Dean Macpherson has welcomed a Western Cape High Court order allowing government to notify affected parties of its application over the occupied state land near Grabouw.

The Knoflokskraal court order allows the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to proceed with formal notification of its main application concerning the occupied land.

The order authorises substituted service—alternative ways of delivering court papers so that affected people, including those whose identities are unknown, have an opportunity to participate.

According to the department’s statement, reported by SAnews, the main application is expected to be heard by February 2027.

What the Knoflokskraal court order authorises

The notification process will include notices in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa displayed at prominent locations across the affected properties.

It also provides for loudhailer announcements, direct service on community structures, newspaper notices and access to the court papers through the department’s official digital platforms.

The immediate development is procedural: it enables the department to notify affected parties before the substantive application is considered. It should not be presented as a final eviction order.

Why government is approaching the court

Knoflokskraal comprises six state-owned farms covering approximately 2,000 hectares in the Elgin Valley near Grabouw.

The department says the occupation began in 2020 and has expanded to more than 4,000 structures. Its estimated population is between 15,000 and 20,000 people. These are reported estimates rather than a verified household count.

Government’s stated objectives include preventing further expansion and establishing who occupies the land, household circumstances and potential vulnerabilities. Its earlier announcement also identified stopping further construction and the alleged unlawful sale or allocation of state land among the measures it intended to seek.

Residents’ circumstances remain central

The dispute also involves claims of cultural identity and historical dispossession.

In commentary published in May, the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies described indigenous families who regard Knoflokskraal as a cultural homeland and seek livelihoods through farming, conservation and cooperative activities. That account provides context for residents’ perspectives; it does not determine the legal merits of individual claims.

The department says the notification process is intended to give all affected parties proper notice and a reasonable opportunity to put their positions before the court.

What happens next?

The department will implement the court-authorised notification measures as it advances its main application.

Macpherson said government’s actions would remain subject to judicial oversight and procedural fairness.

For residents and neighbouring communities, the next significant development will be the substantive hearing. The Knoflokskraal court order opens the way for participation in that process, while the wider dispute remains unresolved.

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