First Nation rights activists in Cape Town are celebrating a victory in their fight to stop development at the River Club. The Goringhaicona Khoena Council has welcomed the granting of an urgent interdict preventing further construction at the site in Observatory. That includes work on Amazon’s Africa headquarters.
The Court ruled that there’s been no meaningful engagement or proper consultation process with the Khoi and San people. There is still a broader case before the courts, where the council and the Observatory Civic Association want the court to completely set aside the City and Province’s decisions to approve the development in the first place.
The Council’s Tauriq Jenkins says they’re elated by this ruling. “Judge Patricia Goliath’s interpretation is exactly what we have been saying since this development was first on the table. It also confirms the urgency of heritage grading of this sacred site – a site that has been abused by the developers with the tacit collusion of public officials who have valued financial benefits for some over respect for the living heritage associated with the most significant pre-colonial landscape in the country”.
Picture Credit: Southern Suburbs Tatler
