Dew Crisp Properties (Pty) Ltd v Regional Land Claims Commissioner, Gauteng Province and Another

The applicant, Dew Crisp Properties (Pty) Ltd, owned Portion 127 of the Farm Rietfontein 21 IR. The second respondent, Mr Meshack Mduduzi Shabangu, lodged a restitution claim in 1998 under the Restitution of Land Claims Act 22 of 1994, initially describing the land incorrectly. In 2014, after a site inspection and GPS verification, the claim was amended to reflect the correct property description, being land owned by the applicant. The Regional Land Claims Commissioner, Gauteng Province, approved condonation for the improperly described claim and published a notice in the Government Gazette in March 2015 in terms of section 11(1) of the Act. The applicant objected and made representations under section 11A, arguing that the claimant had already benefited from another claim, that the land description was inconsistent, and that there was no dispossession due to racially discriminatory laws. When the Commissioner did not withdraw the notice, the applicant sought judicial review under PAJA to set aside the publication decision.

The application for review was dismissed. No order as to costs was made.

This case reaffirms the limited, preliminary nature of the Regional Land Claims Commissioner’s role at the section 11 stage of the restitution process. It clarifies that the Commissioner is not required, and indeed is not empowered, to adjudicate the merits of a restitution claim before gazetting it. The judgment underscores the low threshold for publication of claims and protects access to the restitution process by preventing overly technical or merits-based challenges at an early stage.