LexiSA Case Watch
Real SA judgments, explained twice
Every post here is a real, newsworthy South African judgment — never a hypothetical. Each one is broken down twice: the legal principle for lawyers and law students, and the plain-language takeaway for anyone affected by it. Sourced from SAFLII and South African news reporting, with a source link on every post so you can verify it yourself.
ConCourt to Cape Town: where you build housing is a constitutional question
Adonisi and Others v Minister for Transport and Public Works, Western Cape and Others; Minister of Human Settlements and Another v Minister for Transport and Public Works, Western Cape and Others — Constitutional Court
The Western Cape Provincial Government sold the vacant Tafelberg site in Sea Point — one of the best-located pieces of publicly owned land in Cape Town — to the Phyllis Jowell Jewish Day School for R135 million, rather than releasing it for affordable housing. A nurse, Thozama Adonisi, backed by Reclaim the City and Ndifuna Ukwazi, challenged the sale. The Western Cape High Court set it aside in 2020; the Supreme Court of Appeal reversed that in 2024. The Constitutional Court, in a unanimous judgment by Mhlantla J, has now restored the outcome: the disposal was unlawful, the Province failed to meaningfully engage the public before selling, and both the Province and the City breached their constitutional housing obligations in the Cape Town CBD and Sea Point.
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Evicting people isn't just about shelter — the SCA says livelihood matters too
City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality and Others v Occupiers of Portion 9 of the Farm Randjesfontein — Supreme Court of Appeal
The City of Johannesburg appealed a High Court order requiring it to provide temporary emergency accommodation for a group of waste-picker occupiers, in a location that would let them continue their waste-collection work. The SCA dismissed the City's appeal.
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