Court orders city to rebuild unlawfully demolished houses in Alex
More than a month after homes were torn down in Alexandra, allegedly without a court order, the Johannesburg High Court has ordered the City of Johannesburg and City Power to rebuild them.
Over a month after demolishing homes in Alexandra, the City of Johannesburg and City Power have been ordered by the Johannesburg High Court to reconstruct the affected homes.
The court found that the demolitions, which left several families homeless and without alternative accommodation in August, were carried out without a court order.
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Khululiwe Sithole, senior legal officer at the South African Human Rights Commission’s Gauteng office, said, on eNCA during the commission’s site inspection in the area at the time, their attempts to engage with councillor Tefo Raphadu were rebuffed.
“He told us he was doing his job and the Human Rights Commission should do its job.”
She said they then sent a letter to both the City of Johannesburg and City Power requesting a halt to further demolitions and proof of legal authority for demolitions already conducted.
Sithole said they received no response. She explained that this left residents with no choice but to turn to the high court for urgent relief.
“What we do have, in our jurisprudence, is a clear right to housing, and a clear right not to have your home demolished without a court order.”
Sithole cited a previous ruling of the Supreme Court of Appeal, noting that once the first of four poles of a house are up, there is need to obtain a court order to proceed with demolition.
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She noted that the affected residents had occupied the place since 2017, yet the city went ahead to demolition their structures without a court order.
Sithole claimed that more demolitions were looming, but they were interdicted from carrying out demolition in the absence of a court order.
“Nothing says they can’t demolish if there is a need, but a court must authorise that demolition as required by the law.”
The demolitions took place near the intersection of Far East Bank Drive and Shibobo Drive, where homes were built near City Power’s electricity servitudes.
Raphadu and City Power argued that the structures obstructed access to underground cables, leaving parts of Ext 7 without electricity for nearly three months.
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