{"id":52965,"date":"2022-07-26T11:48:34","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T09:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/window-very-narrow-for-counter-spoliation-20220725\/"},"modified":"2025-03-19T19:55:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T17:55:00","slug":"window-very-narrow-for-counter-spoliation-20220725","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/window-very-narrow-for-counter-spoliation-20220725\/","title":{"rendered":"Window very narrow for counter-spoliation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ward councillors across the city have been urged to encourage their constituents to immediately report any new signs of vagrancy or new structures being set up following a Western Cape High Court ruling last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday 19 July, the High Court ruled that a number of demolitions carried out by the City of Cape Town during the height of the Covid-19 lockdown were illegal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judges Vincent Saldanha, Mokgoatji Dolamo and Hayley Slingers declared the City\u2019s conduct while carrying out the evictions as \u201cunlawful\u201d and \u201cunconstitutional\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judges said that the City wrongly applied the remedy of \u201ccounter-spoliation\u201d<\/a> when it demolished shacks and evicted families from informal settlements during the lockdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putting a positive spin on the judgement, the City responded that it had \u201csuccessfully opposed the legal bid by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to strike down the existing legal right of landowners (counter-spoilation) to protect property from unlawful occupation attempts without a court order\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe court dismissed arguments by the SAHRC and EFF that legal protection begins the moment a person enters a property and begins putting up a structure, and that a court order should first be obtained before a landowner can act to stop an invasion of property in real-time,\u201d said a media statement released by the City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the judgment, however, the judges said counter-spoliation could only be used in limited circumstances and within narrow timeframes. For example, the judges said counter-spoilation would apply if pegs were just being put in the ground, not when the last wall or door was being put in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a message to ward councillors sent last week via email, JP Smith, Mayco member for safety and security, wrote that the court ruling was problematic in that it seeks to limit counter-spoliation to \u201cinstant\u201d action which, he said, is not defined. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is therefore important, now more than ever before, to report vagrancy and new tents\/structures being put up,\u201d said Smith, adding that the City was considering whether to appeal aspects of the court\u2019s interpretation of counter-spoliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with People\u2019s Post<\/em><\/span>, Smith warned that aspects of the judgment could set a dangerous precedent for all landowners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese specifically relate to the court interpreting counter-spoliation \u2013 the act of retaking property in the process of being taken away \u2013 as applicable in extremely narrow timeframes, equivalent to near instantaneous. This may render protection of immovable property via this method all but impossible in practice, especially in instances of well-organised illegal land invasions,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says the court\u2019s interpretation is that \u201cpeaceful and undisturbed possession\u201d happens the instant a structure is erected by the person attempting to unlawfully occupy land. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf a landowner does not retake the property in that very instant, they will likely lose it to unlawful occupation and need to apply for a court order via lengthy processes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the court case now having concluded, the City\u2019s enforcement staff can resume counter-spoliation and prevent new structures from being built, but only if they act swiftly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith said the City is currently in the process of looking at relevant legislation and how to apply enforcement interventions following the High Court ruling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018The Safety and Security Directorate, including the Anti-Land Invasion Unit, is currently being briefed on the enforcement implications of the court ruling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the City, it conducted 993 anti-land invasion operations in 2020\/21 during the height of the national lockdown and large-scale orchestrated illegal occupation attempts, which, the City said, led to the formation of some 159 settlements. Asked if the City would be prioritising addressing the settlements considered to represent \u201clarge-scale\u201d occupation in the upcoming months, Smith said all unlawfully occupied areas are under assessment and each way forward would be decided on merit, informed by a range of considerations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe City continues its assessments of all newly established unlawfully occupied areas and will decide on feasible ways forward as it pertains to each area that is on City-owned land. Private landowners would need to consider their own actions,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the message sent to ward councillors, Smith shared that existing structures still required an eviction order (the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe City\u2019s Safety and Security Directorate has drafted just less than 600 eviction applications for identified invaded sites and tented camps which we have handed to Legal Services,\u201d Smith wrote. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ward councillors across the city have been urged to encourage their constituents to immediately report any new signs of vagrancy or new structures being set up following a Western Cape High Court ruling last 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very narrow for counter-spoliation | People's Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/window-very-narrow-for-counter-spoliation-20220725\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Window very narrow for counter-spoliation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ward councillors across the city have been urged to encourage their constituents to immediately report any new signs of vagrancy or new structures being set up following a Western Cape High Court ruling last week.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/window-very-narrow-for-counter-spoliation-20220725\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"People's Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" 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tent city on an open field located on the corner of Gabriel and Bardia roads in Plumstead. The City has drafted just less than 600 eviction applications for indentified invaded sites and tented camps. 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