Best of 2025: Expropriation Act, Driefontein - SA's battle for property rights

The Driefontein expropriation battle became one of the defining legal and political flashpoints of 2025. Through Sakeliga’s courtroom fight and warnings from policy analysts, these articles reveal how expropriation without compensation—enabled by the Expropriation Act of 2024—reshaped debates on property rights, governance and investor confidence. This compilation traces the escalating clash between citizens and the state over who ultimately controls South Africa’s land.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..BizNews Reporter.Sakeliga entered a high-stakes, seven-year legal battle over a 34-hectare farm that was expropriated without compensation by the ANC/EFF-run Ekurhuleni Metro. CEO Piet le Roux warned that the case carried far-reaching political, economic and social consequences, highlighting deep tensions over property rights, government overreach and South Africa’s contentious land-reform policies..EWC is here: ANC/EFF’s Ekurhuleni expropriated R60m farm for nil compensation.The Driefontein case, highlighted by Sakeliga, exposed the risks of expropriation without compensation in South Africa. A municipality claimed R60m worth of land for social housing, offering “nil compensation” under financial and social justifications. Beyond legal wrangling, the case signalled wider threats to property rights, governance and investor confidence across the country..Driefontein EWC dispute signals danger for property rights in SA: Corrigan.The widely publicised Driefontein case—where Ekurhuleni Municipality offered R0 compensation—spotlighted South Africa’s Expropriation Act of 2024. The IRR warned that more than 1,100 state entities could now seize property for free, raising serious concerns about abuse, the erosion of property rights and the sweeping powers granted to government under the new law..IRR warns: Over 1,100 state entities could seize property for free

Best of 2025: Expropriation Act, Driefontein - SA's battle for property rights

Related Stories

BN Daybreak: DA edges ANC in Ekurhuleni, Simmers rules out working with PA, SA consumers squeezed

DA in knife-edge lead over the ANC in two metros | The Electoral Roadshow with Wayne Sussman

Can three new laws break SA's "political economy of inefficiency"?

Tender empire exposed after threat to kill women who said “No, thanks” | Juanita du Preez