Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa

MEDIA SUMMARY– JUDGMENT DELIVERED IN THE SUPREME
COURT OF APPEAL
From:
The Registrar, Supreme Court of Appeal
Date:
28 November 2018
Status:
Immediate
Please note that the media summary is intended for the benefit of the
media and does not form part of the judgment of the Supreme Court of
Appeal.
Community of Grootkraal v Kobot Business Trusts
The SCA today upheld an appeal by the Community of Grootkraal that
they had a public right to make use of a small portion of the farm
Grootkraal, near the entrance to the Cango Caves outside Oudtshoorn, for
church and related community purposes, including a school. At present
the Grootkraal congregation, an outstation of the Grace International
Church, worships on the property, which is also used by the Grootkraal
UCC Primary School.
The Community claimed that it had used this portion of the farm from
time immemorial, dating back to the middle of the 1800s, for religious
purposes, following upon missionary work by the London Missionary
Society. The main building on the property was erected by the
Community at some time in the last two decades of the nineteenth
century. It had been adapted for school use, in addition to its use as a
church, in about 1930 or 1931, when the school was established. It had
served both purposes ever since.
The Community contended that it had a right to use the property and the
buildings on it for these purposes and that the right was established by
immemorial user. It was therefore to be assumed that it had come into

existence in a lawful manner. The SCA held that it was for the owner of
the property, which had sought the eviction of the school, to show that the
right had come into existence in an unlawful manner, which it failed to
do. The Court accordingly ordered the Registrar of Deeds to register a
public servitude in favour of the Community to use the property, as
defined in its order, for the purposes of a Christian church and any related
community activities, including the conduct of a school.