Limpopo Legal Solutions v Vhembe District Municipality and Others

Limpopo Legal Solutions, a voluntary non-profit organisation based in Limpopo, brought an urgent application in the Limpopo High Court on behalf of residents of Malamulele B, Extension 1. It sought declaratory and mandatory relief against Vhembe District Municipality, Thulamela Municipality and the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry for their alleged failure to provide adequate sanitation services. The applicant relied on constitutional and statutory duties of municipalities and alleged infringement of residents’ rights, including the right to dignity. The High Court struck the matter off the roll, holding that the application was not urgent, that the applicant lacked locus standi as it was not genuinely acting in the public interest, that there was non-compliance with section 35 of the General Law Amendment Act, and ordered the applicant to pay costs. The applicant sought leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court.

Leave to appeal was granted only in respect of the costs order. The appeal was upheld. The High Court’s costs order was set aside and replaced with an order that there be no order as to costs. The first respondent was ordered to pay the applicant’s costs in the Constitutional Court. Leave to appeal against the finding of non-urgency was refused.

The case reaffirms and clarifies the generous approach to standing under section 38(d) of the Constitution, particularly for public interest organisations acting on behalf of vulnerable communities. It also reinforces the application of the Biowatch principle, confirming that courts should be slow to award costs against litigants engaging the State in good-faith constitutional litigation.