- Water reconnected at Children’s Memorial Institute after urgent court order.
- City and Johannesburg Water acted unlawfully by cutting supply without proper notice.
- NGOs, school and state departments instructed to resolve billing and restore dignity.
Water is flowing once again at the Children’s Memorial Institute in Braampark, Johannesburg. This follows an urgent South Gauteng High Court order restoring supply after a disconnection that left 23 non-governmental organisations, a public school and a state health facility without water for over a month.
On 15 July 2025, the High Court handed down an order compelling Johannesburg Water and the City of Johannesburg to reconnect water services to the property at 13 Joubert Street, Parktown, within 48 hours. Judge Mudunwazi Makamu further instructed the parties to engage in a statement and debatement of account and held the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development, as the registered owner of the property, responsible for facilitating a division of accounts by 1 August.
The case was brought by SECTION27, representing the Children’s Memorial Institute and its occupants. The ruling ends a prolonged period of hardship in which some of the city’s most vulnerable residents and the organisations supporting them were left without water. The Institute is home to 23 NGOs offering psychosocial support for underprivileged children, counselling and rehabilitative therapy, services for children with disabilities and a home of safety for survivors of abuse.
Disconnection without warning
On 14 June 2025, Johannesburg Water and the City of Johannesburg disconnected the property’s water supply. According to court papers, the disconnection occurred without following the proper procedures outlined in section 62 of the City’s by-laws. No individual notices were issued to the NGOs or other occupants. Instead, the City relied on a pre-termination notice attached to the department’s municipal account.
The department is the registered owner of the building. In addition to the NGOs, the building is occupied by the School of Autism, a public school, and Charlotte Maxeke’s laundry services. Both fall under the responsibility of the Gauteng Department of Education and the Gauteng Department of Health respectively. Despite multiple attempts to resolve the matter with the GDID and the City, the affected organisations were left in limbo and ultimately forced to seek legal relief.
On 8 July 2025, SECTION27 approached the Johannesburg High Court for urgent intervention. The applicants sought an immediate reconnection of water and an interdict preventing the City and Johannesburg Water from terminating services again without following lawful procedures.
Rights recognised, urgency condoned
The court granted urgency in terms of Rule 6(12), recognising the serious public health risks and human rights implications of the disconnection. Judge Makamu found that the termination of services, absent proper notice to the affected users, was procedurally and substantively flawed.
The judgment ordered Johannesburg Water and the City to restore water supply within 48 hours. More than a legal instruction, the order signalled a constitutional imperative to protect human dignity and the right to basic services, especially where institutions of care are involved.
Structural failure meets judicial oversight
In a rare but necessary move, the court imposed further obligations to prevent recurrence. The parties are required to hold a statement and debatement of account within 15 days to reconcile billing, understand liability and prevent disputed charges from escalating into disconnections.
The department was instructed to take the lead in dividing the accounts from 1 August 2025 onward, ensuring each tenant is billed fairly based on their usage and responsibility. To enforce accountability, the department must file a report under oath within 14 days confirming whether this facilitation has taken place. If not, it must explain why.
Until the accounting process is complete, the City and Johannesburg Water must suspend billing related to the property.
Justice grounded in service, not confrontation
The court made no order as to costs. This approach reflects a commitment to cooperative governance and the understanding that litigation of this nature is in the public interest. The judgment pivots away from adversarial logic and toward collaborative resolution.
SECTION27 and the Children’s Memorial Institute have welcomed the ruling, calling it a reprieve for the 23 NGOs now able to resume their critical work in hygienic and dignified conditions. The organisations, which were previously unable to deliver services effectively, can once again operate with the professionalism their beneficiaries deserve.
Conviction.co.za
Get your news on the go. Click here to follow the Conviction WhatsApp channel.
