ActionSA case file 'vanishes' at the Durban high court — Mncwango

ActionSA says its Durban high court file in the “stop the stink” case has vanished. 

ActionSA KwaZulu-Natal leader Zwakele Mncwango on Tuesday raised concern about “obstacles” the party has encountered in its legal bid to compel the eThekwini municipality and relevant government departments to resolve the sewage crisis in the metro.

Not only has the case file allegedly disappeared, but Mncwango said ActionSA counsel has previously been denied access to the file. 

“Our correspondent attorneys have been persistently denied access to our court file by the court registrar without any explanation. This lack of transparency and co-operation from the court was concerning and raised serious questions about the handling of our case. To make matters worse, on August 8 we were informed our court file had gone missing,” he said.

The disappearance of the file was unacceptable and the party expected a full investigation and answers. 

“It is strange and alarming that after being denied access to our file, it has now disappeared. While we cannot be certain of the cause, these developments suggest the possibility of sabotage. Our file has now been reconstructed at great expense so the matter may proceed to a hearing in October.”

The party filed the application in November 2022 in the Durban high court seeking an order declaring the respondents — the ministers of tourism, environment and water and sanitation, and the MECs of co-operative governance and traditional affairs and economic development, tourism and environmental affairs, as well as the eThekwini municipality — were in contravention of several laws.

They failed to maintain, repair, replace or install infrastructure to prevent the flow of sewage or untreated effluent into eThekwini’s waterways, rivers and beaches.

“We are frustrated and concerned about the recent developments in our legal case against eThekwini metro, the provincial government and the national government which relates to their continued failure and refusal to repair the deteriorating sewer infrastructure in the eThekwini municipality,” said Mncwango. 

The story will be updated with comments from the court upon receipt.

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