The interim court order granted by the Makhanda High Court to Border Kei Chamber of Business (BKCOB) as the first respondent and Civic Ratepayers Association of Enoch Mgijima (CRAEM) on February 17 against the Komani Protest Action Group (KPA) was made final on May 23.
The group was interdicted from, among others, interfering with the businesses affiliated with the first respondent or their employees, intimidating and/ or threatening or harassing employees or customers, causing or threatening to cause damage to any property of the applicants. The KPA was also interdicted from preventing vehicles or trucks of the applicants from traveling on any of the roads in Komani.
BKCOB vice chairman Pierre van Zyl, in his founding affidavit, said in a meeting with KPA on January 31 there was a proposed protest action by the KPA.
“There was a plan for KPA and those who support it to shut down Komani for a longer period. He (Van Zyl) negotiated that the shutdown should be for a shorter period due to the present economic climate. He was further assured that their members would be safe if they joined because the community members walking around with white armbands would protect any person in need of protection,” Van Zyl said in the case of the first applicant.
Van Zyl criticised the respondents in their “exercise of self-help and collective punishment” of business to force the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality to deliver services in circumstances where businesses were not at fault.
The respondents, KPA, opposed the application in an affidavit deposed to by Satch Naidoo.
Naidoo said there must be a balancing of rights between the protestors and those of businesses and their commercial interests.
“Our members visited all the business premises as a precautionary measure to ask them to close shops as a risk mitigation and to prevent possible acts of vandalism,” said Naidoo.
Judge Thandi Victoria Norman said KPA resisted the granting of the interdict on the basis that should a final interdict be granted the court would have elevated the rights of the few members of the community at the expense of the greater community who live below the poverty line.
“Having read the papers and having considered the submissions made by both counsel it appears to me that the respondents misconstrued the issue they were called upon to respond to. The issue is not about the respondents’ right to protest, which thy have argued extensively. The applicants’ source of complaint is the conduct of the respondents who, when engaging in a protest, threaten and/ or force businesses directly or indirectly to close and thus making it impossible for them to trade,” Norman said.
In her judgement, said Norman, “In the circumstances, I make the following order: 19.1 The Rule Nisi issued on February 17, 2023, is hereby confirmed. 19.2 The respondents are hereby ordered to pay 50% of the applicants’ costs of the application, jointly and severally, the one paying the other to be absolved.”
KPA leader Axolile Masiza said the judgement was expected as it was a political game by the chamber and EMLM.
“We are not shocked because when white people did nothing for this community, people took to the streets to embark on consumer boycotts which is no different to what we are experiencing and what we are about to do,” he said.
Asked if KPA was planning to embark on consumer boycotting, Masiza said: “Yes.”
