President of the Republic of South Africa v. Modderklip Boerdery (Pty) Ltd

Modderklip Boerdery (Pty) Ltd (Modderklip) (plaintiff) operated a large farm next to Daveyton Township, near Johannesburg. Due to overcrowding, some people settled on a strip of land between Daveyton and the farm. The settled area grew, encroaching onto Modderklip’s property. The township initially evicted the settlers, but the settlers soon returned. The settlement continued to grow exponentially. Modderklip tried to get the city council to act, but the city council did little to alleviate the encroachment. Modderklip sought court intervention, leading to multiple arrests of settlers, but again, the settlers soon returned to the occupied land. Modderklip offered to sell the affected land to the municipality, but the municipality did not take steps to acquire the land. As the settlement grew, Modderklip filed an action in the Johannesburg High Court. The court directed the eviction of the settlers and authorized the sheriff and local police to remove the settlers from the property. However, the sheriff and police refused to act, given the now very large settlement, unless Modderklip paid a deposit far in excess of the value of Modderklip’s occupied land. Modderklip then sought relief in the highest levels of government, again to no avail. With the settlement having grown to over 40,000 people, Modderklip filed an action in the Pretoria High Court. Law enforcement defended their inaction in the high court, claiming the settlers had nowhere to move, and the ongoing influx of new settlers made determining who had violated the Johannesburg court’s previous orders of eviction challenging. The high court and, subsequently, the appellate court ruled in favor of Modderklip, finding violations of Modderklip’s property rights and the settlers’ rights to housing and land. The Supreme Court of Appeal ordered the government to compensate Modderklip, provided the settlers remained on Modderklip’s property. The government appealed to the constitutional court.