- The High Court has ordered the Apostolic Faith Mission to restore possession of Building C to Dr Japie Jimmy La Poorta and Pastor Susan La Poorta.
- Judge Da Silva Salie found that the church unlawfully replaced the locks instead of letting the eviction case decide the dispute.
- The court said the church must give the couple a full set of keys within 48 hours and pay the legal costs.
The High Court in Cape Town has ordered the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa to let a pastor and his wife back into the church building they occupied after finding that the church unlawfully changed the locks without a court order.
On 21 August 2026, Judge G Da Silva Salie ruled that Dr Japie Jimmy La Poorta and Pastor Susan La Poorta had peaceful and undisturbed possession of Building C just before they were locked out. The judge granted an urgent spoliation order to restore their possession, but made it clear that a separate eviction case will decide whether they can stay there in the long term.
Church changed locks without a court order
The dispute centred on Building C, which is on church property. The La Poortas said they were still in possession, even though renovations had been temporarily paused.
The Apostolic Faith Mission and Sebastian Lucas argued that the couple only stayed there as employees or agents of a children's home. They claimed the building was vacant after renovations stopped, and that it belonged to the children's home rather than the applicants personally.
On 18 June 2026, the church removed the existing lock and put in new ones after saying the applicants failed to provide keys. Judge Da Silva Salie rejected the argument that the applicants could not claim spoliation just because of the role in which they occupied the building.
The judge said, "The enquiry in spoliation proceedings is concerned with factual possession immediately preceding the alleged dispossession, and not with the parties' respective rights or entitlement to possess or occupy the property."
Physical control was enough to establish possession
The court found that the key issue was not ownership or legal entitlement, but whether the couple had actual control of the building just before they were locked out.
Judge Da Silva Salie said the evidence showed they had barricaded the building, held the keys, and had physical control for a considerable time before the locks were replaced. "They clearly did," said the judge, referring to whether the applicants exercised possession of Building C.
The judge concluded that their relationship with the children's home did not change the actual situation before the lockout. "Before the locks were replaced, the applicants exercised sufficient physical control and possession over Building C to constitute peaceful and undisturbed possession."
Eviction case will decide occupation rights
The court made it clear that the urgent application did not decide who ultimately has the right to occupy the property. Eviction proceedings between the parties are already pending under a separate case number, and that process will decide whether the La Poortas can stay.
Judge Da Silva Salie said, "The respondents were not entitled to resort to self-help by depriving the applicants of their possession."
The court ordered the Apostolic Faith Mission and Lucas to restore possession right away, give the applicants a complete set of keys within 48 hours, and pay the costs of the urgent application on Scale C.
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