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Soweto community to lay criminal charges against City of Johannesburg officials

- Thuto Gabaphethe

Residents from Zondi in Soweto will be laying charges against City officials on 26 May 2024 after continued failures to implement a court order

Nine individuals will on Sunday, 26 May 2024 lay criminal contempt of court charges against City of Johannesburg’s City Manager, Executive Mayor and Head of Legal for Johannesburg Property Company. These contempt charges will be laid at the back of a 2018 Johannesburg High Court order directing the Municipality to install bulk-water and electricity infrastructure and the Municipality’s subsequent failures resulting in a 2021 contempt order being granted which they have also willfully failed to adhere to

The Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) represents a group of nine (9) individuals (our clients) who bought property in Zondi, Soweto through the Land Regularisation Programme between 2009 and 2014. The City of Johannesburg had failed to connect the necessary water and electricity infrastructure to enable our clients to effectively move into and develop their property. As a result of this failure, on 15 October 2018 an order directing the City of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Property Company to install the infrastructure and write-off rates and taxes debt due to our clients was granted in the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg.

On 10 December 2021, the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg again heard this matter after continuing failures to install the necessary infrastructure and declared that the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality and Johannesburg Property Company were in contempt of the 2018 order. The two and their delegated officials, Mr Tshepo Mokataka of Johannesburg Property Company and the City of Johannesburg Municipal Manager (The City Manager) were directed to file a report outlining the steps they had taken to effect the necessary installations and confirming the debts’ writing-off. This report was not filed in line with the stipulated timelines of the court and had not dealt in finality with the issues of installing infrastructure and writing-off debts.

Our clients and their families have not been able to occupy their properties despite some of them having finalised purchase agreements as early as 2015. Instead, they have since had their credit histories negatively affected as a result of the debt for property rates and have been forced to continue to pay rent and incur other related costs of the property even though they have not occupied it. Notwithstanding two court judgments, one of which is a contempt order, the City of Johannesburg has still not installed the infrastructure despite numerous efforts to engage with them and to seek compliance with the 2018 court order.

‘This case is in fact about dealing with the structural barriers to land and home ownership where many people are pushed to the margins. It is unfortunate that these barriers continue to be abetted by the City of Johannesburg officials’ says Thuto Gabaphethe for CALS’ Home, Land and Rural Democracy Programme. ‘The contempt of court granted in 2021 against the City of Johannesburg reiterated the Constitutional Court’s existing findings that when a court order is disobeyed, it is not only the parties named in the proceedings that must be held accountable but all those with knowledge of the order who aid and abet the continued disobedience of the order.’  

The nine individuals will approach the Johannesburg Central Police Station to lay criminal contempt charges against the following individuals:

  1. City Manager, Mr Floyd Brinks
  2. City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Mr Kabelo Gwamanda
  3. Johannesburg Property Company Head of Legal, Mr Tshepo Mokataka

Details: Johannesburg Central Police Station

              Sunday, 26 May 2024

              14:00

Read the Contempt of Court Judgement here. 

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