R1.7 million land expropriation battle in South Africa
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has spent approximately R1.66 million on legal counsel in the ongoing court battle of the Expropriation Act.
The amount was confirmed by Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson, in response to questions in parliament.
The Expropriation Act was signed into law in early 2025 as a means for the government to take private land for public use.
While land expropriation is common globally and was present in South Africa through the 1975 Expropriation Act, the 2025 laws sparked outrage from several groups.
Previously, if the government expropriated private land, it would have to pay the property’s fair market value.
The new Act changed how compensation was calculated, making provisions for “just and equitable” compensation, in line with the South African constitution.
Werksmans’ senior associate, Thomas Karberg, previously explained that the new Act would allow the government to account for factors such as current use and improvements when calculating compensation.
The main criticism of the new Act is the possibility of “expropriation without compensation”, where the government does not have to pay when it takes private land.
“Whilst it may be possible to arrive at nil compensation, it would only be in extremely rare circumstances that would enable nil compensation,” Karberg said.
“It is also arguable that expropriation without compensation as a concept may be susceptible to a constitutional challenge.”
Another part of the Act which was scrutinised is its provision for expropriation for public interest, not just for public use.
“Expropriations to make land available to enable citizens to gain access to land for land reform purposes now have a statutory basis in addition to the Constitutional basis,” Karberg said.
The Act was quickly challenged in court by groups including AfriForum and the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), with the Democratic Alliance (DA) also challenging it.
These groups sought to challenge the constitutionality of the Act, with proceedings still ongoing in the Western Cape High Court.
AfriForum CEO, Kallie Kriel, said the legal action was necessary to protect South Africans from expropriation without compensation.
“Fighting expropriation without compensation is not only in the interest of landowners; it is in the interest of everyone in the country,” he said in August 2026.
R1.6 million price tag
In the ongoing court proceedings regarding the constitutionality of the Expropriation Act, Macpherson confirmed that R1.66 million had been spent on legal counsel.
“The total amount spent to date on legal fees in relation to the litigation challenging the constitutionality of the Expropriation Act, 2024, in the Western Cape High Court is R1,661,523.90,” he said.
“This amount includes fees paid to both junior and senior Counsel engaged in connection with the three applications which have been consolidated into one by the Western Cape High Court”.
He explained that the amount also included a connected court case between himself and the Liberty Fighters Network.
This case concerned affidavits submitted by Macpherson that were set aside and ultimately dismissed.
The court found that this case was meritless and brought for ulterior purposes, namely to delay the main proceedings in the Expropriation Act court case, Macpherson said.
He also defended his department’s current legal costs, citing its being named as a defendant in the court case.
“As a cited party in litigation concerning legislation administered within the Public Works and Infrastructure portfolio, the Minister is required to have legal representation present throughout the proceedings,” he said.
He named several other reasons for the representation, including answering potential questions in court and advising both the Minister and the Department.
“Counsels were thus necessary to ensure that the Minister and the Department received appropriate legal advice, and remained properly represented throughout the proceedings,” he said.
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