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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. 

On Friday, 7 June 2024, SERI appeared in the High Court in Johannesburg in the case of Mothlamme v Maimane. SERI brought this application in the public interest as per section 38(d) of the Constitution. The first and second applicants are challenging the constitutionality of section 6(1) of the Conversion of Certain Rights into Leasehold or Ownership Act, 81 of 1988 (“Conversions Act”) and section 2(1) of the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act 112 of 1991 (“Upgrading Act”). The core of this constitutional challenge is that these sections perpetuate the violation of the right to equality for Ms Motlhamme (the first applicant), and other women, by unfairly discriminating against them based on their sex. 

Ms Johanna Motlhamme was married to Mr Molefi Maimane, who according to the Regulation 7 of 1037 of 1968 (“Regulation 7”) was the sole permit holder.  The Upgrading Act aimed to provide a more secure form of land tenure to Africans who, under the apartheid regime, had precarious land rights. The Act automatically converted Mr Maimane's tenancy rights to ownership rights, excluding Ms Motlhamme and resulting in her losing all rights to the house. This exclusion occurred because, by legislative provision, only a man, considered the head of the family, could hold the permit.

The first and second applicants challenge the constitutionality of the specific sections which converted the occupational right, being section 6(1) of the Conversion of Certain Rights into Leasehold or Ownership Act, 81 of 1988 (“Conversions Act”) as well as the legislation which upgraded the right to ownership, being section 2(1) of the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act 112 of 1991 (“Upgrading Act”). SERI supports this application and seeks to also broaden the challenge of Constitutional invalidity to include section 13(1) of the Upgrading Act. SERI intends argue that the shortened or automatic conversion of these land tenure rights under the Upgrading Act unfairly discriminates against a wide range of women by excluding them from accessing ownership rights or secure tenure. This discrimination stems from the inherent deprivation of land tenure rights as contemplated in the Regulations, now protected by section 6(1) of the Conversions Act and the Upgrading Act. 

On the 24 April 2024, the court set the matter down for hearing. However, the judges adjourned the matter to the 7 June 2024 to give State Respondents an opportunity to outline the necessary parliamentary processes in light of the relief sought by the applicants. 

• Access all the papers here. 

On 30 May 2024, the Daily Maverick published an op-ed co-authored by SERI's Lauren Royston, the Inner City Federation’s Siyabonga Mahlangu and Abahlali BaseMjondolo’s Thapelo Mohapi entitled, ' New white paper on human settlements threatens a core constitutional right’ 

The op-ed critically examines the newly released Housing White Paper, highlighting both its procedural shortcomings and substantive concerns regarding housing rights in South Africa.

The authors argue that although the White Paper begins with general principles that affirm the constitutional mandate, it ends with a recommendation to review the Prevention of Illegal Eviction and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 (PIE Act). This is particularly troubling as the recommendation is buried in a section where it seems out of place:

“Unlawful development must be discouraged severely. This entails reviewal (sic) of the PIE Act which requires alternative accommodation for illegal occupation of land.”

The authors conclude that: 

As the 30 years of democracy commemorations abound, we might imagine that more progress would have been made on the desperate need for housing and land faced by a large proportion of the population.

Instead, we have a draft White Paper that threatens a core constitutional right.

• Read the op-ed here. 
• Access SERI, Abahlali baseMjondolo and the Inner City Federation comments on the White Paper can be found here.

The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) Law Clinic wishes to fill up to two vacancies for candidate attorneys (CAs).

These vacancies will arise on or after 1 January 2025.

The SERI Law Clinic has a first-rate human rights practice, which encompasses constitutional and administrative law, criminal defence, defamation, labour law, property law, contract law (insofar as it involves consumer protection) and actions against the police and other delictual claims. SERI concentrates its work in South Africa’s townships, informal settlements and other poor and marginalised communities. SERI’s practitioners appear regularly at all levels of the court system, up to and including the Constitutional Court. SERI has an enviable track record in obtaining and enforcing ground-breaking judgments. You can find out more about SERI on www.seri-sa.org and www.fightingforaliving.org.

SERI is authorised by the Legal Practice Council to accept and train CAs. CAs are recruited for a fixed-term of two years, leading to qualification and admission as an attorney. These posts carry salaries in the region of R340 000 per annum.

The requirements for the positions are as follows -

Essential

• LLB Degree.
• Interest in and, some prior engagement with, human rights law or litigation.

Desirable

• Interest in, and experience of, research and publication.
• Fluency in any of South Africa’s indigenous languages.

SERI wishes to contribute to the development of a new generation of human rights lawyers at the national and international level. Accordingly, the positions carry with them significant opportunities for travel and continuing professional training and development. 

If you are interested, please send a CV, academic transcript and covering letter to Princess Nkuna at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. In your letter, provide a detailed explanation of why you are interested in working for SERI, and what qualities and experience you would bring to the post.

Generalised covering letters, which do not engage with SERI’s activities and purpose, will not be considered.

 The closing date for applications is Friday 5 July 2024. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, and will be expected to make themselves available for interview in August 2024.

Download a pdf version of the advert here.