Children living at a shelter in Saulsville will be removed by the Department of Social Development after a lengthy battle over the legality of the facility and its ability to provide adequate care.

According to a Pretoria News report, the department had to approach the court after being denied access to the Kingdom Life Youth Care Centre to establish if the allegations of mismanagement and corruption were true and to remove the children.

Last week, the Atteridgeville Children’s Court granted the department the right to remove the minors.

The parties had been embroiled in a legal dispute since 2018, with the department claiming that the centre was operating illegally. In court papers, the department also cited claims of nepotism and financial mismanagement at the centre.

The centre, established in 2002 as a non-profit organisation and mostly existing through the kindness of the community, said in its affidavit its first priority was to care for the children.

It vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

It said it refused the department entry because there was no court order allowing officials to do so.

The court found that Kingdom Life Youth Care Centre was at fault for failing to renew its registration. It also found that children at the centre were being placed without any prescribed registration.

Plans for their removal would be discussed in due course, the department said.

Full Pretoria News report