WATCH: SAHRC interdict denied at Durban High Court, matter struck off roll
The SAHRC court application has been struck off the roll and the commission slapped with costs for the application due to a lack of urgency.
THE South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has been denied an interim order it sought at the Durban High Court today to interdict March and March members from checking the identity documents of people seeking healthcare at government hospitals and clinics.
The matter was struck off the roll with costs to the Chapter Nine Institution due to a lack of urgency. Proceedings began at 12:00 today in the full to capacity courtroom after standing down in the morning, to argue the urgency of the matter brought forward by the SAHRC against 15 respondents, including the March and March, Operation Dudula, KZN MEC of Health, CEO of Addington Hospital, and the Minister of Home Affairs whose lawyer, Yogesh Hulasi, said they are seeking to verify the status of the complaints in the matter.
The SAHRC told the court that they started receiving complaints in August, and began monitoring the situation in September. March and March began their campaign of checking the identity documents of those seeking medical attention at Addington Hospital in July. Foreign nationals were denied entry by members of the civic organisation.
Time delays between filling the application were labelled as “dilly dallying” by March and March lawyer Griffiths Madonsela. This was also the argument of Operation Dudula lawyer Kgaogelo Maponya who said the SAHRC are “authors of their own demise and must fall on their own sword”.
Also Read: SAHRC takes March and March leaders to court
Throughout the proceedings the lawyers representing the 15 respondents asked for the matter to be adjourned to a later date, arguing that they were not given enough time to respond to a 260-page affidavit by the Commission.
“We ought to have been granted an unredacted copy of the affidavit,” said Maponya after the court heard that the names of the complainants were redacted in the copies of the affidavit given to the respondents.
He said, “We approached the applicants regarding an alternative date, because this matter is too complex for it to be heard in such a short time and their response was that ‘the complainants do not consent’. The three lawyers representing Operation Dudula asked for the costs to be paid by the “Commission which should be held to a higher standard of conduct as a Chapter Nine institution”.
@caxtonlocalmedia The urgent matter brought forward by the SAHRC to the Durban High Court against 15 respondents including the KZN MEC of Health, Minister of Police, Operation Dudula and March March is set to get underway 12:00 after an adjournment in the morning. #bereamail #durbannews #SAHRC #durbanhighcourt
Representing the SAHRC, Muhammad Zakaria Suleman pleaded with the court to rule in the Commission’s favour by granting an interim order to allow access to government healthcare facilities while waiting for the matter to be fleshed out at a later date. He said, “It’s not for March and March to do the job of law enforcement. Young children and sick mothers are being denied needed healthcare.”
The judge, however, was not swayed and denied the order before striking the matter off the roll. He said the SAHRC application was similar to ambushing the respondents and an abuse of the court in bringing the matter forward.
He said, “The heads of arguments could not be filed by the respondent and the application needed to be ventilated to be able to grant the interim order.” Outside court, jubilant March and March as well as Operation Dudula members sang and rejoiced at the news that they can continue their operation uninhibited.
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