Transnet land was ‘base for criminal enterprises' - IOL

One section of informal structures located on the state-owned Transnet Land in the vicinity of Salt River and Woodstock.

A sprawling occupation on Transnet land in Woodstock and Salt River served as a “base for criminal enterprise”, a Western Cape High Court judge has found, with tunnels beneath the properties used to store drugs and stolen goods among evidence placed before the court.

Judge Derek Wille said the City of Cape Town had presented “detailed, uncontroverted evidence showing that the property served as a base for criminal enterprise”.

“This included detailed crime statistics, geographical patterns, and physical destruction of infrastructure. Tunnels under the property used to store drugs and stolen goods were discovered during the inspection in loco,” Wille said.

The findings are contained in Wille’s September 28, 2026, judgment on an application by the occupiers for leave to appeal an earlier eviction order.

The eviction order applies to 161 occupiers who were given until September 30, 2026, to leave the Transnet properties. 

The occupiers disputed the findings around criminal activity, arguing that the evidence did not establish that specific people living on the properties had committed specific crimes.

“This was not a criminal trial,” Judge Wille said.

The judge said the issue before the court was whether the evidence, viewed collectively, supported an inference that the occupation operated as a base for criminal activity and whether this was relevant to deciding if the eviction was just and equitable.

Wille found that the occupiers had relied on general denials and had not put forward evidence supporting another explanation.

The occupiers also challenged the eviction on the issue of emergency accommodation.

The court had previously given them an opportunity to provide more information about their individual circumstances and the effect an eviction would have on them.

About 281 people were represented in the proceedings, but only 106 further affidavits were filed.

Judge Wille described these as “vanilla standard-form affidavits”.

“Not one of the affidavits filed by the occupiers in terms stated that an eviction would render any of them homeless. It may be argued that this was inferred, but it was never stated,” he said.

Wille said the occupiers themselves were required to place their personal circumstances before the court because the information was within their knowledge.

“I was simply unable to attach weight to non-existent evidence that was never placed before me,” he said.

The judge said some of the affidavits subsequently filed also contradicted information contained in an affidavit by a spokesperson for the occupiers.

“Undoubtedly, the occupiers themselves were obligated to place their personal circumstances before the court, as this information lies peculiarly within their knowledge. The court afforded the occupiers a specific opportunity to place that information before it,” Wille said.

The application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal, alternatively a full court of the Western Cape High Court, was dismissed.

The eviction order remains in place.