ACDP welcomes judgment on Modderklip Farm

Steve Swart, MP


The ACDP welcomes the judgment given in the Constitutional Court in the Modderklip farm case which strikes a balance between the rights of the owners of the Modderklip farm as well as thousands of squatters.

This is a land mark judgment in upholding property rights in South Africa sending a clear message that farm invasions will not be tolerated.

We agree wholeheartedly with the view expressed by Deputy Chief Justice Pius Langa: “Land invasion of this scale threatened far more than the private rights of a single owner and have the capacity to be socially inflammatory and the potential to have serious implications for stability and public peace".

The concept of compassionate justice and constitutional compensation, as well as the rule of law, has been affirmed by this judgment.

Government can no longer evade its legal duty to protect the property of others as it sought to do in Modderklip the matter.