Download PDF CAPE TOWN – 22 February 2026 — A broad coalition of indigenous leaders, community organisations, civic movements, and political parties has launched an urgent bid to halt the City of Cape Town’s planned auction of public land scheduled for 26 February 2026.
The coalition has described the scheduled sale as a “neocolonial land grab.” The coalition also announced plans for legal action and a mass mobilisation in a struggle to stop the disposal of what it considers strategically important and valuable public assets.
The group argues that auctioning public land to private developers prioritises commercial interests over the constitutional rights to housing and dignity, particularly for poor and landless communities.
An urgent interdict was filed at the Cape Town High Court on 12 February 2026 by the Southern African Aboriginal Congress. While the application was dismissed, the coalition says the merits of the case remain intact and an application for leave to appeal is now in process. The coalition intends to pursue further legal avenues to preserve the land pending broader legal and political processes.
At the centre of the dispute is what the coalition describes as a flawed public participation process. Community leaders involved in the action allege that affected communities were not adequately informed of the proposed sales, potentially contravening Section 14 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) and municipal asset transfer regulations.
The coalition further claims that the City has centralised disposal functions, limiting sub-council oversight and weakening community engagement.
Land, Inequality and Historical Memory
In its statement, the coalition frames the proposed land auction within South Africa’s history of colonial dispossession and apartheid spatial planning. It argues that public land remains one of the few mechanisms available to address entrenched inequality in Cape Town — widely regarded as one of the most spatially divided cities in the world.
The statement references the forced removals under apartheid, likening the sale to a “second District Six removal,” invoking memories of communities displaced under racially discriminatory laws.
According to the coalition, disposing of public land without first exhausting options for social housing, restitution, affordable housing and community infrastructure would entrench historical patterns of exclusion.
The group also argues that principles contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) should guide any decisions involving land with cultural and spiritual significance to indigenous communities.
Call for Mass Protest
The coalition has called for a mass demonstration at the Good Hope Centre on Tuesday, 24 February at 8:30am — two days before the scheduled auction. Organisers say the protest aims to demonstrate public opposition and pressure the City to suspend the planned disposals.
They are demanding that the land be repurposed for community needs, including social housing and public amenities.
“The City has a responsibility to act in the interest of the public, not private developers,” the coalition said in its statement. “We will not stand idly by while our land is taken from under us.”
The City of Cape Town has not yet publicly responded to the coalition’s latest statement at the time of publication.
This press statement was released by a diverse indigenous peoples and local communities, political parties and civic groups on 22 February 2026.
