THE court battle to address the development at 317 Currie Road is set to continue, following the submission of an application to the Constitutional Court to appeal the judgement of the Supreme Court, which found in favour of the developers, Serengeti Rise.
Berea advocate and resident, Tayob ‘Pops’ Aboobaker said he had applied for leave to appeal and had every confidence in the Constitutional Court. Speaking to Berea Mail last week, he said: “I have no doubt the Constitutional Court will produce a just and equitable result. Now we have to wait and see if the leave to appeal is granted.”
Civic organisation, Save Our Berea, said it welcomed the news that the residents, led by Aboobaker, had submitted the application to the Constitutional Court.
“This case has massive implications for residents of the Berea. One of the key reasons why it is so important is because it has all the elements of a David versus Goliath struggle. The municipality is there to serve the people of Durban yet nobody from the City has ever answered the question of why they favoured one developer over the interests of the people of Durban,” said Kevin Dunkley who together with Cheryl Johnson, founded Save Our Berea.
Tayob ‘Pops’ Aboobaker with Kevin Dunkley and Cheryl Johnson from Save Our Berea.
Dunkley said instead the City had allowed its planning committee, chaired at the time by a councillor who they allege was not only corrupt but had since been jailed for murdering an activist, to sanction the development when it was clear it would negatively affect the values of neighbouring properties.
“The politicians who run our city are making it more and more difficult for us to exercise our democratic rights. As this case so clearly demonstrates, we are being bullied into a legal process whereby the man in the street puts himself at the risk of financial ruin to see justice done. They then add insult to injury by using public money to defend the indefensible. This runs against the very objectives of our constitution and we call on the courts to punish the politicians and officials implicated in this case. We hope those found to be negligent and/or corrupt should be held financially responsible in their personal capacity,” he said.
