The opposition to the R4.6bn Amazon office development in Cape Town is facing yet another setback after the attorney for the Observatory Civic Association (OCA) and the indigenous group withdrew from the main legal matter in October due to a lack of funding.
The construction of the R4.6bn office block, with online retailer Amazon as an anchor tenant, began in September 2021 and was halted by a court interdict granted to the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council and the Observatory Civic Association.
Western Cape deputy judge president Patricia Goliath ruled in March that economic benefits and infrastructure development should not trump the rights of indigenous people.
The civic groups claim the new development is being developed on a site where the Khoi fought a battle against Portuguese invaders in the 16th century, delaying colonisation by 100 years. But the exact location is disputed by some academics.
The appeal to Goliath’s ban by the developers, the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape government, and the First Nations Collective has been set down for a hearing by a full bench of the high court on October 11 and 12.
A faction of the Goringhaicona group claims that Tauriq Jenkins, who brought the first court case in opposition to construction, does not represent the group and wants him removed and the building ban rescinded. This leadership battle was also to be heard in October.
Building is continuing while Goliath’s ban is being appealed against. The Observatory residents say the developer is in contempt of court and their legal case about the continued construction was also to be heard in October.
But attorneys Cullinan & Associates told Business Day that “unfortunately we had to withdraw as the appeal hearing in October when both attorneys dealing with the matter are out of the country, and our client, the OCA, has not been able to raise sufficient funding to enable us to continue representing them”.
The developer, the Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust (LLPT) has written to Cullinan saying it expects the appeal to go ahead in October. It said all parties were informed of the full court appeal hearing dates during a meeting on August 11, run by Western Cape High Court judge president John Hlophe.
The developer says it expects court papers to be filed by Jenkins and the Observatory residents as required by Tuesday. It wants to hear how the groups intend proceeding on October 11 “whether by appearing personally or by appointing new attorneys”.
“Finally, we also expect his firm to tender an explanation for their belated withdrawal, if required by the court.”
Despite a lack of funds, Cullinan appears to still be acting for the Observatory residents in November in an entirely separate case, in which there is a review of the environmental processes followed before the project was approved.
Tim Dunn, lawyer for the Goringhaicona faction that wants the judgment rescinded, said he too expects the matter to go ahead in October. His clients have filed detailed papers accusing Jenkins of fraud and usurping leadership of their organisation. Jenkins has not responded, Dunn said.
Jenkins and Observatory Civic Association did not respond to Business Day for comment. The association says on its website that those questioning Jenkins’ leadership are not legitimate.
“We remain of the view that the suddenly invented faction of the Goringhaikona has no standing in this matter and was created solely to undermine the legitimate actions of Indigenous activists”
University of Cape Town professor Leslie London, head of the association, said in a recent statement: “The destruction of tangible and intangible heritage assets of the Khoi and San by infilling this site with concrete is a form of ongoing ethnocide (erasing a people’s culture) and epistemicide (the erasure of indigenous knowledge systems by colonial forces) that can be traced back to 1657.”
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