Boost for Richtersveld community

2003-05-23 12:53

Cape Town - The 6 000-strong Richtersveld community on the Cape West Coast moved a step closer to getting back the diamond-rich stretch of land they lost during the colonial era, when the Cape High Court ruled on Friday that records used in a parallel case could also be submitted as evidence.

"We brought an interlocutory application (in the Cape High Court) for the records in the Land Claims Court trial to be used to the extent that it was relevant and were successful," said attorney Henk Smith of the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), who is representing the community.

Smith said the Richtersveld community had launched two parallel cases, one in the Land Claims Court and another in the Cape High Court. The high court litigation dealt with the recognition of the original ownership rights under common law.

In March, a full bench of five appeal judges unanimously overruled an earlier finding by the Land Claims Court that the community did not have a legitimate claim to the 85 000 hectares in terms of the country's land reform legislation.

According to the appeal judgment the Land Claims Court incorrectly found that the Richtersveld community lost all rights to the land when it was annexed by Britain in 1847 because it was "insufficiently civilised" to be recognised.

Mining company Alexkor, which owns the land, has appealed the ruling and has taken the matter to the Constitutional Court, where the it is expected to be heard in September.

Community member Pieter de Wet, who was at the Cape High Court with his brother Willem and two other community leaders on Friday, said they were "happy with the progress".

Judge Nathan Erasmus also ruled on Friday that mining company Alexkor must pay costs.

- SAPA