South Africa

This was an application to have an interim interdict issued against the respondents, students at the University of Cape Town, made final. The respondents were interdicted from entering the applicant's, the University of Cape Town, premises and committing any acts that prevent the applicant from rendering services.

The court determined whether the applicant satisfied the requirements of a final interdict, and whether the interdict restricted the respondents’ constitutional freedom of association, expression and demonstration, and right to dignity.

This was an appeal against the judgment of the Regional Court that convicted and sentenced the appellants to a wholly suspended sentence of a fine of R600,00 or three months’ imprisonment.  The appellants had been charged with demonstrating in contravention of section 12(1)(e) as read with read with sections 1, 3, 4 and 13of the Regulation of Gatherings Act, 205 of 1995 (“the RGA”). 

The applicant, Rhodes University, sought and was granted an interim interdict against the respondents arising from an unlawful protest action. This court determined whether the interim interdict against the respondents, three individual students, the Student Representative Council of the University (“the SRC”), the General Body of Students of the University “engaging in unlawful activities on the Applicant’s campus” and “Those persons engaging in or associating themselves with unlawful activities on the Applicant’s campus”, was constitutional.