Pretoria - City of Tshwane officials, including municipal manager Jason Ngobeni, will be hauled to court for failing to consider the application for a gated community in Brooklyn in accordance with a previous judgment.
The residents of Brooklyn said they were fed up and frustrated with the city for refusing them permission to close off their area.
This, they said, was despite the soaring crime rate and a court order that the city had to consider the issue.
Brooklyn Security Village now wants to ask the high court in Pretoria to review and set aside the decision by the city to, in its absence, deny it permission for access control into the affected areas. In addition, it will ask that certain city officials, including Ngobeni, be held in contempt of court.
The residents have been locking horns with the city for more than three years to try to create a safer environment for them.They said in court papers it was undisputed that they were suffering from violent crime incidents in the area.
This, they said, was aggravated by the fact that the area was near the Brooklyn Mall and other shopping complexes and developments.
The application relates to the residents living within the area bounded by Rupert Street to the east, Waterkloof Road in the south, Jan Shoba Drive in the west and Justice Mohammed Street in the north.
The residents applied to the city for permission to erect booms and fences in the area in November 2012.
They made it clear the restrictions would not prevent people from entering the area, but it would simply assist in monitoring the movement.
While several departments of the city recommended the application be approved, the metro referred the matter back. It asked them to prove there was no other less restrictive measures which could be put in place to make the area more safe.
As the crime kept on escalating, the residents turned to court to try to force the city to allow them to establish access control.
Last May the court ordered that the city had to, within eight weeks, reconsider the application. But is has since emerged that even before that court gave the order, and while the city was aware of the looming application and subsequent order, its tribunal again refused permission for a gated community.
The residents now say the tribunal’s decision was taken in their absence as they were not alerted about the hearing and thus could not give their input.
The tribunal, in refusing permission, said: “While the committee noted the court precedent on the right to safety and security as a higher order right viewed against freedom of movement, it is, however, possible for the applicant to consider alternative, non-invasive measures to still uphold safety and security.”
The security village representing the residents will argue that the city and members of the tribunal were aware of the earlier pending application to which the judge ordered that access control be allowed.
Despite this, the city at the time did not disclose that it had already made its own decision regarding the application. The applicant said neither it nor the court was told about the tribunal decision, which boiled down to contempt of court.
Another reason forwarded why they should be held in contempt of court was that the city simply ignored the 2015 order, stating that it did not have to adhere to it, “as the horse had already bolted”.
The city also contended that the residents knew about the tribunal hearing and simply chose not to pitch. But the lawyers representing the residents vehemently denied this and said they were never told about the tribunal hearing. They also said the city could not simply ignore a court order because it felt it did not have any effect.
Lawyers representing the applicant said they were awaiting a court date.
They will ask the court’s direct permission to implement access control as well as for an order holding city officials in contempt of court.
City of Tshwane spokesman Selby Bokaba said they stood by their decision and would defend that position in court unless convinced otherwise by the applicants.
Pretoria News