South Africa Case Law

Koloko N.O v Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform & Rural Development and Others (LCC85/2020)

Koloko N.O v Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform & Rural Development and Others (LCC85/2020) [2022] ZALCC 39 (16 November 2022)

Court

Land Claims Court

Case number

LCC85/2020

Judges

Y S Meer, S S Luthuli

The court found that the plaintiff, as executor and direct descendant of the dispossessed owner, had locus standi to claim restitution. Oral testimony and documentary evidence, including the will and sworn statements, established the necessary lineage despite the absence of an unabridged birth certificate. Expert valuers agreed that physical restoration of Portion 9 was feasible and would not unduly disrupt current farming operations. The court determined that the compensation received at the time of dispossession was inadequate and that the current value of just and equitable compensation wa…

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• Restitution Of Land Rights Act
• Just And Equitable Compensation
• Feasibility Of Restoration
• Locus Standi
• Racial Dispossession
• Valuation Of Expropriated Land

Mavundlu Community v Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform and Others (LCC125/2008)

Mavundlu Community v Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform and Others (LCC125/2008) [2020] ZALCC 25 (25 May 2020)

Court

Land Claims Court

Case number

LCC125/2008

Judge

MP Canca

The applicant failed to prove that it constituted a 'community' as defined in the Restitution of Land Rights Act. The evidence, both oral and expert, established only that the claimants and their ancestors lived and worked on the land under the rules set by white farm owners, without shared rules determining access to land held in common. The dispossession described was not shown to be the result of racially discriminatory laws or practices, but rather due to failure to comply with farm owners' requirements. The applicant's expert evidence was found to be unreliable and insufficient. Conseque…

Source excerpt

• Restitution Of Land Rights Act
• Definition Of Community
• Racial Dispossession
• Costs In Constitutional Litigation
• Party And Party Costs
• Expert Evidence

Van der Merwe v The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights and Others (LCC183/2016)

Van der Merwe v The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights and Others (LCC183/2016) [2018] ZALCC 27 (12 December 2018)

Court

Land Claims Court

Case number

LCC183/2016

Judge

Meer

Review dismissed: the court found no evidence that the land claim dispossession resulted from a racially discriminatory law or practice.

• Restitution Of Land Rights Act
• Review Of Administrative Action
• Racial Dispossession
• Group Areas Act
• Compensation For Expropriation
• Restitution-of-land-rights

Qwabe-Waterfall Community v Minister of Rural Development and Land Affairs and Others (03/2014)

Qwabe-Waterfall Community v Minister of Rural Development and Land Affairs and Others (03/2014) [2018] ZALCC 15 (11 December 2018)

Court

Land Claims Court

Case number

03/2014

Judges

Bertelsmann, Sibeko

The Land Claims Court dismissed a broad restitution claim after finding no proven communal occupation or dispossession, and ordered punitive costs against the state defendants.

• Restitution Of Land Rights Act
• Community Definition
• Title Deeds Evidence
• Punitive Costs
• Racial Dispossession
• Expert Evidence

Mahlangu v Minister of Rural Development and Another (LCC08/2015)

Mahlangu v Minister of Rural Development and Another (LCC08/2015) [2017] ZALCC 15 (5 June 2017)

Court

Land Claims Court

Case number

LCC08/2015

Judges

Y S Meer, C Loots

The Land Claims Court held that a labour tenant was dispossessed by racially discriminatory labour-tenancy practices and ordered restoration of 11 hectares.

• Restitution Of Land Rights Act
• Labour Tenancy
• Racial Dispossession
• Beneficial Occupation
• Labour-tenancy
• Restitution-of-land-rights

Jacobs and Others v Department of Land Affairs and Others (LCC3/98)

Jacobs and Others v Department of Land Affairs and Others (LCC3/98) [2016] ZALCC 14; 2016 (5) SA 382 (LCC) (13 June 2016)

Court

Land Claims Court

Case number

LCC 3/98

Judges

Ngcukaitobi, Mpshe

The court found that the claimants, as direct descendants of Abraham and Elizabeth September, were dispossessed of rights in the farm Uap after 19 June 1913. Although the registration of title occurred in 1907, the September family continued to occupy and assert rights in the land until their forced eviction in 1921. The dispossession was facilitated by fraudulent conduct, exploitation of illiteracy, and official indifference, all underpinned by prevailing racial discrimination. The court held that the dispossession fell within the ambit of section 2(1)(c) of the Restitution Act and section 2…

Source excerpt

• Restitution Of Land Rights Act
• Section 25 Constitution
• Equitable Redress
• Racial Dispossession
• Beneficial Occupation
• Compensation Calculation