- The Johannesburg High Court has ordered the mayor and city manager to appear in court.
- The case follows repeated failures to comply with court orders on emergency housing.
- Over 74 families continue to face eviction without lawful alternative accommodation.
The High Court has ordered the City of Joburg Mayor Dada Morero and municipal manager Floyd Brink to appear on 14 April 2026 to account for the metro’s failure to comply with multiple court orders requiring the provision of Temporary Emergency Accommodation to residents of the Electrons informal settlement.
The order follows an urgent application brought by more than 74 families living in the Electrons informal settlement in Unigray, near City Deep. The residents, represented by the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI), approached the court to halt their eviction and to compel compliance after the City failed to adhere to five previous court orders in the same matter.
In its latest order, the court directed the mayor and municipal manager to personally explain what steps the City has taken, or is taking, to provide Temporary Emergency Accommodation as required by a prior order dated 26 November 2025. The City has also been ordered to provide the specific address where the occupiers will be relocated and the logistics of the relocation process.
Repeated non-compliance with court orders
The press statement records that the occupiers have had to return to court six times in an effort to secure compliance with existing court orders.
It further describes the Electrons matter as one example of what is argued to be an emerging pattern by the City to fail to comply with court orders requiring it to provide Temporary Emergency Accommodation.
The statement refers to findings by the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry into the Usindiso Shelter fire, which addressed housing conditions in Johannesburg. The Commission stated, “It is unconscionable, almost 30 years after the Constitution was made law, that the quest for proper and affordable housing is growing without any sign of abating.”
The Commission encouraged the City to re-examine its budget allocation for Temporary Emergency Accommodation and affordable social housing. It also recommended the immediate provision of basic services, including refuse collection in bad buildings, and investment in infrastructure to support the Expanded Social Programme. According to the statement, these recommendations have not yet been implemented.
Contempt proceedings and compliance deadline
The continued failure to comply with court orders has resulted in a contempt of court application being brought against the City’s senior office bearers.
SERI director of litigation, Nkosinathi Sithole, stated, “This pattern of defiance, particularly towards the law, poses a serious threat to our constitutional democracy; the City and its office bearers need to do better.”
The statement calls on the mayor and municipal manager to use their court appearance to present “clear, concrete, and implementable steps” to comply with their legal obligations and to provide Temporary Emergency Accommodation to the residents by 30 April 2026, as ordered by the court.
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