Constitutional Court hears appeal over Tafelberg site
A lengthy court battle ensued after Reclaim the City took the provincial government to task for selling the land in 2015 instead of using it for social housing.
Reclaim the City and Ndifuna Ukwazi protested at the Tafelberg site on 8 February 2025. Picture: @MKhalidSayed/X
CAPE TOWN - Housing activists Reclaim the City are battling the Western Cape government in the Constitutional Court on Tuesday to halt the administration's plans to redevelop the Tafelberg school site in Sea Point.
A lengthy court battle ensued after Reclaim the City took the provincial government to task for selling the land in 2015 instead of using it for social housing.
Reclaim the City is in the Constitutional Court to appeal a Supreme Court judgment -- which was handed down last year in favour of the Western Cape government.
READ: Reclaim the City disputes claims it invaded the Tafelberg site over the weekend
Reclaim the City is being represented by the lobby group Ndifuna Ukwazi.
It submits that this application raises important constitutional matters and issues of public importance.
The applicants said the province and the city failed to comply with their obligation, in terms of the constitution, to redress spatial apartheid in central Cape Town.
The Western Cape government recently announced a proposal to use the site for social services, with a portion earmarked for affordable housing.
Reclaim the City argued that people should be allowed to meaningfully participate in decisions about land.
Plans are underway to use the site for social services, with a portion earmarked for affordable housing.
Reclaim the City's legal arm, Ndifuna Ukwazi said the case highlights equitable access to housing on urban land.
"After eight years of litigation we argue before the highest court of the land that spatial apartheid must be redressed, and the Western Cape government has failed to fulfill its obligation to do so," said Ndifuna Ukwazi's attorney, Disha Govender.