The Environmental Case Law Index is a collection of judgments from 10 African countries on topics relating to environmental law, both substantive and procedural. The collection focuses on cases where an environmental interest interacts with governmental or private interests.
Get started on finding judgments that are relevant to you by browsing the topic list on the left of the screen. Click the arrows next to the topic names to reveal a detailed list of sub-topics. Most judgments are accompanied by a short summary written by subject-area expert postgraduate students from the University of Cape Town.
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Hippo Valley Estates Limited & Another v Minister of Environment, Water & Climate (HH 235-18, HC 7770/16) [2018] ZWHHC 235 (03 May 2018); 
EL Index Judicial Review Appeals and reviews Civil Procedure Abuse of Process Conduct of proceedings Civil Procedure Freshwater use Water and coasts Environmental law Public utilities Actors in environmental law Environmental lawThe court considered an application to set aside the National Water Authority Regulations and tariffs on the ground that they were ultra vires and violated the applicants’ rights.
The applicants’ business operations involved sugar-cane growing and sugar processing. They concluded two agreements with the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), which related to the supply of water. It was a term of the agreement that the parties would, together, review charges for raw water, and should they fail to agree, the respondent would fix the prices. Subsequently, ZINWA addressed a letter advising the applicants of their intention to review the charges. The respondent unilaterally increased the tariffs and failed to notify the applicants. The respondent argued that in terms of the ZINWA Act, she had the authority to impose tariffs for water charges and that the regulations did not violate the applicants’ rights.
The court considered whether the respondent had acted lawfully in imposing the water tariffs. It found that the government reviewed the water charges, and not ZINWA which was lawfully established to review the tariffs in as far as the applicant was concerned.
The court found that the respondent could not unilaterally increase water tariffs, unless ZINWA had made application to it to justify the increase. In this case, the respondent failed to notify the applicants, nor did she give them an opportunity to respond. The court concluded that the respondent acted ultra vires by increasing the tariffs and her actions were unlawful. Accordingly, the application was upheld
JUDA MOYO SIBANGANI NCUBE JUSTIN MACHEZA STANELY NCUBE BELIEF NDLOVU MABOLYN MAKWENA MAHLABA S. NKOMO AXWELL SIZIBA BUTHOLEZWE SIZIBA MERESHARD GWANANGARA RODRECK NYONI SINDISIWE KAMHUKA THABO NARE SIHLE NDLOVU EMMELY NDLOVU REMEMBER NKOMO DION NCUBE BONG Injunction Injunctions and interdicts Civil Remedies Minerals, oil and gas Minerals and energy Environmental law EL IndexThis was an application for an interdict to prohibit mining activities at West Nicholson mine and a further order relating to the processing, sale of and distribution of gold ore mined by the applicants.
The applicants were members of the West Nicholson Youth in Mining Association. The 2nd respondent offered to grant a tribute to the association to mine gold ore and three representatives were appointed by the association to negotiate with the 2nd respondent. After operations had begun, the three representatives along with the 3rd respondent, a third party, unilaterally implemented a profit sharing scheme which gave 50 percent of the proceeds to the four of them.
The 3rd respondent opposed the application contending that it did not satisfy the requirements of an interdict because the applicants had no prima facie right.
The main issue for the court’s consideration was whether or not the applicants had satisfied the requirements of an interdict. The court found that the applicants had proved that they were members of the association and had therefore established a prima facie right to the mining benefits granted by the agreement. The court further held that there was a well-grounded apprehension of irreparable harm to the applicants if the interim relief was not granted and that this had been clearly proved by the applicants.
Accordingly, the court granted the interim interdict as prayed.
Pinkstone Mining (PVT) Limited & 2 Others v Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe Limited & Another (HH118-18, HC 1751/18) [2018] ZWHHC 118 (07 March 2018); EL Index Interim Interdict Injunctions and interdicts Civil Remedies Land use Human exploitation of the environment Environmental law Minerals, oil and gas Minerals and energy Environmental lawThe court considered an urgent application for an order interdicting the first respondent from carrying on mining operations on the applicants’ mineral claims. At some point, the applicants and the first respondent had business dealings involving minerals from those claims. The respondent then went on to register mining claims over a piece of land which included the first applicant’s mining claims. The respondent argued that the matter was not urgent, and that the relief sought was not competent as it was final in effect.
The court considered whether the applicants had established a right to the relief sought. The court observed that the relief sought was an interim interdict, the requirements for which were: a clear right; irreparable harm; balance of convenience in favour of granting the relief, and no other satisfactory remedy. The court found that the respondent intended to mine on the applicants claim, and although the mining hadn’t commenced, the applicants could not wait until it acted and had established the prejudice likely to be suffered.
In determining the balance of convenience, the court weighed the prejudice to the applicant if the interdict was not granted against the harm to the respondent if the relief was granted. In this instance, as the mining activities were not being carried on yet, there was no prejudice to the respondent. Accordingly, the court found that the requirements for the interdict were met and the application succeeded.
S v Tinodya & 3 Others (HH 215-18, CA 668/16 Ref CRB 3503-7/16) [2018] ZWHHC 215 (25 April 2018); EL Index Land use Human exploitation of the environment Environmental law Administrative Action Administrative Law Criminal offences relating to the environment Criminal offences in environmental law Environmental lawThe court considered a criminal appeal, where the applicants had been charged for contravening s7(1)(a) or (b) of the Communal Land Act, by occupying or using communal land without lawful authority. The applicants pleaded guilty and were convicted and sentenced to pay a fine of $5000 or 30 days in prison. The appellants appealed the conviction on the ground that the court committed an irregularity by failing to proceed in terms of the correct procedure.
They contended that by entering a guilty plea, the court had a duty to safeguard the fair trial rights of the accused by adopting a procedure which was most likely to suggest a defence where there was one.
The court considered whether the appellant’s conviction was lawful. It observed that with unrepresented accused persons, there was the ever-present likelihood that out of ignorance of the law, a person would admit to charges of a complex nature out of a desire to draw sympathy of the police or the courts and the onus was upon the court to choose a procedure which would have given the appellants a possible defence.
The court found that the conviction was wrong and remitted the matter back to the lower court. In addition, the court below would be required to take cognizance of s 16 of the Act which required that following a conviction, an order for eviction be granted. Accordingly, the appeal succeeded.
G & W Industrial Minerals (Pvt) Ltd (HH 266-18, CIV Á'367/17) [2018] ZWHHC 266 (16 May 2018); EL Index Judicial Review Appeals and reviews Civil Procedure Minerals, oil and gas Minerals and energy Environmental law Procedural Fairness Justice and fairness Civil ProcedureAnjin Investments (Private) Limited v The Minister of Mines and Mining Development & 3 Others (CCZ 6/18, Constitutional Application No. CCZ 38/16) [2018] ZWCC 6 (27 June 2018); Administrative Action Administrative Law Administrative Review Administrative Law Judicial Review Appeals and reviews Civil Procedure Minerals, oil and gas Minerals and energy Environmental law EL IndexThe applicant, had received a letter from the Secretary for Mines and Mining Development alerting them that their special grants for mining had expired and they had to cease all mining activities and vacate the covered mining areas. The Minister further issued a press statement on the consolidation of all diamond mining activities in the grant areas.
The applicant averred that the above decisions had prejudicial effect on it which also violated its property rights.
The respondents alluded that the application was improperly brought before the court as it appeared to be a response to the judgment of the High Court which the applicant had previously lodged but never appealed and that the cause of action was res judicata and that the avoidance principle applied here. The court, therefore, had to decide on these three main points.
The court held that the appeal had been disguised as a case concerning constitutional points and should have been brought in terms of s167(5)(b) of the Constitution.
It held that although the basis of the application had changed with the introduction of the constitutional question, the effect of the relief sought remained the same.
The court also held that the bulk of the applicant’s case was on right to just administrative action which was protected under the Administrative Justice Act which had sufficient grounds to deal with the rights they alleged had been infringed.
The matter was dismissed with costs.
Ricnob Suppliers (Private) Limited & Another v Mandizera & Others (HB 262-18, HC 5563/18 X REF HC 1755/18) [2018] ZWBHC 262 (25 October 2018); Land use Human exploitation of the environment Environmental law Minerals, oil and gas Minerals and energy Environmental law Remediation Environmental remedies EL IndexThis was an application for an order for spoliation. The applicants claimed that they had been unlawfully dispossessed of their quiet and peaceful possession of their property by the first respondent. The first respondent contended that he was issued with a prospecting licence by the second respondent on the same land and that he entered the property on the strength of the authority from second respondent. The applicants alleged that the first respondent entered their land by cutting a fence and causing damage to their property.
The court considered whether or not there had been a spoliation and whether the applicants were entitled to relief. The court established that the first respondent unlawfully deprived the first applicant of its possession of the quarry stone site and that this was an unlawful invasion of the property as the land was private property.
The court noted that the first respondent had not raised any of the recognised defences in an action for spoliation. The court found that the first respondent intended to take over the quarry site by forcibly removing them applicants from the quarry site without following due process as he did not possess a court order to justify his intended action.
Accordingly, the court held that the requirements for an order for spoliation had been met and ordered the respondents to return the applicant’s status quo prior to the spoliation.
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