Tauriq Jenkins and indigenous elders were told by Judge Elizabeth Baartman that they were not allowed to make any submissions without legal representation during the two-day appeal hearing which ended in the the Western Cape High Court yesterday.

This, after Advocate Anton Katz SC for Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council (GKKITC) described Jenkins’ oral arguments as ‘legally uninteresting’.

On Tuesday, notes a Cape Argus report, a rescission application which would effectively nullify the GKKITC’s role in litigation was opposed by Jenkins, but Katz showed no mercy, stating that no matter how ‘clever’ Jenkins was, he was not in a position to legally represent anyone.

‘Only Mr (Tim) Dunn in this case as a lawyer can legally represent GKKITC in this case,’ Katz said.

The full Bench sitting is a result of the Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust (LLPT), the province, the city and the Western Cape First Nation Collective’s (WCFNC) to have the matter heard on appeal at the SCA.

In March, Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath made an order that construction at the R4.5bn River Club development be halted, pending meaningful engagement and the outcome of a review application – which has been delayed by subsequent litigation, challenging the order.

Yesterday, notes the Cape Argus report, the City of Cape Town, the province, the developers and the WCFNC argued why the conclusion reached by Goliath in granting the interim order (in favour of OCA and GKKITC) did not meet the requirements in law.

The city’s lawyer, Advocate Ron Paschke SC, argued that the appeal court must weigh up the benefits of the development in light of the public’s interest.

He said the right to heritage was not in dispute, but whether irreparable harm was being done to that right, in the construction of the development, had to be considered. Judgment was reserved but Baartman assured all parties that it would be deliberated soon.

Full Cape Argus report