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2023

  • SERI welcomes the commencement of the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry into Usindiso Building fire (27 October 2023). On 26 October 2023, the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry into the fire at the Usindiso Shelter in Marshalltown commenced. The fire on 31 August 2023 claimed the lives of over 70 people and left hundreds more injured and destitute. The Commission of Inquiry was established by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi to inquire into the circumstances of the fire that caused these deaths and injuries and the prevalence of ‘hijacked buildings’ in the inner city of Johannesburg. The Commission has also been tasked with making findings about who should be held responsible and to draw lessons from the incident, considering the ongoing investigations carried out by the police and other bodies. The Commission will make recommendations about appropriate steps that must be taken and by whom and it has been given six months to complete its work. The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) welcomes the commencement of the Commission of Inquiry. We have placed on record our intention to participate and will also act as legal representatives for the Inner City Federation (ICF) in their participation at the Commission. The former residents of the Usindiso shelter and victims of the fire will be represented by Norton Rose Attorneys. (17 November 2022). >> Read the full statement here.
  • City of Johannesburg’s wake up call: fire at Usindiso Shelter for Women and  Children (31 August 2023). This morning Johannesburg residents woke up to the devastating news that upwards of fifty lives have been lost in a fire in an inner city building owned by the municipality. SERI deeply regrets the rising loss of lives and we express our condolences to the families of the deceased residents. We wish a speedy recovery to those in hospital. The building, known as Usindiso Shelter for Women and Children, was operating as a shelter for abused women and children until its neglect by the City, resulting in the building falling into disrepair and what the City refers to as its “hijacking”. Unfortunately, the fire at the Usindiso shelter is an example of how the City deals with its shelters, which are occupied by many of Johannesburg’s poorest and most vulnerable residents. The conditions of the shelters and transitional housing need to be urgently improved and people living in them need access to basic services. >> Read the full statement here.
  • Marikana: Response to Solicitor General's Media Briefing (18 August 2023). On 17 August 2023, Solicitor General Fhedzisani Pandelani provided an update on the civil claims paid to the victims of the Marikana Massacre in a media briefing. It is unfortunate that in the briefing he made various factually inaccurate comments concerning the claims of the deceased miners’ families. The briefing further characterised the families as unreasonable and opportunistic. Such misrepresentation undermines SERI’s ongoing attempts to constructively engage with the Office of the Solicitor General. The Solicitor General appears either to be unaware of the nature and process relating to the families’ long outstanding claims or is unfortunately wilfully misrepresenting the position. >> Read the full statement here. 
  • 11 years later: The victims of the Marikana Massacre still await justice (10 August 2023). On 10 August 2012, mineworkers at what was then the Lonmin plc platinum mine, now Sibanye Stillwater, gathered to bring their grievances about their wages and working conditions to the attention of the mine’s management. Before the miners could reach Lonmin’s offices, they were stopped by the South African Police Service and the mine’s security guards. Despite their attempts to engage with management, Lonmin refused to communicate with the miners outside of the official trade union channels, which was the majority trade union, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) at the time. Consequently, the miners decided to go on strike. Over the days that followed, 44 people would be killed including 34 miners who were shot and killed by the police on 16 August 2012 – a day now remembered as the Marikana Massacre. >> Read the full statement here. 
  • SERI condemns police use of excessive force against Slovo Park protestors (1 August 2023). SERI condemns the indiscriminate violence and excessive force used by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the ongoing protest in Slovo Park. On 31 July 2023, SERI learned that 16-year-old Karabo Chaka was killed after he was allegedly shot in the back of the head by the police in the Slovo Park informal settlement in the south of Johannesburg. This incident occurred during the community’s protest to draw attention to the lack of water and sanitation delivery in the settlement and a stalled informal settlement upgrading process. As part of the protest, residents blocked the N12 highway and in response, the police resorted to firing rubber bullets and tear gas into the informal settlement and pursuing fleeing protesters. >> Read the full statement here. 
  • Durban Magistrate's Court reaches guilty verdict in Ayanda Ngila's murder trial (19 July 2023). On Monday, 17 July 2023, Khayalihle Gwabuzela (known as Khaya Ngubane) was found guilty of the murder of Ayanda Ngila, deputy chairperson of Abahlali baseMjondolo’s eKhenana branch. The Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) welcomes the Court’s decision as a significant step towards achieving justice and fostering healing for the family of Ayanda Ngila, as well as for the entire eKhenana Commune and the Abahlali baseMjondolo movement. Khaya Ngubane’s sentencing has been set down for 24 July 2023. Ayanda Ngila was the first of four Abahlali baseMjondolo members killed in 2022, during a wave of repression targeted at the movement. >> Read the full statement here. 
  • SERI stands in solidarity with imprisoned Vietnamese lawyer, Mr. Bach and calls for his release  (27 June 2023). Saturday, 24 June 2023 marked two years since Vietnam's leading environmental lawyer, Dang Dinh Bach ("Bach"), was wrongly imprisoned just two weeks after his son was born, due to his leadership in the anti-coal movement. Bach is a highly respected environmental justice lawyer in Vietnam who has dedicated his life to advocating for the health and well-being of marginalised communities throughout the country. He was arrested after leading a campaign to reduce Vietnam’s reliance on coal. The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) stands in solidarity with Mr. Bach and joins the international human rights community in calling for his immediate release. >> Read the full statement here. 
  • SERI condemns unlawful raids and war on the poor by City of Johannesburg’s Acting Mayor (16 May 2023). On Monday, 15 May 2023, the Acting Mayor of Johannesburg, Kenny Kunene and his team raided buildings in Johannesburg. During these unlawful raids, the team conducted searches, threatened to evict residents and were recorded demolishing one building in Windsor East all without any authorising court order. SERI is appalled by the recent actions and approach of the City of Johannesburg under the leadership of Acting Mayor which are targeted at poor people living in the inner city.  At a time when the City is grappling with numerous challenges, it is disconcerting that the primary focus of the new Acting Mayor is to subject vulnerable communities to unconstitutional conduct that violate their fundamental rights to dignity and privacy.  >> Read the full statement here. 
  • Cape Town inner city occupiers oppose eviction by the municipality (21 April 2023). On Wednesday, 19 April 2023, SERI appeared in the Cape Town High Court on behalf of occupiers of the Cape Town inner city to oppose their eviction by the Municipality. The occupiers approached SERI to oppose the imminent eviction from their homes, and to ensure that the eviction is just and equitable. The occupiers are homeless people occupying several locations in ­the Central Business District. >> Read the full statement here. 
  • SERI remembers Mthokozisi Ntumba and Abahlali's Ayanda Ngila and Siyabonga Manqele (21 March 2023). On this Human Rights Day, we remember three lives lost and lament the conditions that led to these recent deaths. This month marks the second anniversary of Mthokozisi Ntumba’s killing on 10 March 2021 and the first anniversaries of Abahlali baseMjondolo’s Ayanda Ngila and Siyabonga Manqele, who were killed on 8 and 11 March 2022, respectively. Human Rights Day is a public holiday that marks the 1960 Sharpeville massacre in which 69 people were killed and 180 people were injured protesting the unjust pass laws of the apartheid regime. Decades later, Ntumba and Manqele’s deaths are the result of reckless and overzealous policing for which justice remains scarce. Ngila’s death stands as a symbol of the brutal struggles for land nearly 30 years into South Africa’s constitutional democracy. The lives of Mthokozisi Ntumba, Ayanda Ngila and Siyabonga Manqele cannot be forgotten. Justice and accountability are urgently required. >> Read the full statement here. 

2022

  • Two years after Constitutional Court victory, domestic workers are yet to attain justice (24 November 2022). Saturday 19 November 2022 marked the second anniversary since the Constitutional Court handed down a significant judgment in Mahlangu v Minister of Labour, compelling the inclusion of domestic workers in legislation aimed at protecting workers. On Wednesday 30 November 2022, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) and the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) will host the second annual dialogue reflecting on the status of domestic work in South Africa in the wake of the Constitutional Court judgment. It will bring together domestic workers, government, civil society and private actors in conversation about key issues in the sector and the future of domestic work. >> Read the full statement here.
  • Yolanda Dyantyi matter to be heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal (18 February 2022). On Monday, 21 February 2022, the Supreme Court of Appeal will hear the matter of Yolanda Dyantyi v Rhodes University and others. In this matter, Ms Dyantyi will appeal the decision of the Grahamstown High Court to dismiss her review application and set aside the outcome of a disciplinary hearing process instituted by Rhodes University in March 2017. >> Read the full statement here.
  • Domestic workers finally entitled to 100% of national minimum wage (17 February 2022). Last week, Minister for Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi announced the National Minimum Wage increase for 2022, including the announcement that domestic workers will be entitled to 100% of the national minimum wage. From 1 March 2022, employers, including employers of domestic workers, will be required to pay their employees a minimum of R23, 19 per hour, which translates to approximately R4019, 57 per month for domestic workers who work 40 hours a week and R4522, 02 for workers who work 45 hours a week.[1]Until now, a lower minimum wage rate was imposed on domestic workers, who earned 75% of the national minimum wage in 2019 and 2020; and 88% in 2021. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI condemns the victimisation of Informal Traders through Operation “Dubula” (15 February 2022). The devastating impact of the pandemic in the past two years has seen people from all walks of life being pushed into poverty. The informal sector continues to face the harsh reality of economic and political woes. In recent weeks the informal sector, which was the hardest hit by the prolonged lockdown compounded by policy neglect, is now being subjected to unlawful, discriminatory, and politically motivated conduct orchestrated by some political parties under the pretext of protecting employment for vulnerable South Africans. SERI strongly condemns the political point scoring on migration which resulted in the violent breaches of the rights guaranteed by the South African Constitution to everyone within its borders. >> Read the full statement here.
  • The Supreme Court of Appeal Finds in Yolanda Dyantyi’s favour (29 March 2022). Today, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has upheld Yolanda Dyantyi’s appeal against the Grahamstown High Court decision to dismiss her review application. The SCA accordingly set aside the outcome of a disciplinary hearing process instituted by Rhodes University in March 2017. Ms Dyantyi was found guilty of committing kidnapping, assault, insubordination and defamation during the #RUReference List protests in April 2016. She was permanently excluded from the University and interdicted from attending the University for any purpose from November 2017. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI launches Magistrate's Court report on the implementation on evictions law (22 March 2022). On Wednesday, 23 March 2022, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) will launch the first output in its Just and Equitable? Evictions Research Series. The series is concerned with the way in which the courts adjudicated evictions in the Johannesburg inner city between 2013 and 2018. It aims to review the courts’ implementation of relevant legislation (such as Section 26(3) of the Constitution and the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 (the PIE Act)) and case law. In addition, the series maps the spatial distribution of evictions to highlight any wards in the inner city that face particular vulnerability. The first research report in the series is entitled An analysis of eviction cases in the Johannesburg Central Magistrate’s Court and their compliance with the law. It analyses eviction cases in 12 wards in the inner city of Johannesburg and its immediate periphery litigated at the Johannesburg Central Magistrate’s Court between 2013 and 2018 and asks whether eviction applications have been examined through the just and equitable lens, as the legislation requires. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI launches application to overturn prohibition of Johannesburg Anti-xenophobia march (19 March 2022). SERI acts for Kopanang African Against Xenophobia (KAAX), an anti-xenophobia movement. In response to the recent surge in xenophobic movements and rhetoric, KAAX organized a series of national marches scheduled to take place on Human Rights Day, 21 March, to express a public rejection of xenophobia.  KAAX sees the growing xenophobic rhetoric and activities as inimical to the Constitution and a threat to already marginalised groups in society. The marches in other urban centres are going ahead on Human Rights Day. However, on 17 March 2022, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) prohibited the Johannesburg march, despite KAAX’s adherence to the notification process stipulated under the Regulation of Gatherings Act 205 of 1993 (RGA). The main reasons for prohibiting the march appear to be that other groups, such as Operation Dudula, pose a threat to those intending to march against xenophobia and because one such group has issued fake pamphlets relating to KAAX’s planned march to mislead the public regarding the purpose of the march. KAAX has previously issued statements identifying and disclaiming the fake pamphlet.  >> Read the full statement here.
  • Mthokozisi Ntumba's one year anniversary (10 March 2022). Today marks a year since the police killing of Mthokozisi Ntumba in Braamfontein. On 10 March 2021, police responded to student protests at the University of the Witwatersrand about rising student debt and financial exclusion at the university. To disperse the protest, police resorted to firing rubber bullets at students, using water cannons, tear gas and stun grenades. Mr Ntumba was shot and killed in an incident where the police pursued students into Braamfontein and fired rubber bullets indiscriminately into crowds. Mr Ntumba, who was leaving doctors’ rooms and was not involved in the protests, was fatally wounded. One year later, SERI remembers Mr Ntumba and remains outraged that his death was completely avoidable. >> Read the full statement here.
  • Abahlali baseMjondolo suffers another assassination in eKhenana settlement (9 March 2022). Abahlali baseMjondolo have reported that their member, Ayanda Ngila, was shot and killed on the afternoon of Tuesday 8 March at the eKhenana settlement. His death is yet another devastating blow to Abahlali and the residents of eKhenana. This comes after a year of intensified harassment: unlawful evictions, arbitrary arrests, unfounded prosecutions, violence and assassinations targeted at the settlement and its residents. Since 2018, Abahlali have lost six members in eKhenana to targeted assassinations. SERI is deeply saddened by this loss and extends its heartfelt condolences to Mr Ngila’s loved ones and to the movement for which he lost his life. >> Read the full statement here.
  • Constitutional Court affirms the right to protest (2 March 2022). On 1 March 2022, the Constitutional Court of South Africa handed down its judgment in the matter of Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural & Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU) and Others v Oak Valley Estates (Pty) Limited and Another. In this matter, the Court was asked to consider if a court can grant an interdict against a group of respondents when an applicant fails to link each of the respondents to the alleged or threatened unlawful conduct. SERI represents CSAAWU and 173 workers who sought to oppose an overbroad interdict prohibiting CSAAWU, striking workers, and unknown persons from protesting at Oak Valley Estates, a large farming estate in Grabouw, Western Cape. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI devastated by shooting of community mobiliser – Petronella Baloyi (27 May 2022). In the early hours of Wednesday, 25 May 2022, Petronella Baloyi, a community leader, was shot and killed in her home at the Rugby Club informal settlement located in Florida, in the Westrand region of Gauteng. According to reports, Baloyi was at home with her husband and extended family when (an) armed person(s) made their way into the property, fired shots, and fled. Petronella and her husband were fatally wounded and succumbed to their injuries in the early hours of Wednesday, 25 May 2022. It is reported that two further fatalities were sustained among her extended family. Petronella leaves behind her two children and extended family. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI devastated by murder of Abahlali baseMjondolo's Nokuthula Mabaso (10 May 2022). On the evening of 5 May 2022, Abahlali baseMjondolo’s Nokuthula Mabaso was shot and killed in the eKhenana informal settlement in Cato Manor, Durban. According to Abahlali baseMjondolo, Mabaso was on her way home from a meeting when she was shot five times in front of her children. Earlier this year, in March 2022, she was witness to the killing of Ayanda Ngila. Since 2018, Abahlali baseMjondolo has lost at least seven of its members in eKhenana to targeted assassinations. >> Read the full statement here.
  • The excessive use of force: We demand accountability for Mthokozisi Ntumba (7 July 2022). Last year, on 10 March 2021, police shot and killed Mthokozisi Ntumba when they responded to student protests at the University of the Witwatersrand. Mr Ntumba had just left doctors’ rooms and was not involved in the protests. On Tuesday 5 July, the Johannesburg High Court acquitted the four police officers accused after they brought a Section 174 application in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 finding that the state has failed to provide evidence that they committed the offence. South African Police Services officers Tshepisho Kekana, Boitumelo Cidraas Motseothatha, Joseph Madimetja Legodi, and Nkosinathi Victor Mohammed were charged with the murder of Mr Ntumba and attempted murder of three other people. SERI is deeply disappointed in this outcome and demands accountability for Mr Ntumba and his family. >> Read the full statement here.
  • Johannesburg High Court dismisses PRASA’s application to cease informal trade at Park Station (12 July 2022). On Monday, 11 July 2022, the local division of the Gauteng Division of the High Court dismissed an application by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) brought on an urgent basis to interdict the informal traders trading in and around its premises located between the Johannesburg Central Business District and Braamfontein, in the enclave surrounded by Rissik, Wolmarans, Wanderers, and Noord Streets. >> Read the full statement here.
  • City of Johannesburg MMC Mbundu reinvents operation “clean sweep” in breach of the Constitutional Court’s order (27 July 2022). In the early hours of 19 July 2022, informal traders trading at De Villiers trading precinct inclusive of Plein, Twist, Joubert, Eloff and King George Streets, were welcomed by the overwhelming presence of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (“JMPD”). They were informed that Mr Nkululeko Mbundu, a Member of the Mayoral Committee for Economic Development (“MMC”), had given an order for the prohibition of their trade. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI mourns the death of eKhenana Commune Chairperson Lindokuhle Mnguni (20 August 2022). Abahlali baseMjondolo has reported that Lindokuhle Mnguni, Chairperson of the eKhenana Commune, has been killed. He was shot in the early hours of Saturday morning, 20 August 2022. Mnguni is the third leader to be killed in eKhenana this year alone and the eighth to be killed since 2018. In March, eKhenana’s Ayanda Ngila was murdered and in May, Nokuthula Mabaso was also murdered. Mnguni had narrowly escaped harm when Ayanda Ngila was shot on 8 March 2022 but he, too, has now been assassinated. >> Read the full statement here.
  • Ten years since the Marikana massacre (19 August 2022). On Tuesday, 16 August 2022, South Africa marked the tenth anniversary of the Marikana massacre. Over the past week and throughout the month of August, numerous events will be held in remembrance of the Marikana massacre. The 16th of August 2012 was the culmination of a strike that was started by rockdrillers at the then Lonmin mine in Marikana, North West Province. Between the 12th and 14th of August, ten people were killed including two security guards, three non-striking mineworkers, two police officers, and three striking mineworkers. On the 16th of August, 34 mineworkers were killed by the police. In the days that followed, more people lost their lives as the consequences of the strike and massacre continued to be felt. Over the past ten years, SERI has represented the families of 36 mineworkers who were killed on the 13th and 16th of August 2022. About 78 mineworkers were injured and about 259 were arrested. >> Read the full statement here.
  • The City of Johannesburg's incitement of violence against SERI and its staff (1 August 2022). On 28 July 2022, the South African Informal Traders Forum (SAITF), represented by the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI), urgently applied to the Gauteng Local Division of the High Court, Johannesburg to reverse the illegal eviction of 400 informal traders from the De Villiers trading precinct, situated on De Villiers, Plein, Twist, Joubert, Eloff and King George Streets. The Court issued an order allowing the traders to return to their stalls. The City of Johannesburg consented to that order. The text of the order was based on the City’s own proposals. The order was executed that afternoon, when SERI’s clients returned to their stalls. >> Read the full statement here.
  • Civil society calls for urgent national intervention to protect Abahlali baseMjondolo (14 September 2022). On Friday, 9 September 2022, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) sent a letter concerning the ongoing attacks on Abahlali baseMjondolo to various members of the South African executive and legislature, as well as commissioners of regional and international human rights organisations. The letter received the endorsement of over 140 civil society organisations and individuals and called for urgent intervention to protect these activists from further harm. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI, Abahlali baseMjondolo and the Forge to launch new publication in the Jhb and open exhibition on Abahlali (17 November 2022). On Thursday, 17 November 2022, SERI and Abahlali baseMjondolo, together with the Forge will host a panel discussion to launch SERI’s new Community Practice Note (CPN) on Abahlali baseMjondolo entitled Abahlali baseMjondolo: Living politics. The CPN details Abahlali’s 17-year history of organising from below which has seen the movement’s membership surpass 100,000 people across South Africa. The CPN also details the movement’s strategies and tactics for advancing their struggles for land, housing and basic services, and how it has responded to evictions, repression and state violence in a highly charged context, costing the movement 24 lives since 2009. The CPN is accompanied by English and isiZulu executive summaries. The first launch took place on Abahlali’s birthday in eKhenana on the 4th of October. >> Read the full statement here.

2021

  • Domestic work in South Africa, one year after Constitutional Court victory  (18 November 2021). Friday, 19 November 2021 will mark the first anniversary since the Constitutional Court handed down a monumental judgment in Mahlangu v Minister of Labour compelling the inclusion of domestic workers in legislation aimed at protecting workers. On Wednesday, 24 November 2021, SERI and the Nelson Mandela Foundation will host an anniversary event reflecting on the status of domestic work in South Africa since the Constitutional Court judgment. >> Read the full statement here.
  • Constitutional Court confirms Mashaba’s inner city raids unconstitutional (25 October 2021). On Friday 22 October 2021, the Constitutional Court confirmed an earlier judgment by the Johannesburg High Court declaring section 13(7)(c) of the South African Police Services Act 68 of 1995 (the SAPS Act) constitutionally invalid insofar as it allows for warrantless searches. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI stands by claims for damages made by the deceased miners' families against the state (19 August 2021). On 17 August 2021, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development’s Solicitor General Fhedzisani Pandelani provided an update on the reparations paid to the victims of the Marikana Massacre in a media briefing. However, some statements made by the Solicitor General are inaccurate. These statements pertain to three issues: the state’s approach to reparations relating to the Marikana Massacre; details of the claims paid out to the families for loss of support; and the families’ claims for general and constitutional damages. The families have lived with loss and trauma since 2012. The Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) stands by their claims for damages. >> Read the full statement here.
  • New guide helps employers navigate the domestic employment relationship (13 August 2021). SERI and Izwi have written a new guide, called “Employing a Domestic Worker: a legal and practical guide”, for employers of domestic workers in South Africa to inform them of their rights and obligations in the employment relationship and to provide practical advice and support to assist them in improving their employment practices. >> Read the full statement here.
  • Marikana Massacre 9th Commemoration (10 August 2021). This year marks the 9th year since the Marikana massacre. On 9 August 2012, the mineworkers embarked on a strike over their working conditions and to demand a living wage. On 16 August 2012, the South African Police Service (SAPS) attempted to end the strike by responding with lethal force. Over the course of a few days, the cumulative death toll reached 44 people including mineworkers, Lonmin security personnel and two SAPS officers. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI and Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance launch new guide for domestic employers (9 August 2021). Many employers are unaware of the laws which regulate the domestic employment relationship, and domestic workers are often afraid to approach them. For example, although the law requires all employers to register their domestic workers for UIF, only about 20% of employers have done so. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI condemns the use of lethal force against peaceful protestors in eSwatini (2 July 2021). Over the past month, the people of eSwatini have intensified pro-democracy protests demanding systemic political reforms. The protests call for reform following years of widespread suppression of political actors, human rights defenders and journalists through the misuse of the law, arbitrary detention, torture and death. The protests also take place against a backdrop of persistent economic hardship and increasing unemployment. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI stands in solidarity with Abahlali baseMjondolo and condemns the abuse of the criminal justice system (17 May 2021). On Tuesday, 4 May 2021, Abahlali baseMjondolo deputy president Mqapheli Bonono and Abahlali member and eKhenana resident Siniko Miya were arrested and charged with ‘conspiracy to commit murder’. These charges stem from witness statements made in relation to a recent meeting with the residents of eKhenana about a murder that took place in Cato Manor in March. We condemn these efforts to stifle movements of dissent by the harassment and criminalisation of targeted figures. We reject this abuse of the criminal justice system and call for the urgent release of Mqapheli Bonono, Siniko Miya and Maphiwe Gasa. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI seeks clarity from Compensation Commissioner regarding deadline for retrospective claims from domestic workers (5 May 2021). On 8 April 2021, SERI addressed a letter to the Compensation Commissioner on the subject of retrospective claims from domestic workers injured at the workplace as far back as 27 April 1994. The main concern of the letter was the cut-off date for submitting retrospective claims, 20 November 2021, as published by the Compensation Commissioner in the Government Gazette on 10 March 2021. As South Africa celebrates workers in the month of May, SERI wishes to highlight a potential challenge affecting one of the country’s most vulnerable groups of workers. >> Read the full statement here.
  • Illegal eviction renders Dunkeld West residents homeless (9 April 2021). On Tuesday 6 April 2021, employees of the Red Ant Security Relocation & Eviction Services, with the supervision of the Sheriff, illegally evicted dozens of residents from their homes on a property in Dunkeld West, leaving them homeless and destitute. During the eviction, residents lost their homes and most had their furniture and personal possessions destroyed, resulting in the elderly and mothers with infants having to sleep on the street. In addition to being evicted from their homes, the residents have had to endure harassment and intimidation from law enforcement and private security. SERI has launched an urgent application for the restoration of the residents to their homes and to restrain any further interference with their occupation until a proper court order has been obtained. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI welcomes the release of the Marikana Panel of Experts Report on Policing and Crowd Management (31 March 2021). On 29 March 2021, the Minister of Police Bheki Cele released the Panel of Experts Report on Policing and Crowd Management. The Panel of Experts was established in 2016 by then Minister of Police Nkosinathi Nhleko in terms of the recommendations of the Farlam Commission of Inquiry. The panel was chaired by the late judge David Sakelene Vusimuzi Ntshangase and comprised of national and international experts in policing and members of the South African Police Services (SAPS) and the Civilian Secretariat for Police. The panel submitted the report to the Minister of Police in July 2018. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI condemns SAPS use of force against peaceful student protestors (10 March 2021). For the past five days, students at the University of the Witwatersrand have embarked on protests over their grievances about the financial exclusion of students at the University. On Wednesday, 10 March, students staged a protest in Braamfontein, on Jorissen, De Korte and De Beer streets. Members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) responded violently to the protests, resorting to firing rubber bullets, using water cannons, tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the protesting students. We have learned that numerous people have been gravely injured and that a number of students have been arrested. We have also recently learned that one person has been killed and for this we extend our deepest condolences to their family and loved ones. >> Read the full statement here.
  • Midrand waste reclaimers challenge attempts to render them homeless (1 March 2021). On Monday, 1 March 2021, a cohort of 107 waste reclaimers will appear before the High Court in Johannesburg to oppose eviction from their homes. The property is undeveloped land located between a residential complex and a business park in Midrand, Johannesburg. The applicant is Rycloff-Beleggings (Pty) Ltd, the registered title-holder of the property. The occupiers are informal reclaimers who have been residing on the property for at least five years. In addition to living on the property, access to the land has enabled them to eke out a living by sorting and storing their recyclable materials on site. >> Read the full statement here.

2020

  • Constitutional Court Affirms the Rights of Domestic Workers (19 November 2020). Today the Constitutional Court handed down a ground-breaking judgment on the Mahlangu v Minister of Labour matter, declaring the constitutional invalidity of section 1(xix)(v) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993 (COIDA), previously known as Workmen’s Compensation, which excluded domestic workers employed in private households from the definition of "employee", precluding them from claiming from the Compensation Fund for work-related injuries, illnesses or death. The Court pointed out the stark contrast as “all other employees are protected by COIDA”. Significantly, the Court ruled that the order of constitutional invalidity is to have immediate and retrospective effect from 27 April 1994. >> Read the full statement here. 
  • Families of slain Marikana miners want the truth about massacre to be revealed(13 November 2020). On 10 to 12 November 2020, Former North West Deputy Police Commissioner, Major General William Mpembe, Brigadier Gideon van Zyl, Colonel Dingaan Madoda and Lieutenant Colonel Oupa Pule presented evidence in their defence at the North West High Court on charges relating to the death of Motisaoitsile Van Wyk Sagalala, one of the Marikana striking miners. The four police officers are charged with defeating the ends of justice, contravening Section (29)(1) of the IPID Act for failure to report a death in police custody to IPID and contravening Section 6(2) of the Commission Act for lying to the Commission under oath. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI supports Nigeria's #EndSARS movement & condemns the use of force against peaceful protestors (23 October 2020). Over the past two weeks, young people across Nigeria have taken to the streets under the banner of the #EndSARS movement calling for the immediate abolition of the federal government’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) which has operated since 1992. The Squad has been accused of a wide range of excesses including extortion, harassment and humiliation, arbitrary arrest, rape, torture and extrajudicial killings. Many people including youth and members of the LGBTQ+ community, reported being targeted based on their appearance. The demonstrations call for an end to police brutality, demand police accountability, and call for an end to widespread corruption and poor leadership. >> Read the full statement here. 
  • SERI launches Water Rights Case Study: Water services on farms - The role of the municipality(19 October 2020). On Tuesday 20 October 2020, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) will launch its first case study, Farm dwellers fight for access to water in Umgungundlovu District Municipality, which is one of four case studies in SERI’s “Claiming Water Rights in South Africa” research project. The research examines how water rights are being claimed in South Africa and draws lessons from the work of communities and civil society organisations in a diverse range of circumstances. The research series consists of four case study reports and a synthesis report.  >> Read the full statement here. 
  • Rhodes University continues to deny Yolanda Dyantyi a fair disciplinary hearing(4 September 2020). Rhodes University continues its war against Yolanda Dyantyi, a former student who took part in the anti-rape protests on the University campus in April 2016. In November 2017, the University permanently expelled Ms. Dyantyi after she was convicted of “kidnapping”, “assault”, “defamation” and “insubordination” by a disciplinary inquiry instituted by the University. She was convicted by a disciplinary inquiry, which was procedurally flawed. The punishment meted out was grossly prejudicial. The terms of her expulsion have made it practically impossible for her to enrol in any other higher education institution for the foreseeable future. >> Read the full statement here. 
  • Calgro M3, SAPS, JMPD and the Sheriff collude to illegally evict Fleurhof residents(31 August 2020). On Tuesday 25th August 2020, employees of the Red Ant Security Relocation & Eviction Services once again descended on a block of flats in Fleurhof, illegally evicting dozens of residents from their homes, leaving them homeless and destitute. This ruthless campaign has culminated in the eviction of thousands of residents since the beginning of August. No court order has been granted for any of the multiple evictions on the residents’ homes. These evictions violate the Constitution, which mandates that a court order considering all relevant circumstances must be granted before an eviction can be executed, as well as the regulations in terms of the Disaster Management Act. >> Read the full statement here. 
  • Excessive use of force by police is a failure to learn from Marikana(28 August 2020). On 26 August 2020, Nathaniel Julius died in hospital after he was allegedly shot and wounded by police officials at Eldorado Park. Nathaniel was a 16-year-old boy living with disability. According to Nathaniel’s family, he failed to respond to questions from the police officials because of his disability and was consequently shot. The community of Eldorado Park have taken to the streets to demand justice. The police have responded with violence, further escalating tensions. >> Read the full statement here. 
  • Eight years since Marikana, the brutality and lack of accountability continues(13 August 2020). Sunday, 16 August 2020 will mark the 8th anniversary of the Marikana massacre. Each year has passed without justice for the mineworkers and their families. Since 2012, only nine police officers have been prosecuted for the deaths of three striking mineworkers and two police officers. However, the National Prosecuting Authority, has failed to prosecute anyone for the deaths of the 34 mineworkers who were shot and killed by the police on 16 August 2012. >> Read the full statement here.

  • SERI challenges Sisulu to stop demolitions of homes across the country (2 July 2020). SERI has noted the media statement issued by the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation on Wednesday, 1 July 2020 in response to the brutal eviction of Empolweni residents in Khayelitsha Cape Town by the Anti-Land Invasion Unit and metropolitan police. In the statement, the Department outlines Minister Sisulu’s intentions to challenge the City of Cape Town in court for illegal evictions and provide permanent housing for 49 families currently in Empolweni. While the Minister’s efforts are welcomed, they fail to fully acknowledge the widespread nature of evictions and demolitions of poor and vulnerable households across the country during the COVID-19 lockdown.  >> Read the full statement here. 

  • Mashaba’s inner city police raids irrational and unconstitutional, court says (30 June 2020). On 29 June 2020, the full bench of the High Court in Johannesburg delivered a judgment declaring section 13 (7) (c) of the South African Police Services Act 68 of 1995 (the SAPS Act) constitutionally invalid. The full bench found that the former Provincial Commissioner failed to apply her mind to the template-based applications for the authorisations which led to the warrantless raids of the applicants’ homes and simply rubber stamped the applications brought to her. The raids in the residents’ homes were “carried out in a manner that was cruel, humiliating, degrading and invasive” and demonstrate an egregious abuse of, and infringement of the residents’ constitutional rights to privacy and dignity, the court held. >> Read the full statement here. 

  • Inner city residents head to court to challenge the constitutionality of police raids (13 March 2020). On Monday, 16 March 2020, the residents of 11 buildings in inner-city Johannesburg will challenge the lawfulness and constitutionality of over 20 police raids of their homes conducted between 30 June 2017 and 3 May 2018. The raids were conducted in terms of section 13 (7) of the South African Police Services (SAPS) Act while two of the raids were conducted without any legal authority. The residents contend that section 13 (7) of the SAPS Act is unconstitutional in that it unjustifiably infringes the right to privacy, contained in section 14 of the South African Constitution. >> Read the full statement here.
  • Domestic Workers head to Constitutional Court on 10 March (9 March 2020). On 10 March 2020, the Constitutional Court will hear the Mahlangu v Minister of Labour matter. Applicants Sylvia Mahlangu, the surviving daughter of a domestic worker who drowned in her employers’ home in 2012, and the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU) successfully challenged the constitutionality of Section 1(xix)(v) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993 ("COIDA") at the North Gauteng High Court in 2019. >> Read the full statement here.

2019

 

  • Justice for Marikana: Commemorating the 7th anniversary of the Marikana massacre (9 August 2019). Friday, 16 August 2019 will mark the 7th anniversary of the Marikana massacre. The mineworkers and their families have yet to see real justice. Only eight police officers, including Major General William Mpembe, in his capacity as former North West deputy police commissioner, have been charged for crimes related to the massacre. The eight have been charged for the deaths of three striking mineworkers and two police officers who were killed on 13 August 2012 and for failing to disclose a death in police custody and for lying to the Farlam Commission. >> Read the full statement here.
  • Gauteng MEC Lebogang Maile gets it wrong on Winnie Mandela (8 August 2019). SERI represents 133 residents of the Winnie Mandela informal settlement in their action to compel the delivery of RDP houses built with their subsidies, but fraudulently allocated to others over a decade ago. The residents have noted Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements Lebogang Maile’s remarks about their decision to sue the Ekurhuleni Municipality for constitutional damages after the municipality missed a court-ordered deadline to replace the residents’ stolen houses. Notably, the MEC was party to the court application in which that deadline was set. The MEC did not oppose the application and elected to abide by the decision of the court. >> Read the full statement here.
  • SERI to launch four research publications on informal settlements in South Africa (4 July 2019). The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) will launch four of its latest research publications on informal settlements in South Africa. The reports emanate from research entitled “Informal Settlement: Norms, Practices and Agency”. The three site-based research reports are on Ratanang informal settlement in Klerksdorp (City of Matlosana); Marikana informal settlement in Philippi (City of Cape Town); Siyanda informal settlement in KwaMashu (eThekwini Municipality), and a fourth Synthesis Report that pulls together findings in each of the themes (tenure security and land use management; political space; access to basic services and economic life) across the three sites. >> Read the full statement here.