Moutse Demarcation Forum case to be heard in the Constitutional Court, 10 March 2011

After a long absence from Court, the matter of the Moutse Demarcation Forum and others v. President of the Republic of South Africa and others (case number: CCT 40 / 2008) will be heard before the Constitutional Court tomorrow, Thursday 10 March 2011. 
 
Moutse is located near the present-day borders of Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. During the negotiations for province demarcations after South Africa’s transition to democracy, the community originally wished to be incorporated into Gauteng.   However, after negotiations with ANC officials, they were incorporated into Mpumalanga Province when the Constitution was adopted. 
 
After a restructuring process in the early 2000’s, however, they were again moved, this time to Limpopo Province in terms of the Constitution 12th Amendment Act of 2005. The applicants seek to declare this Act constitutionally invalid. 
 
The Moutse community has had a long history before the country’s courts, dating from the 1970’s when the Supreme Court of Appeal (then called the Appellate Division) found that their forced relocation from the Lebowa Homeland to the KwaNdebele Homeland was unlawful. The TRC found that forced removals in the 1980’s led to widespread political violence in the area. 
 
The community now seeks to use the democratic principles of our Constitution to argue that their relocation from Mpumalanga Province to Limpopo Province in 2005 was invalid on two grounds:
  • Firstly, that the decision to adopt the pre-existing Apartheid era boundary was irrational and splits a single human settlement; and

  • Secondly, that there was insufficient public participation in the decision to remove the community from Mpumalanga province. 

 
This matter was an application for direct access to the Constitutional Court due to the fact that it seeks to have a constitutional amendment act declared invalid. It is for this reason that there are no lower court judgments or records submitted to the Court. 
 
It should be recalled that this matter is not simply a question of preference or choice, but also addresses real issues of service delivery found in many communities across South Africa. The applicants have stated that the move to Limpopo has had a direct effect on the quality of service delivery, including education, water provision, health services and access to provincial government offices. 
 
LHR would like to thank Legal Aid South Africa for their ongoing financial support of this case and our clients. Members of the community will be present at Constitution Hill tomorrow in order to hear arguments presented in Court. 
 
For more information, please contact:
 
Jacob van Garderen                                                      David Cote
National Director                                                              Coordinator: Strategic Litigation Unit
Lawyers for Human Rights                                             Lawyers for Human Rights
012-320-2943 / 082-820-3960                                       012 320 2943 / 072-628-7698