Glenmore activist, Ben Mafani, who has been tirelessly fighting for the rights of his impoverished community for many years, met with Ashley Basson, an attorney from Whitesides Attorneys who represents the Eastern Cape premier’s office, at the Magistrate’s Court last week.
Glenmore activist, Ben Mafani, who has been tirelessly fighting for the rights of his impoverished community for many years, met with Ashley Basson, an attorney from Whitesides Attorneys who represents the Eastern Cape premier’s office, at the Magistrate’s Court last week.
This follows a civil claim lodged by Mafani with the Equality Court in Grahamstown against the office of the Eastern Cape Premier to improve Glenmore’s infrastructure and compensate for the suffering and disenfranchisement experienced by the residents since their forced removal in 1979.
Mafani has had a number of run-ins with the law after he repeatedly broke the windows of the High Court in protest against how he feels Glenmore is being ignored.
However, he appeared to have changed his approach as he calmly negotiated the future of Glenmore with his advisors rather than resorting to aggression.
“I have put down the stones and I'm now going the legal route in solving the case,” he said. Mafani was accompanied by local Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor, Michael Whisson, who has been assisting Mafani with his case.
Basson said that in terms of the Constitution, Ngqushwa Municipality (which Glenmore falls under) has the responsibility to improve the infrastructure in the township.
He said that the case could move to Zwelitsha Court in King William’s Town since the Glenmore area falls under the Amathole district.
According to Basson, the reason the case may be transferred is that the Department of Housing, together with the relevant municipality, is responsible for housing, “so they would be an appropriate player when discussing issues that involve housing”.
He also mentioned the role of the government budget in terms of the Integrated Development Programme,
which is a key driver for government expenditure on a local government level. Whisson argued that a majority of the role players live in the Grahamstown area so the case should be heard in Grahamstown.
Basson responded by saying that the court in Peddie has been approved and designated by the Justice minister as an equality court. Mafani said: “I’m taking this as hide and seek and this time-wasting is a disadvantage to me because I stay on my own and even where I stay I have nothing and the people isolate themselves from me and that stresses me [out], so I don’t want the case to take a long time.”
Mafani said he would prefer the case to be heard in the Glenmore area, not in King William’s Town. Mafani's follow-up appeal to the Legal Aid Board for legal assistance had not been approved due to undue process.
However, Civil Professional Assistant, John van Onselen, decided to make an exception and argue for Mafani during the preliminary discussions.
Yesterday, after Van Onselen had met with Basson at the Magistrate’s Court, he informed him that no final decision had been made for the case transfer as there are other factors that need to be dealt with.
According to Van Onselen, a file will be sent to the Premier’s Office within a week which will include where the case will be heard; how the two municipalities will be involved; and whether the Equality Court is the appropriate platform for such a case.
A week after the file is received, the judge in charge of the case, Cyril Strauss will be informed as to how to proceed with the case.
