Private estates cannot enforce road traffic law or ‘domestic rules’ similar to the curfews and pass laws of the apartheid era‚ the KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg) has ruled. A TimesLIVE report notes the judgment ended a long-running case brought by Niemesh Singh‚ a resident of Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate‚ who argued that speed trapping in the estate was unlawful.

‘Domestic rules’ that the judgment has struck down include estates only allowing domestic workers to walk on the streets between 6am and 6pm.

The judges said the estate had not taken the steps required by the National Road Traffic Act and that enforcement may only be carried out by an officer authorised to do so. Justice Project SA chair Howard Dembovsky said the roads in most gated communities fall within the definition of a ‘public road’ as is defined in the Act. He said the judgment confirmed that cannot set up speed measuring equipment‚ stop alleged infringers and issue them with fines.

Full TimesLIVE report

Rules for domestic workers are repressive and reminiscent of the position the apartheid regime took, the court found. It noted the rules also effectively state that domestic workers may not walk on roads in the estate and are only allowed to walk to designated bus stop points to be transported, says a News24 report. ‘Domestic workers are simply not free to traverse the public roads in the estate save in the limited manner provided by the rules,’ the judgment stated.

‘From a constitutional point of view, their rights in this regard are severely restricted.’ The full Bench, which included Judges Rishi Seegobin, Mahendra Chetty and Piet Bezuidenhout, commented that the estate appeared to have categorised domestic workers into a class of people who pose a security risk to people living on the estate.

‘Their position within the estate is reminiscent of the position that prevailed in the apartheid era: while they are good enough to perform domestic duties for their employers on the estate…they are precluded from exercising any rights derived from public law and the Constitution. The restrictive nature of these rules is...an affront to their fundamental rights to human dignity, equality, freedom of association, freedom of movement, freedom of occupation and fair labour practices,’ the judgment read.

The court also found that speed trapping and the setting of road rules in a private estate was illegal as the roads inside of the estate were public roads and only the Minister of Transport, or someone authorised by him, has the power to regulate any aspect of public roads.

Full News24 report

Singh said the court decision was a victory against ‘arrogant’ estate directors and employees and helped to restore the dignity of domestic workers, according to a Sunday Tribune report. ‘They should not be treated like herds of animals that need to be controlled in and out of any estate.’ He said, should the estate decide to appeal in the Constitutional Court or SCA, he was prepared for the fight. According to the estate’s rules handbook, domestic employees were only allowed to walk through the streets when the in-house shuttle service was not available. If they were found to transgress this rule, homeowners were liable to pay a fine. Singh believed that such a rule severely reduced the dignity of domestic workers. Lizelle Paola, the attorney representing the estate, is quoted as saying management was studying the judgment and would make a decision soon. However, the president of the Association of Residential Communities, Jeff Gilmour, said they would challenge the judgment, as it had implications for other estates.

Full Sunday Tribune report (subscription needed)