SUPREME COURT RULES IN CITY OF JOHANNESBURG’S FAVOUR IN RABIE RIDGE LAND OCCUPATION CASE
The Supreme Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court ruling and found in favour of the City of Johannesburg in the long-running Rabie Ridge land occupation dispute, marking a significant legal victory for the municipality.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has ruled in favour of the City of Johannesburg in the Rabie Ridge and Ivory Park land occupation matter, setting aside an earlier High Court order that had found the City acted unlawfully when it demolished structures on municipal land.
The judgment was heard on 27 February 2026 and delivered on Tuesday, 23 June 2026.
This is the latest development in a case KAE News has followed since November 2024, when representatives of families occupying land near Modderfontein Road in Rabie Ridge went to court to fight possible eviction by the City.
High Court ruling overturned
In August 2024, the Gauteng High Court ordered the City to restore the occupiers to peaceful and undisturbed possession of the land. The High Court also interdicted the City from evicting them without a court order.
However, the City appealed.
The SCA has now upheld the City’s appeal and replaced the High Court order with a new order dismissing the occupiers’ application.
Why the SCA ruled for the City
The SCA found that the occupiers had not properly proved who was actually occupying the land.
The court said the case was brought on behalf of an unclear group of people, described broadly as “the community” or “the occupiers”, without enough individual detail.
The SCA was also critical of the High Court compiling its own list of over 200 people who were said to be occupiers. According to the appeal court, it was not the court’s job to fix weaknesses in the occupiers’ case.
The SCA further found that the occupiers did not provide enough reliable evidence linking specific people to specific structures that were allegedly demolished.
What this means now
The judgment is a major legal victory for the City of Johannesburg.
However, it does not automatically mean the City will immediately evict everyone currently on the land. What happens next remains unclear.
The City has previously argued that the land is earmarked for a housing development for the Greater Ivory Park community and that unlawful occupation could affect future housing plans.
6,000 Temporary Housing Units (TRUs) were previously earmarked for the land by former late Mayor, Geoff Makhubo, which only a handful were built during COVID19.
The occupiers, on the other hand, have argued that many families have nowhere else to go and should be provided with alternative accommodation before any eviction takes place.
What it does show is that land occupation cases can turn heavily on evidence: who is occupying, when they occupied, what structures existed, and whether the people before court can prove their direct connection to the land.
For now, the City has won the appeal. We will monitor what happens next. Mind you, the City is in court on another case with another group just across the street.
This ruling does not remove the wider housing crisis in Rabie Ridge, Ivory Park and surrounding areas.
