On Thursday, 13 June 2024, SERI hosted the community of Dobsonville Soweto to present on housing and evictions law in South Africa. The workshop began with identifying participants’ expectations for the workshop. SERI senior attorney, Nkosinathi Sithole presented on Legal principles the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 ("PIE Act") and the protection it gives within the framework of Bill of rights and the Constitution. Nkosinathi Sithole further presented housing jurisprudence, looking at the litigation history and various progressive court judgments and how they have developed the right to housing.
SERI advocacy officer, Yongeza Mbimbi then did a detailed presentation of the process of a legal eviction under PIE and provided the participants with practical examples of defending against an illegal eviction. The first session ended with questions and answers from the participants.
The second session began with a presentation from SERI Attorney, Amanda Duma, who presented on the different courts and their respective jurisdiction in relation to evictions cases. Amanda Duma went on to discuss how eviction process can be appealed to higher courts and the importance of appealing unfavourable decisions from the court of first instance.
For the last session of the workshop, Siyabonga Mahlangu from the InnerCity Federation presented on the basics of how the public can represent themselves in court. Mahlangu’s presentation was a very interactive session and it provided practical examples of how to draft an answering affidavit and other written submissions. The workshop then concluded with a question-and-answer session.