MINISTER OF DEFENCE AND SANDF GRANTED A SECOND OPPORTUNITY TO OBEY THE MARIEVALE COURT ORDER
Judge Norman Davis handed down judgment today in the Pretoria High Court, in the contempt application brought by Lawyers for Human Rights against the Minister of Defence, the Chief of the SA Army and the Officer Commanding Marievale base.
Judge Norman Davis began with a repetition of the introduction to the original judgment of 9 May 2018:
“This is yet another one of those cases where organs of State have allowed a situation to develop to a point where a court of law is called upon to address an issue concerning the social well-being and dignity of people.”
The court found that restoration of occupation as ordered in 9 May 2018 had not been done. Furthermore, with reference to the Constitutional Court judgment of Dladla, the court unequivocally declared that:
“…the segregation of family units by gender is unacceptable restoration or alternative occupation. It infringes on the [families’] rights to dignity, privacy and adequate temporary housing as protected in…the Constitution.”
The court granted an order which supplements that of 9 May 2018 by narrowing down the terms of compliance. In summation, upon identification of the evicted families entitled to return to the base, the Officer Commanding Marievale base must:
- within 5 days of the new order, provide a list of all the houses available to be occupied and allow such occupation;
- within 15 days of the new order, have the two bungalows partitioned into family units and allow occupation;
- within 60 days of the new order, provide all other outstanding families with adequate alternative accommodation in the base.
Compliance with each step must be reported to the Chief of the SA Army and the office of the Minister. Non-compliance with any step must be reported to and rectified accordingly by the Chief of the SA Army or the Minister.
The order of 9 May 2018, including the interdict regarding harassment, still stands.
“While the judgment confirms that there was no compliance with the court order of 9 May 2018, there was no finding of wilful or mala fide contempt against the Minister and the army generals. It is concerning that contempt of court orders, particularly by the state and state officials, have become increasingly common. It is also unfortunate that it had to be spelt out by the court for SANDF to understand what they were initially supposed to do.” – Thandeka Chauke, Land and Housing Unit, Lawyers for Human Rights.
For further details on the case, please contact:
Thandeka Chauke, Land and Housing Programme on 012 320 2943
OR Louise Du Plessis, Land and Housing Programme Manager on 012 320 2943