Highest Court of Appeals rejects Tshwane Metro’s street names application
10 August 2015
AfriForum has given the Tshwane Metropolitan Council a thorough beating in court for the fourth time in response to the Metro’s hasty removal of historic street names in the city center and elsewhere in Pretoria, when two judges rejected the Metro's application for special leave to appeal.
Appeals judges Maya and Dambuza dismissed the Metro's application for special leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein with costs and ruled that the Metropolitan Council had been unable to demonstrate that grounds exist for such an appeal.
The court battle regarding the name changes of 25 streets in Pretoria and surrounding areas that took place without due process has been raging since 2012. In April of that year, the Mayor, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, announced that the names of 25 streets in the city center and elsewhere in the Metro would be changed to pay tribute to several struggle heroes.
The Metro, however, then failed to follow its own revised policy on street name changes, renaming streets as Church Street, Schoeman Street, Vermeulen Street, Andries Street and Zambezi Drive. Contrary to its own policy, the council inter alia failed to consult with ward committees throughout the metropolis.
In April 2013, Judge Bill Prinsloo granted an urgent interdict to AfriForum, prohibiting the Metro from going ahead with the removal of the old names, pending the outcome of a review process previously launched by AfriForum. The Metro however blatantly ignored the urgent proceedings and even after Judge Prinsloo had granted the interdict, they went ahead with the removal of signage with the historic street names.
On 2 June 2015 a full bench of three judges of the High Court in Pretoria rejected the Metro's appeal against the interdict. In their judgment, Judges Molefi, Jordaan and Pretorius were highly critical of the Metro's disrespectful behavior towards the pending legal proceedings and the interdict that had eventually been granted.
The unsuccessful application for special leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal by the Metropolitan Council counts as the fourth court success for AfriForum in its quest for the protection of the historical heritage and cultural rights of minorities in Pretoria.
In his response to the outcome of the appeal, AfriForum's lawyer Willie Spies said that he is elated with the umpteenth victory in AfriForum’s endeavours for the promotion of mutual respect for the heritage of cultural minorities in South Africa. “Internationally the best practices allow for the recognition of more than one place name in order to ensure that nobody is impaired or excluded. There is no reason why this recipe cannot also be followed here,” Spies said.
Statement issued by Willie Spies, Legal Representative of AfriForum, August 10 2015
