City of Tshwane Serves Kleinfontein With Court Order Over Illegal Township Status, SA Divided

• The Afrikaner-only settlement of Kleinfontein has been served with a court order by the City of Tshwane Municipality
• Leaders of the settlement claimed that the municipality threatened them with demolition, apart from the court order
• South Africans were divided by the developments, with some in support and others against the settlement

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

GAUTENG – Residents of the Afrikaner-only settlement of Kleinfontein are disappointed with the concerned with the City of Tshwane Municipality.

The municipality has served the settlement with a court notice, with leaders of the white-only settlement saying they’ve been threatened with demolition as well. The settlement, which is east of Pretoria, has approximately 1,500 residents. The settlement consists of around 650 houses.

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Why are the leaders of the settlement disappointed?

Kleinfontein community spokesperson, Dannie de Beer, said that they were disappointed with the conduct of the municipality after they were served a court order.

The court order compels the settlement to file a new spatial planning and land use management application. Kleinfontein is one of 17 settlements in the capital city identified as being illegally and improperly zoned for township establishments.

De Beer claimed that the new application would be expensive, adding that they were disappointed that the City of Tshwane didn’t engage with the community first.

“Tshwane has decided not only to take the community to court but also to threaten them with demolition. As far as we know, we are the only community, settlement that is being threatened this way. We take exception to it,” he said.

It's not just the municipality that the settlement has to contend with. The Economic Freedom Fighters also took issue with it, previously marching against it.

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Municipality defends its actions

In May 2025, the City of Tshwane denied that it was unfairly targeting the Afrikaner-only settlement. The municipality hiked the rates bill of the settlement, saying it was just getting what was due to it. The rates bill has shot up from around R50,000 a month to R2 million a month.

The decision came after the North Gauteng High Court declared Kleinfontein an illegal settlement, ordering the City of Tshwane Municipality to enforce its by-laws.

Tshwane Deputy Mayor Eugene Modise explained that the municipality was only following the court’s directive. He noted that the municipality also established a mayoral subcommittee which would look to formalise the 17 illegal townships within the municipality’s borders, of which Kleinfontein is one.

How did South Africans react?

Social media users were divided by the events, with some saying that the settlement should be left alone, while others argued against it. Some suggested that they just follow the municipality’s rules, and they would be okay.

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Kevin Sadie stated:

“As per Section 235 of the Constitution of South Africa, Kleinfontein is legal. The municipality has no right to overrule the rule of law.”

Duncan Chimombo said:

“Leave them alone. Don’t you get tired of destroying and never building?”

Bruce Nkambule added:

“Just leave those guys alone. You can also build a black only settlement. They maintain their own infrastructure, yet we destroy our own. Just let them be in peace. They are not disturbing anyone.”

Tinyiko Khambani stated:

“In simple English, this is a declaration of war driven by nothing but jealousy. It's going to be ugly, very ugly. You cannot just destroy someone's property due to politics.”

Cee Mo said:

“They should just comply with municipality regulations, then they'll be fine. The municipality served the settlement with a court notice, compelling it to file a new spatial planning and land use management application to supplement an outdated one filed in 2013. Kleinfontein is one of 17 settlements identified by the capital as illegal and improperly zoned for township establishments.”

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Delaine Wallis Venter agreed:

“It’s not zoned correctly/properly. It’s one of 17 settlements that are illegal or not properly zoned.”

Griffin Magalasi Botha II said:

“Take it down.”

Katlego EM asked:

“Why are whites so obsessed with building white-only settlements? Why not go back to Europe, where they belong? This is Africa.”

Sphamandla Rafael added:

“Take it down, we are sick and tired of these racists.”

Clementine Malatji stated:

“If they are not complying, then yes, demolish. It’s been happening in black-only settlements, too. We are all equal.”

Kleinfontein fights for survival amid tax hike

Briefly News reported that a new valuation roll by the Tshwane Municipality has Kleinfontein fighting for its survival.

The High Court in Gauteng declared the whites-only town an illegal settlement and not compliant with the land use regulations.

Kleinfontein's spokesperson described the proposed taxes by the Tshwane Municipality as ridiculous.

Source: Briefly News