Pretoria High Court overturns interdict won by city’s hawkers

The High Court in Pretoria has overturned an interdict obtained by a group of informal traders to stop the Tshwane Metro Police Department from harassing them.

Four of the hawkers, who say they represent the Tshwane Barekishi Forum, in May obtained an interim order against the metro police from harassing forum members and seizing their goods pending the finalisation of an application to force police to inform hawkers in writing where their goods were taken.

The City of Tshwane opposed the application, saying the court should not condone the unlawful action of hawkers who refused to be registered, traded without licences and ignored the city’s bylaws.

Judge Nomsa Khumalo will give her ruling next week.

The hawkers have accused the city of imposing unfair and unconstitutional conditions when renewing licences by limiting their trading hours and denying them a chance to state their case.

They said this had caused many of the forum members to go back to selling in the streets without licences, and accused the metro police of harassing and intimidating them and resorting to violence when they tried to protect their goods.

The city’s metro police chief Johanna Nkomo said in an affidavit the hawkers lacked authority to litigate against the city; obtained an interdict without even notifying the municipality; and failed to provide proof of their harassment claims, which the police denied.

Nkomo denied the city imposed unreasonable trading hours and said it would create unrest if hawkers operated without licenses and did as they wished.

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