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The civil rights organisation AfriForum filed a court application in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria today to challenge the constitutionality of the controversial Expropriation Act 13 of 2024. AfriForum maintains that this act, which was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 20 December 2024 and the notice of its signing only published in the Government Gazette a month later, on 24 January 2025, contains serious flaws and is a real threat to the constitutional right to private property in South Africa.

AfriForum argues that certain sections and provisions of the act contain inherent contradictions, which is why the court should declare the act unconstitutional. Alternatively, AfriForum seeks an order that those specific provisions be declared unconstitutional.

Central to AfriForum’s arguments is that Section 12(3) of the act, which provides for the expropriation of property at nil compensation, opens the real possibility of the abuse of public power in that every expropriating authority, including mismanaged local authorities, is given the power to expropriate at nil compensation.

A further major flaw AfriForum highlights is the fact that the act allows a property owner to be deprived of their property while the matter of its expropriation is fought over in court – a process that can take many years.

According to Ernst van Zyl, Head of Public Relations at AfriForum, the ANC’s top brass has for years now emphasised that the intention of the Expropriation Act is to enable expropriation without compensation and that “nil compensation” means “no compensation”. “We have heard them highlight their objectives, and we believe them,” says Van Zyl.

“We assured our members and the public at the beginning of the year that we would fight this dangerous act both domestically and internationally. The spotlight that US President Donald Trump has so far placed on the threat this act poses to private property rights in South Africa is a welcome development. AfriForum’s court case, in which we will test the constitutionality of this act, is our most important local battle in this fight,” Van Zyl concludes.

Issued by AfriForum