From Left to Right: Inga Dyantyi (attorney at Ndifuna Ukwazi) Dr Jonty Cogger (former attorney at NU) Adv Adiel Nacerodien, Ms Allie
In a powerful judgment, the Western Cape High Court has slammed the eviction application against 78-year-old Ms Noor-Banu Allie, which it described as ‘opportunistic’, ‘disingenuous’ and ultimately, ‘unlawful’.
Mrs Allie resides in one of the last remaining streets of District Six that survived the demolitions of the Group Areas Act. She also has a land claim for a family home that was demolished by the Apartheid regime. Her claim is currently frozen in the second round of land claim applications, after the first round failed to be completed. This second round was created by an Act of Parliament in 2014, but was subsequently declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in the 2016 LAMOSA (Land Access Movement of South Africa and Others v Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces and Others (CCT40/15) [2016] ZACC 22; 2016 (5) SA 635 (CC); 2016 (10) BCLR 1277 (CC) (28 July 2016) ) judgment.
In Ms Allie’s case, an eviction was granted in the Magistrates court and taken on appeal to the High Court. The property manager, Waleed Ras, did not oppose nor appear at the High Court hearing. The matter was heard and ruled on by Saldhana AJ, with Mapoma AJ concurring.
Well-located affordable housing continues to dwindle in Cape Town, while the number of available homes increase in rent, and cater to tourist markets by offering fully furnished lets. The ‘State of the Cape Town Central City 2024’ Report states that,
By mid-August 2025, there were a total of 193 apartments listed on Property24.com as available for rent in the Central City. While this is higher than the 84 units listed at the end of 2023, it is still lower than the 217 units listed at the end of 2021 and the 475 units at the end of 2020. The majority (140 units or 72 %) were listed as furnished, with 53 units unfurnished. This is a growing trend in recent years.”
Ms Allie’s status as a pensioner would completely exclude her from living in areas like these, had it not been for her current home. If she had to leave she would not find a suitable alternative, other than to move further away from the city and away from her current network of support and belonging.
Ms Allie said, “I don’t know if I will live to see my family home restituted, but for now I’m very grateful that I can remain in my home, that is still in District Six.”
Attorney for Ms Allie, Inga Dyantyi of Ndifuna Ukwazi, said: “Ms Allie’s case highlights both the failure of the land reform programme and the failure of the City to give meaning to the right to housing. Ms Allie has been waiting for restitution of the home that she was forcibly removed from in District Six for decades. She has also been on the housing waiting list for over a decade, and now, at the age of 78, she has been forced to resist a market-driven unlawful eviction that would have rendered her homeless and displaced. Ms Allie’s fight exemplifies the urgent need to redress historical dispossession and the urgent need for well-located, affordable housing”.
Read the full judgment here: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/2025/529.html
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