Khoi and San win round 2 in River Club battle
Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath had in March granted the interdict, saying that the fact that the development has economic benefits can never override the fundamental rights of the First Nations People – which was under threat if the development was allowed to proceed. This was after the Observatory Civic Association (OCA) and the Goringhaicona…
Muslim Judicial Council video of support
Click here to watch the Muslim Judicial Council’s video on their support of the LAC’s court case against the developers.
Right of reply: Read the petition, James Tannenberg, Khoi descendants don’t want their sacred heritage site ‘developed’
Tauriq Jenkins & Leslie London – 21 Feb 2022 Dear James Tannenberg, Since you have once again made use of the First Nations Collective’s (FNC) support to justify the destruction of a sacred heritage resource for the Khoi, we thought we would share some of the comments made on our petition site. That’s because the…
Right of reply: A rejoinder to the Zenprop chief executive about Amazon’s HQ
Michael Kwet & Tshiamo Malatji – 14 Feb 2022 On February 3, 2022, an interested party, James Tannenberger, penned a response to our 26 January op-ed, Amazon’s colonial HQ in Cape Town must be stopped. His “response” omits critical information and fails to address any of the core substance of our article. For starters, Tannenberger…
Plans for community hub at derelict Salt River site
Wesley Ford – 20 Jan 2022 The Salt River Heritage Society plans to build a community hub on a derelict plot it holds the lease on. The society secured the lease from the land’s trustees three months ago. “This plot has been derelict for over two decades, and we had a lengthy interaction with the…
The Headlines | Tauriq Jenkins
Listen to Tauriq Jenkins’ interview on Metro FM about the River Club Development here.
Amazon’s colonial HQ in Cape Town must be stopped
Michael Kwet & Tshiamo Malatji – 26 Jan 2022 Last week, the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoi Indigenous Traditional Council (GKKITC) and the Observatory Civic Association (OCA) sought an interdict against the construction of new facilities in Observatory, Cape Town. The centrepiece of development is the Amazon headquarters, without which the project will not go forward. The…
Here’s how Liesbeek River floodplain will impact Amazon HQ development
Barbara Friedman – 25 Jan 2022 Dr Kevin Winter of the Future Water Institute at UCT speaks to Refilwe Moloto about the controversial Amazon HQ development. – The area for the planned Amazon headquarters is a floodplain so it will flood, says Dr Winter – Secondly it is hard to model as the catchment area…
Amazon Liesbeek development awaits court ruling
Leslie London’s interview on Radio 786 LISTEN TO RADIO CLIP HERE
Court Freezes Planned Amazon HQ in Cape Town on Historically Significant Site
Lisa Vives, Global Information Network – 24 Jan 2022 NEW YORK (IDN) — A massive new complex housing Amazon’s proposed South African headquarters along with a hotel and other businesses continues to face stiff opposition from indigenous Khoisan, environmental and community groups despite city officials already approving of construction of the nine-story construction. Opponents say…
‘We’re not opposed to Amazon building HQ in Cape Town just not on heritage land’
– Concerned citizens and traditional leaders are opposing the development of the land at the confluence of the Liesbeek River for environmental and cultural-historical reasons – Activists say the area is a flood plain and not suitable for the planned development of Amazon headquarters – They also argue that the area has sacred traditional significance…
Landmark River Club case tests heritage rights
Steve Kretzmann – 24 Jan 2022 – Judge Patricia Goliath is to rule on an urgent application to stop a R4.5 billion development on the River Club site in Observatory, Cape Town. – The development, which would include a regional headquarters for corporate giant Amazon, is opposed by the Observatory Civic Association and by the…
Opposing lawyers argue money versus heritage on Amazon River Club development
Bulelwa Payi – 23 Jan 2022 AMAZON’S withdrawal from the controversial River Club development could “rob” Cape town of a R7.4 billion cash injection for its “ailing” economy, while Khoisan people argued their heritage was not up for sale. These were among a myriad arguments presented before Western Cape High Court deputy judge president Patricia…
Khoi fight for Cape heritage rites
Mark Steenbok – 20 Jan 2022 Indigenous groups in Cape Town opposed to what they call a violent assault on their heritage say there was no meaningful public participation in the plans to build Amazon’s Africa headquarters. The US company is forging ahead with construction on the banks of the Liesbeek River in the city…
Pourquoi le nouveau QG africain d’Amazon fait polémique
Omar Lucien Koffi La construction du nouveau siège social africain d’Amazon en Afrique du Sud a été arrêté. Des représentants de deux groupes ethniques ont porté plainte. Selon les Khoi et les San, le QG empiète sur un territoire sacré. Les représentants des descendants des premiers habitants d’Afrique du Sud, les Khoi et les San,…
Liesbeek development: “This is a case of global importance”
The Goringhaicona Khoi Khoi Indigenous Traditional Council (GKKITC) and the Observatory Civic Association (OCA) sought an interdict against the proposed Liesbeek development. This is what is currently happening with the case. From January 19-21, the campaign’s interdict was heard in the Cape Town high court. The interdict seeks to stop the development of 150 000…
Amazon may quit African HQ deal if blocked, Cape Town court hears
AFP – 20 Jan 2022 Johannesburg – Online retail giant Amazon could pull out of a deal to create its Africa headquarters in Cape Town, if a legal challenge by indigenous activists is allowed to proceed, a Cape Town court heard Thursday. Construction is already under way for Amazon’s R4 billion ($262 million, 231-million-euro) African…
Heritage land dispute over Amazon’s new Africa HQ goes to court
Tim Cocks – 19 Jan 2022 Groups representing the descendants of SA’s earliest inhabitants, the Khoi and San, went to court on Wednesday to try to halt construction of Amazon’s new 70,000-square metre Africa headquarters on land they regard as sacred. The culturally-intertwined San and Khoi were the first inhabitants of SA. The former lived…
KHOISAN LEADERS HEAD TO COURT TO CHALLENGE AMAZON HQ DEVELOPMENT IN CT
Saya Pierce-Jones – 19 Jan 2022 CAPE TOWN – Khoisan leaders in Cape Town are on Wednesday legally challenging the development of tech giant Amazon’s new headquarters. The Western Cape High Court will hear argument against the company’s plans to build on historic and culturally significant land. Seven years ago the Liesbeek Leisure Property Trust…
Why South Africa should cancel Amazon’s new HQ
Michael Kwet – 18 Jan 2022 On January 19, Amazon faces a major court showdown over the construction of its new headquarters in Cape Town, South Africa. The Indigenous Khoi and San peoples, environmentalists and other activists are asking the South African High Court to interdict the project, which sits on ancestral Indigenous land and…
Liesbeek Action Campaign demonstration ahead of court hearing over River Club development
Cape Town – The Liesbeek Action Campaign (LAC) is this week hosting a string of demonstrations including an interfaith service and a picket outside the River Club, ahead of their Western Cape High Court hearing on Wednesday. The campaign has made several attempts to stop the R4.6 billion River Club development project by the Liesbeek…