Lobby group the Observatory Civic Association (OCA), which is challenging the construction of US-based e-commerce giant Amazon’s headquarters in Observatory, Cape Town, is disappointed after the courts rescinded an interdict to halt development at the site.
Yesterday, GroundUp reported that an interdict granted in the Western Cape High Court earlier this year, which stopped development of the R4.6 billion River Club development, had been rescinded.
It says this was because it was obtained “through fraud”.
According to the report, judges Elizabeth Baartman, Hayley Slingers and James Lekhuleni ruled yesterday that Tauriq Jenkins, who purported to act on behalf of the indigenous Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council in the interdict application which was decided by Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath, “was determined to stop the development at all costs”.
The legal battle sought to permanently halt the construction of the Observatory-based River Club, which is owned and operated by the Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust.
The construction seeks to turn the treasured piece of land into a commercial and residential development, which is expected to house several companies, with US retail giant Amazon being the anchor tenant.
On the back foot
The members of the Liesbeek Action Campaign, also challenging the construction, are concerned the construction on the floodplain between the Black and Liesbeek rivers would lead to the land losing its historical significance and result in increased risk of flooding and environmental exploitation.
They also alleged illegal construction procedures were followed without the approval of all parties involved, in an attempt to hasten the building of the site.
The OCA had taken the developer to court on contempt of court, for resuming construction at the site, despite an urgent interdict granted in March halting the construction process.
Responding to the ruling, OCA tells ITWeb via e-mail that it is absolutely certain there was no fraud on the part of Jenkins during the entire process.
“The only fraud is the construction of false allegations against him. It is deeply unfortunate that he was unable to secure legal representation and was forced to represent himself in court, without his affidavit, which put him and the case at a huge disadvantage.
“His affidavit contained ample evidence to show the rescission application was unfounded and that the allegations of fraud were false. Unfortunately, his affidavit was not accepted by the court because it was handed in too late.”
The Liesbeek Action Campaign says it notes the decision by the full bench of the Western Cape High Court regarding the appeal revoking Judge Goliath’s interim interdict halting the re-development at the River Club, Cape Town (case 12994/2021), and the decision revoking high commissioner Jenkins’s authority to represent the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin indigenous Traditional Council (case 12339/2022).
“We are deeply disappointed at the outcome. We do not believe the facts put before the court enabled the court to make a fair judgement. Much of Tauriq Jenkins’s affidavit would have put paid to the arguments presented in court, but because his affidavit was late, it could not be accepted in the proceedings,” says Liesbeek Action Campaign in a statement.
“We believe this case is about the extraction of profit for a few at the expense of the voice of the majority of people of South Africa, indigenous people protecting their intangible heritage, environmental activists concerned about the impact of an inappropriate development on climate resilience and biodiversity protection, and social justice advocates concerned about manipulation of democratic processes of decision-making when it comes to development applications.
Standing firm
“The ready access to highly-paid legal teams has meant a civic organisation and an indigenous council have been outmanoeuvred in a play of lawfare.
“We are taking further legal advice on how best to proceed. We confirm our confidence in High Commissioner Tauriq Jenkins’s authentic leadership and have the evidence that he did not mislead the court during the review. It is deeply unfortunate that this evidence could not find a way into the court proceedings.
“We express our support for the genuine National Executive Council for the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Council who will be issuing their press release shortly.
“We stand by the 18 other First Nations councils and houses who have submitted sworn affidavits for the High Court review proceedings to confirm (a) that Tauriq Jenkins was correct in his reflection of their rejection of the development; (b) their deep spiritual and historical connections to the site and the failure of the developer to consult them over the development; and (c) the fact that they do not accept the measure taken by the developers sufficient to protect their intangible heritage.”
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