3 April 2025
Photos: Joseph Bracken
Families living at the Shakas Head informal settlement near the N2 highway in Ballito have been embroiled in a legal battle with the KwaDukuza Municipality (KDM) for the past three years.
The group started erecting shacks on the land in 2020 after many people had lost their jobs during the Covid lockdown and could no longer afford to pay rent.
In early 2022, the municipality launched court proceedings to evict the people living in the settlement. Residents of the settlement then approached shack dweller movement Abahlali baseMjondolo to help them with the legal proceedings.
What started as a small group of occupiers in 2020 has since mushroomed into a community of hundreds of people.
Ongama Mncameni, a resident of Shakas Head and chairman of the area’s Abahlali branch, said he was among the first 15 people to erect his home on the land.
He said the municipality had initially started by tearing down their structures. But residents would simply rebuild them as soon as the municipal officials had left, said Mncameni.
But Sifiso Zulu, head of communications for KDM, denied that the municipal officials demolished shacks at the settlement. “KDM followed the law and are expecting a court order that will allow it to evict these illegal occupiers,” he said.
The land is owned by the municipality and has been zoned for the construction of public buildings such as a “much-needed” high school and a clinic for people living in the nearby township, said Zulu.
When the municipality’s court bid began in 2022, there were more than 400 people living in the settlement. Earlier this year, the number was estimated to have grown to 950.
On 14 March 2025, the eviction application was heard in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
After the hearing, Abahlali incorrectly stated that the case had been dismissed by the court. In fact, the matter was postponed to ensure all Shakas Head residents were included in the court case. Currently, only the 425 occupiers from the municipality’s 2022 count are included.
This means that the additional 425 occupiers who joined the settlement after 2022 were not legally represented and had not received the proper documentation required to include them in this eviction proceedings. The municipality will now have to serve all the remaining occupiers with the required legal notices.
Zulu said that by 26 May “the municipality will file an ex parte application to effect service on the unrepresented illegal occupiers, whereafter the matter will be set down for a court hearing”.
According to Zulu, the municipality was under the impression that the Shakas Head attorneys had updated their records to reflect that they represent all of the shack dwellers currently living on the land.
Shakas Head resident Khanyisa Mbabeza worries that if he moves away from the settlement, he will no longer be able to walk to work every day.
Meanwhile, the Dolphin Coast Residents and Ratepayers Association has vocally disapproved of the Shakas Head occupation. Tensions appear to be growing between the surrounding homeowners and those living in the settlement.
In late 2024, the association circulated a petition for the municipal bylaws to be implemented to deal with the Shakas Head families.
Deon Viljoen, chair of the ratepayers association, told GroundUp that homeowners had never called for the shack dwellers to be evicted nor are they involved in the current legal proceedings.
But Thapelo Mohapi, Abahlali’s general secretary, said he believes that the ratepayers are behind their eviction and that their contempt towards them is racially motivated.
We asked Viljoen about this allegation. He defended ratepayers, stating that the association was simply fulfilling its mandate by highlighting the complaints of its members and holding KDM accountable.
Last year, the ratepayers association made a video, calling for residents to sign their petition. In response to this, Abahlali made their own video opposing the proposed eviction of the Shakas Head community.
Mncameni says the Shakas Head residents oppose the eviction because the alternative accommodation offered by the municipality is in Vlakspruit, too far from Ballito where many of them work.
The Vlakspruit land is about 20 kilometres from Shakas Head. This area has already been zoned for housing, said Zulu.
Shakas Head resident Khanyisa Mbabeza fears that if he moves to Vlakspruit, he will no longer be able to support his family. He offers garden services in Ballito and walks to work every day. His children take taxis to school which he pays for with the little money he makes. He said his family won’t cope if he also has to pay to travel to work daily.