- Ekurhuleni Municipality must start building temporary homes for families displaced from the N12 settlement by 17 June 2026 and finish by 30 June 2026.
- Judge S D J Wilson found convincing evidence that residents were unlawfully evicted and their homes destroyed without a court order.
- The mayor and city manager must report back by 15 July 2026, as the court continues to oversee how the order is carried out.
Ekurhuleni Municipality faces a looming deadline to begin rebuilding temporary homes for hundreds of families displaced from the N12 settlement near Cloverdene in Benoni.
Judge SDJ Wilson has now explained why the court intervened to protect approximately 570 occupiers and their families, finding a strong prima facie case that residents were unlawfully evicted and their homes demolished without a court order.
The municipality was directed to erect temporary structures capable of housing the occupiers while their application for final relief is heard. Construction must commence by 17 June 2026 and be completed by 30 June 2026, although the dates may be varied on good cause shown.
The order also prohibits the municipality and other respondents from demolishing any structures at the settlement pending the final determination of the case. Residents must be allowed to return to the settlement immediately, and the municipality is barred from preventing or interfering with their reoccupation, whether or not the temporary structures have been completed.
Judge Wilson further directed the executive mayor and city manager to report back to the court by 15 July 2026 on the progress made in implementing the order. The court retained supervisory jurisdiction over the matter and ordered the municipality, mayor and city manager to pay the costs of the urgent application jointly and severally.
Settlement established after earlier unlawful removals
The Chief Albert Luthuli informal settlement, commonly known as the N12 settlement, was established following a Constitutional Court order in 2011.
Residents had originally been removed from land in Bapsfontein under a disaster management directive. The Constitutional Court later found that the removals were unlawful because they took place without a court order. Instead of ordering the residents back to Bapsfontein, the Constitutional Court directed Ekurhuleni to provide alternative land and services pending permanent housing.
Those residents were relocated to the N12 settlement, where many remained for the next 15 years. Although fewer than 800 people were originally moved there, the settlement eventually grew to nearly 2 000 dwellings as permanent housing never materialised.
Evidence pointed to unlawful evictions
According to the applicants, security personnel, police officers and members of the armed forces evicted residents and demolished homes at the settlement between 6 and 15 May 2026.
The municipality relied on Operation Prosper and documentation from the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to justify its actions. Judge Wilson found that neither provided authority for demolitions nor evictions.
Judge Wilson wrote, “Nothing in the notice, or in the documents from GDARD placed before me, authorised the demolition of the N12 settlement… Evictions from and demolitions of a person’s home may only take place where authorised by an order of court made after considering all the relevant circumstances.”
The court heard evidence from residents who described losing homes, belongings and important personal documents during the demolitions.
Jane Mmabatho, who had lived at the settlement for 15 years after being relocated from Bapsfontein, told the court that her home was destroyed with furniture and personal documents still inside. Ceroline Mphuthi, 71, said her home was demolished in front of her and that she had been left sleeping outside.
David Mtshali, a legal officer with the South African Human Rights Commission, described seeing residents attempting to salvage belongings from demolished structures and observing people living without shelter in difficult conditions.
Photographs submitted to the court showed rubble, destroyed structures and vacant stands where homes had previously stood.
Municipality’s version failed to convince
The municipality denied carrying out unlawful evictions and maintained that it had merely participated in crime-fighting operations aimed at illegal mining activity.
Judge Wilson was critical of the municipality’s evidence, noting that the official who deposed to the answering affidavit did not claim to have personally witnessed the events and that no eyewitness evidence was produced to contradict the applicants’ version.
The judgment found that the detailed accounts provided by residents and Human Rights Commission officials remained largely unanswered.
Judge Wilson found, “The applicants’ claim that the respondents illegally evicted 2000 people between 6 and 15 May 2026 is both compelling and substantially unanswered.”
The court also rejected the municipality’s proposal that residents should first undergo a verification process before being allowed to return. Judge Wilson accepted that the occupiers’ list compiled by the Human Rights Commission appeared to have been prepared in good faith and concluded that a further verification exercise would only delay urgently needed relief.
Court supervision justified
Judge Wilson found that the occupiers had established a strong prima facie right to relief and that the balance of convenience overwhelmingly favoured them.
Judge Wilson held, “The harm caused by the occupiers’ eviction and their continued homelessness was clear and plainly irreparable.”
The court found no effective alternative remedy available to the occupiers and concluded that urgent intervention was necessary.
Judge Wilson also expressed concern about the apparent constitutional implications of the municipality’s conduct.
The judgment records, “The municipality appears to have learned nothing from what the Constitutional Court had to say” in the earlier litigation involving the same community. “The municipality has repeated the same egregious insults to the occupiers’ dignity that it inflicted a decade and a half ago,” it said.
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