The property was later owned by the Kobot Business Trusts, which sought the eviction of the school and challenged the community’s continued use of the land. The Community claimed a public right of use based on immemorial user.

The appeal was upheld and the Registrar of Deeds was ordered to register a public servitude in favour of the Community of Grootkraal, entitling it to use the defined portion of the farm for a Christian church and related community purposes, including the operation of a school.

The case is significant for clarifying the application of the doctrine of immemorial user in South African property law, particularly in relation to public rights over private land. It confirms the presumption of lawful origin of such rights and places the onus on landowners to prove unlawfulness, thereby strengthening the protection of long-standing community land uses.