Date: 03/09/2026
Survivors and family members of victims of the Sharpeville Massacre have launched a legal claim against the South African government seeking reparations and justice for the massacre of unarmed protesters by apartheid era police in 1960.
They are demanding that the South African government finally implements the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and provides reparations to the victims and their families.
The legal claim, launched at an event in Sharpeville on Thursday 3 September 2026, will seek to overturn legislation passed by the former apartheid regime a year after the massacre (1961) which prohibited legal action by survivors and dependents of those killed and which has never been repealed.
The Sharpeville Massacre was one of the most notorious atrocities of the apartheid era in South Africa. On 21 March 1960 at least 91 people were killed and 238 wounded when police opened fire on a crowd of 5,000 peaceful protestors who had gathered to protest against discriminatory apartheid laws.
Within a minute, they had fired 1,362 rounds into the crowd of men, women and children. At least 91 people were killed and more than 238 people wounded. Most of the victims were shot in the back as they turned to flee.
It was a watershed moment as the international community finally woke up to the horrors of apartheid. It set in train a series of events inside and outside South Africa which led to South Africa’s isolation on the international stage and the development of a global anti-apartheid movement. Such is the importance of Sharpeville in South African history that Nelson Mandela chose Sharpeville as the location for signing the new constitution in 1996.
The legal claim is being brought in South Africa as a class action by Human Rights and Non-Governemental Organisation Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) supported by UK human rights law firm Leigh Day acting as consultants to the South African legal team.
The three lead claimants, who will represent two classes of people – surviving victims who were shot during the massacre and surviving dependents of people who were shot and killed – are:
Mr Abram Mofokeng (87 years old) was 20 years old at the time of the massacre and was shot in the foot and back while fleeing gunfire. Doctors were not able to remove the bullet, which is still in his back. After being treated for his bullet wound, Mr Mofokeng was imprisoned for his participation in the protest and subjected to further brutal treatment. His legal claim for compensation was extinguished by the Indemnity Act, and his application for an ex-gratia payment was rejected on the grounds that he was a protester.
Ms Paulina Mathinye (71 years old) who was almost 5 years old when her father Mr Samson Mathinye was killed in the massacre. Her family struggled after her father’s death – as well as the emotional impact, the financial impact of losing the family’s breadwinner was devastating, and she and her siblings lived in poverty and often went without food and other basic necessities.
Mr Ishmael Poho (72 years old) who was six years old when his father Gilbert Poho Dimo was killed at the Massacre. Mr Poho was very close to his father and has spoken about how his “world came crashing down” after he was killed. His mother and sisters were made to search body bags at Sharpeville police station to find his father’s corpse, and the family were not allowed to bury him themselves. Like Ms Mathinye’s family, Mr Poho’s family severely struggled financially after his father’s death. Both Ms Mathinye and Mr Poho are still resident in the same family homes they lived in when their fathers were killed.
As a result of losing their fathers, both Paulina Mathinye and Ishmael Poho had childhoods marred by extreme poverty and hardship which impacted their education and their subsequent employment and life chances.
Before the launch of the legal claim in Sharpeville, family members of victims held a silent walk of witness following the same route taken by the marchers who started the protest before paying tribute to the victims at the Sharpeville Memorial Garden.
At the press conference at the Nkadimeng Leutsoa Library in Sharpeville, survivors of the massacre, relatives of victims and their lawyers set out how the claim will work and what it will seek to achieve.
Survivor Abram Mofokeng said:
“I grieve for my community; neighbours killed, families broken, and generations left without closure. Many people close to me – friends, cousins, schoolmates were shot. I saw them on the ground. Some of them survived but were crippled.
It is not possible to forget what happened in 1960, it traumatised us mentally and physically. I cannot go a day without thinking about how we have been affected.”
Paulina Mathinye, whose father was killed in the massacre said:
“I was never able to get justice for my father’s death, and my soul is not happy. There was no opportunity for me to do so. I didn’t have the information about the TRC, so I didn’t go…
The police killed my father. There is nothing that could bring him back, but I want justice to be done”.
Charne Tracey from Lawyers for Human Rights said:
“The plaintiffs want to enter into dialogue with the South African Government and invite them to meet with the wider cohort of survivors and their families to discuss appropriate reparations, informed by the recommendations of the TRC. But they are under no illusions that they must carry a legal stick if their voices are going to be listened to.”
Dan Leader, international department barrister and partner at Leigh Day said:
“This is a time of reckoning for modern South Africa. For any successful political transformation, it is vital that the past is confronted, and that justice is done and seen to be done. That is unfinished business for South Africa, and through this case the people of Sharpeville intend to fight on until it has been completed.”
The families of most of the 91 people killed and 238 people injured at the massacre still live in Sharpeville, many of them in the same family home – small rudimentary houses designed by apartheid-era town planners to minimise costs and reinforce segregation.
The survivors of the massacre lived for decades afterwards, many of them with disabilities as a result of their injuries, and a small number of elderly survivors are still alive in Sharpeville today.
The new Government in 1994 was charged with the burden of contending with the trauma of apartheid. It started with the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) under the Chairmanship of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The TRC was a first step in a national process of national reconciliation, accountability and reparations to victims. But it is not widely known that its recommendations have still not been effectively implemented almost 30 years after they were made. The lack of meaningful accountability or reparations for apartheid era crimes is now a major issue in South Africa. The Khampepe Commission of Enquiry is currently investigating allegations of interference with or obstruction of the investigation and prosecution of TRC cases and is due to report in December 2026.
The Sharpeville case is focused on reparations which have fallen far short of what was recommended by the TRC both in terms of the amount awarded and the highly restricted number of people authorised to receive support. In desperation, increasingly elderly victims of apartheid have taken to protesting and sleeping outside the Constitutional Court to demand reparations.
To date, over 70 survivors and close family members of people killed at the Massacre have come forward and expressed support for, or an interest in participating in, the proposed litigation. It is anticipated that more will come forward after the case is launched.
The legal basis for the claims – The Indemnity Act 61 of 1961 – was enacted in the aftermath of the Sharpeville Massacre and prevented civil and criminal proceedings from being brought against specified state officials and others in respect of conduct falling within its terms. It was brought in to protect the apartheid government from any legal accountability and remains in force in South Africa to the present day.
Since its enactment, the law has presented a total barrier to the survivors and next of kin of those killed from pursuing any claims for damages arising from the massacre.
The plaintiffs will argue that the law should be struck from the statute book on the basis that it is not compatible with their fundamental right of access to court under the South African Constitution.
If the South African government argues that the claims are out of time, the plaintiffs will argue that the Indemnity Act had the effect of interrupting the three-year prescription period, which should be considered to run from the moment the Act is struck down.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Photos and video footage from the press conference and associated events in Sharpeville can be found here
A full legal briefing on the Sharpeville Massacre legal claim can be found here
For more information please contact:
Mpho Makhubela, Communications Officer, Lawyers for Human Rights
Email: Mpho@lhr.org.za
Tel: +27 (0)64 779 5595
Mike O’Connor, Senior Media Relations Manager, Leigh Day
Email: pressoffice@leighday.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)7787 413411
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This week, United Nations member states will gather in Geneva for the 8th negotiating session dedicated to developing a treaty to...
Date: 24/10/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | LHR in court for...
Today, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is in the Labour Court, Braamfontein for the matter of Caroline Sunday & Others...
Date: 20/10/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | Jagersfontein Dam: The tragic...
Lawyers for Human Rights (“LHR”) expresses its sadness and shock at the recent disastrous events that occurred at Jargersfontein. According...
Date: 14/09/2022
CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST | Regional...
This training initiative is open to all paralegals, candidate attorneys, and junior attorneys based in Southern Africa. Get expert training...
Date: 14/09/2022
CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST: Reporting on...
This training initiative is open to all print, television, online and radio journalists in Southern Africa. Get expert training to...
Date: 12/09/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | LHR in court over...
LHR’s Statelessness Project is in the Pretoria High Court today representing a stateless person who has waited 4 years for...
Date: 06/09/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | Regulatory authority’s bar on...
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are disappointed by the 2 August judgment of...
Date: 03/08/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | Closing arguments in prison...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) and Webber Wentzel will be back in the Johannesburg High Court at 10:00am today, Tuesday...
Date: 02/08/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | Lawyers for Human Rights...
Today Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will be at the Land Claims Court bringing an application to have MAXXLiving, a...
Date: 26/07/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | Rand West City Municipality...
On Tuesday 19 July 2022, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) obtained an order in the case of Thulani Mashibini vs...
Date: 21/07/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | LHR welcomes dismissal of...
On 14 June 2022, the Johannesburg Central Magistrate’s Court dismissed criminal charges of public violence against seven workers represented by...
Date: 14/06/2022
JOINT STATEMENT | Legal Reform on employment...
Today, the Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) draw...
Date: 01/06/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | Informal Settlement In Laudium...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is in urgent court today, 24 May 2022, defending the Nkandla Informal Settlement from another...
Date: 24/05/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | A new collaboration to...
Established in 2005, Gender Dynamix (GDX) is the first registered Africa-based public benefit organisation to focus solely on the transgender...
Date: 14/04/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | Prison torture in the...
Lawyers for Human Rights (“LHR”) and Webber Wentzel will be in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday 11 April 2022...
Date: 11/04/2022
PRESS STATEMENT| Madibeng Magistrates’ Court Dismisses an...
On 23 March 2022, the Madibeng Magistrates’ Court handed down a judgment that dismissed an eviction application brought by the...
Date: 04/04/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | Victory for family unit...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) welcomes the order handed down on 18 March 2022 by the Johannesburg Children’s Court recognizing...
Date: 22/03/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | Victory for communities as...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is proud of the outcome of the Deadly Air case, upholding communities’ constitutional right to...
Date: 22/03/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | LHR and partners celebrate...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), in collaboration with local partners, will celebrate Human Rights Day this year with a festival...
Date: 21/03/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | Pretoria Magistrates’ Court awards...
On 11 March 2022, the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court handed down its judgment in the matter of Roy Kamushinda v Minister...
Date: 15/03/2022
JOB OPPORTUNITY: Grants Liaison Attorney
Lawyers for Human Rights invites applicants to apply for an Attorney post as Grants Liaison for the LHR’s Strategic Litigation...
Date: 07/03/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | International Commission of Jurists...
Today, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, will act as amicus curiae in the...
Date: 24/02/2022
JOB OPPORTUNITY: Johannesburg Law Clinic Head
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) invites applicants to apply for an Attorney post as Head of the LHR Law Clinic...
Date: 22/02/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | Rights of Black Commercial...
In 2016, ownership of the farms that were leased to different farmers, some of by the Department of Rural Development...
Date: 21/02/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | Southern Defenders to make...
On Thursday, 17 February 2022, Southern Defenders, represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, will act as amicus curiae in the...
Date: 16/02/2022
PRESS STATEMENT | High Court Victory for...
Pretoria High Court Orders a Suspension of Execution of an Eviction Order Pending the Outcome of the Leave to Appeal...
Date: 24/01/2022
JOB OPPORTUNITY: Senior Attorney, Lawyers for Human...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) seeks to appoint a Senior Attorney for its Environmental Rights Programme, based in Johannesburg.
Date: 21/01/2022
JOB OPPORTUNITY: Maintenance Officer, Pretoria
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) seeks to appoint a Maintenance Officer for its National Office, based in Pretoria. LHR is...
Date: 17/01/2022
JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT LHR IN JANUARY 2022!
There are several exciting opportunities to join the LHR team! Have a look to see if you qualify, and how...
Date: 07/01/2022
International Human Rights Day Statement : The...
As we commemorate international Human Rights Day on 10th of December 2021 let us remember the plight of children on...
Date: 10/12/2021
WHAT HAPPENS UNDERGROUND STAYS UNDERGROUND
A Study of Experiences of Gender-Based Violence and Sexual Harassment of Women Workers in the South African Mining Industry Factfinding...
Date: 03/12/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | World Children’s Day: Rising...
“Children are the soul of our society. If we fail them, then we have failed as a society.” – Judge...
Date: 20/11/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Former mine workers face...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is in the Middelburg High Court today, representing a largely retired or otherwise unemployed former...
Date: 26/10/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | African Civil Society Reiterates...
This week, United Nations member states will gather in Geneva for the 7th negotiating session dedicated to developing a treaty...
Date: 26/10/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Misinterpretation of Constitutional Court...
On 22 September 2021, the Constitutional Court handed down a judgment in which is declared section 10 of the Births...
Date: 29/09/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Victory in the Supreme...
On 19 August 2021, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) heard arguments from Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) on behalf...
Date: 28/09/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Supreme Court of Appeal...
On 22 September 2021, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) handed down two judgments in the matter Kouwenhoven v Minister...
Date: 22/09/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Constitutional Court affirms the...
“A surname connects us to our heritage and roots us in history and family tradition. In many African cultures, names...
Date: 22/09/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | LHR goes to court...
LHR’s Land and Housing Programme is in court again for the fourteenth time this year for the case of Ventersdorp...
Date: 17/09/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Pretoria High Court Awards...
The Pretoria High Court has awarded refugee status to JN and KHG, represented by LHR, in two separate matters. In...
Date: 16/09/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Pretoria High Court Grants...
On Tuesday, 14 September 2021 the Pretoria High Court granted citizenship to Mr. Emmanuel Bukweya Ngenani, after a long battle...
Date: 15/09/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | LHR at the Supreme...
Today, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will appear in the Supreme Court of Appeal in the matter of The Somali...
Date: 19/08/2021
STATEMENT BY THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN NATIONALITY NETWORK...
Statelessness is a preventable but growing phenomenon globally and in the SADC region. Statelessness across the region is primarily linked...
Date: 18/08/2021
JOINT STATEMENT | Scrapping of provisions discriminating...
Today the Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), applauded...
Date: 12/08/2021
JOB OPPORTUNITY | Head of Law Clinic...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) seeks to appoint a Manager of its Law Clinic for its Refugee and Migrant Rights...
Date: 04/08/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Constitutional Court confirms that...
On 30 July 2021, the Constitutional Court handed down its judgment in the matter of Jonathan Dubula Qwelane v South...
Date: 30/07/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | LHR speaks out about...
As a non-profit organisation dedicated to making rights real, especially for our country’s most marginalized and vulnerable communities, Lawyers for...
Date: 19/07/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Land Claims Court Grants...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) has successfully represented twelve families comprising of former farmworkers in the Land Claims Court (LCC),...
Date: 15/07/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Supreme Court of Appeal...
On 21 June 2021, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) handed down judgment in the matter Joao Rodrigues v National...
Date: 23/06/2021
WORLD REFUGEE DAY STATEMENT | This is...
To mark World Refugee Day and Youth Month, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), The Jesuit Institute of...
Date: 20/06/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Department of Health and...
Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), SECTION27 and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), organisations working and advocating the rights of refugees, asylum...
Date: 17/06/2021
YOUTH DAY STATEMENT | Let us reach...
Youth Day commemorates the uprising of the youth in South Africa as they led a revolution to end apartheid and...
Date: 16/06/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | LHR stands with LGBTIQ+...
As we mark the half-way point in Global Pride Month, LHR calls for an end to the prejudice and discrimination...
Date: 15/06/2021
JOINT STATEMENT | ‘We stand with the...
On 3 June 2021, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) and Open Secrets launched an urgent two-part application in the...
Date: 07/06/2021
JOINT STATEMENT | Child Protection Week 2021:...
As we commemorate Child Protection Week (30 May – 6 June 2021), an umbrella body comprising eight humanitarian organisations, the...
Date: 03/06/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | LHR to Challenge Eviction...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is in the Middleburg High Court today, defending a group of retired mineworkers who previously...
Date: 25/05/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | 195 former Ekurhuleni Metro...
Following a brief postponement, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is back in the Labour Appeal Court today representing dismissed workers...
Date: 25/05/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Western Cape High Court...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) welcomes the recent order granted by the Western Cape High Court as a positive step in...
Date: 19/05/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | DHA announces online renewal...
Lawyers for Human Rights welcomes recent information released by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), announcing an online renewal process...
Date: 18/05/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | LHR Represents UN Special...
Beginning today, the Pretoria High Court will hear a challenge to government’s longstanding failure to take meaningful steps to combat...
Date: 17/05/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | LHR and Sonke Gender...
On 12 May 2021, the Western Cape High Court will hear the matter of Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town (Scalabrini)...
Date: 11/05/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Mining Host Communities in...
This week, the Pretoria High Court is hearing a review of the 2018 Mining Charter, to which a number of...
Date: 04/05/2021
JOINT STATEMENT | Hate Crime Murders –...
South Africa, it is enough. Over the past two and half months, South Africa’s LGBTIQ+ community has been rocked by...
Date: 22/04/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | LHR briefs Portfolio Committee...
Ms. Primrose Modisane is a South African citizen by birth, however, for the past 16 years she has struggled to...
Date: 15/03/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Lawyers for Human Rights...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) has received several reports from student activists regarding the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) use...
Date: 10/03/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | LHR Launches Universal Birth...
“Universal birth registration is impossible to ignore and entirely possible to achieve.” – Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, 2009 Universal birth...
Date: 05/03/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | 195 former employees of...
Today, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is in the Labour Appeal Court representing dismissed workers of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality...
Date: 23/02/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Wayne Ncube Appointed as...
Lawyers for Human Rights is delighted to announce the appointment of Wayne Ncube to the role of National Director of...
Date: 17/02/2021
Statement by the Southern African Nationality Network...
As the Covid-19 virus has spread across the world, we were all beset with fear and uncertainty that has now...
Date: 16/02/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | New LHR report looks...
Today Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) released a new report on gender and migration. The report, titled “Paper Promises”, is...
Date: 08/02/2021
PRESS STATEMENT | Constitutional Court confirms unconstitutionality...
On 4 December the Constitutional Court handed down judgment in the confirmation proceedings relating to Sonke Gender Justice / President...
Date: 07/12/2020
PRESS STATEMENT | High Court Grants interim...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) welcomes the judgment handed down in the Western Cape High Court interdicting and restraining the...
Date: 04/12/2020
PRESS STATEMENT | Community journalists pledge their...
On the 26th and 27th November 2020, journalists working in community radio and community print media from around South Africa...
Date: 03/12/2020
PRESS STATEMENT | South Africa’s Department of...
In 2019 the Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) launched an application in the Western Cape High Court challenging the decision...
Date: 16/11/2020
PRESS STATEMENT | “South Africa belongs to...
Elizabeth was born in Lesotho to a Basotho mother and a South African father. She moved to South Africa when...
Date: 13/11/2020
PRESS STATEMENT | UN Special Rapporteur for...
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean,...
Date: 13/11/2020
PRESS STATEMENT | LHR and Sonke Gender...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will be representing Sonke Gender Justice (Sonke) who have brought an application to the Court...
Date: 10/11/2020
PRESS STATEMENT | Ahmed Timol murder-accused to...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will be representing the Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) who will be appearing as amicus...
Date: 05/11/2020
PRESS STATEMENT | African organisations push for...
In June 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted resolution 26/9, by which it agreed to establish an open-ended...
Date: 20/10/2020
PRESS STATEMENT | QWELANE VS SOUTH AFRICAN...
On 22 September 2020, the Constitutional Court will hear the case of Jonathan Dubula Qwelane v South African Human Rights...
Date: 21/09/2020
[PRESS STATEMENT] Lawyers for Human Rights to...
On Tuesday, 15 September 2020, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), in collaboration with Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town and Corruption...
Date: 15/09/2020
Statelessness in a global pandemic: an old...
A statement by the Southern African Nationality Network (SANN) to the 16th Southern African Civil Society Forum.
Date: 21/08/2020
[VACANCY] LHR seeks Candidate Attorney for eThekwini...
LHR is inviting applications from law graduates with an interest in human rights law and public interest litigation to join...
Date: 31/07/2020
[PRESS STATEMENT] Constitutional Court settles 7-year battle...
The Constitutional Court yesterday handed down judgment in a case launched by Lawyers for Human Rights in 2016, but which...
Date: 23/07/2020
[VACANCY] LHR seeks National Director
LHR is a vibrant, 40-year old non-profit organisation offering specialist public interest legal services in key programme areas such as...
Date: 08/07/2020
[PRESS STATEMENT] Residents of Industry House &...
On 29 June 2020, the High Court in Johannesburg declared section 13 (7) (c) of the South African Police Services...
Date: 01/07/2020
[PRESS STATEMENT] On World Refugee Day, LHR...
As we commemorate world refugee day it is important to uphold the fundamental rights of foreign nationals as equal to...
Date: 20/06/2020
[PRESS STATEMENT] Urgent Litigation on Covid-19 Social...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) supports the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Towns’ urgent litigation to include asylum seekers and special...
Date: 17/06/2020
[PRESS STATEMENT] UN Special Rapporteur Applies to...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is representing the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating...
Date: 15/06/2020
[PRESS STATEMENT] Agreement reached between the Lesetlheng...
This agreement is a significant milestone following protracted litigation and ongoing negotiations between the Lesetlheng community and Pilanesberg Platinum Mine.
Date: 11/06/2020
[PRESS STATEMENT] Fighting For Fatherhood In South...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), representing the Centre for Child Law (CCL), yesterday filed an application with the Constitutional Court...
Date: 10/06/2020
[PRESS STATEMENT] Lawyers for Human Rights Releases...
On Friday, 12 June 2020, via webinar, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will launch its report, “Monitoring Policy, Litigious and...
Date: 09/06/2020
Joint Statement on Child Protection Week: Protecting...
The World Health Organisation describes COVID-19 pandemic as having a devastating impact across the world. Although governments are commended for...
Date: 03/06/2020
[PRESS STATEMENT] Supreme Court of Appeal upholds...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) welcomes the judgment handed down in the Supreme Court of Appeal on 29 May 2019,...
Date: 01/06/2020
[PRESS STATEMENT] TERS extended to workers not...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) welcome the amendments to the Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) which extend the definition...
Date: 27/05/2020
Joint Statement: In Solidarity with the Stateless
An urgent call to states, donors and other stakeholders to promote and protect the rights of stateless persons in their...
Date: 27/05/2020
LHR Launches Constitutional Challenge on Behalf of...
Lawyers for Human Rights has launched an urgent application on behalf of informal waste reclaimers in Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, seeking...
Date: 26/05/2020
Lawyers for Human Rights Celebrates Africa Day:...
Today, the 25th of May 2020, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) celebrates Africa Day. Africa Day is an annual commemoration...
Date: 25/05/2020
High Court rules unmarried fathers can register...
Lawyers for Human Rights (“LHR”) welcomes the judgment handed on 19 May 2020 by Rugunanan J of the Makhanda High...
Date: 24/05/2020
Marievale Community Successfully Fights Illegal Eviction by...
In an urgent court hearing yesterday night, Lawyers for Human Rights again successfully defended the Marievale community, a small village...
Date: 22/05/2020
Strandfontein Homeless Action Committee v City of...
It is with regret that Lawyers for Human Rights announces that it has withdrawn as the attorneys of record for...
Date: 21/05/2020
Strandfontein Homeless Committee Takes on City of...
On Monday 18 May 2020, the Strandfontein Homeless Action Committee (SHAC), represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, initiated legal proceedings...
Date: 19/05/2020
Joint Statement on Workers Day 2020
A joint statement by the Universal Rights Association, Africa Diaspora Forum, the Consortium for Refugees & Migrants in South Africa,...
Date: 01/05/2020
High Court declares parts of the new...
In the matter of Lawyers for Human Rights and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and others, LHR acting in...
Date: 01/01/2003
Lawyers for Human Rights wins landmark decision...
Lawyers for Human Rights won a landmark case against the Department of Home Affairs and the Airports Company of South...
Date: 01/01/2002
Refugee rights dropped from world racism conference
Following the controversial debate surrounding reparations, the Geneva preparatory meeting of the UN World Conference Against Racism has recently decided...
Date: 01/01/2001
Human rights group plan court action over...
HUMAN rights lawyers are threatening legal action against the home affairs department for ordering border posts to turn back asylum-seekers...
Date: 01/01/2001
Die Okkupeerder: a Resource Manual for Eviction...
At the end of May 1999, the Security of Farm Workers Project launched a booklet called “Die Okkupeerder: A resource...
Date: 31/05/1999
LHR to Challenge Discriminatory Impact of COVID-19...
Lawyers for Human Rights will appear before the Pretoria High Court today on behalf of five groups of informal waste...
Date: 07/04/2020
NIAWG Advocacy Statement on COVID-19 and vulnerable...
The NIAWG calls on all concerned stakeholders and authorities to make every effort to prevent any form of harm and...
Date: 08/04/2020
LEGAL SUPPORT HOTLINE DURING #LOCKDOWNSA
Public Interest Law organisations working together, to make sure human rights are respected and protected during the COVID19 lock-down in...
Date: 31/03/2020
LHR’s Human Rights Day Statement
On this Human Rights Day, amidst the growing COVID-19 threat, Lawyers for Human Rights calls on all in South Africa...
Date: 21/03/2020
LHR Responds to COVID-19
On Sunday, 15 March 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak....
Date: 16/03/2020
Constitutional Court rules president’s suspension of SADC...
Lawyers for Human Rights welcomes the Constitutional Court’s judgement, handed down yesterday, 11 December 2018, in the matter of Law Society...
Date: 12/12/2018
Urgent appeal to support LHR client after...
Lawyers for Human Rights is making an urgent appeal for assistance after a recent judgement by the Johannesburg High Court,...
Date: 21/10/2019
Supreme Court of Appeal secures the right...
LHR welcomes the judgment handed down by Maya P in the Supreme Court of Appeal on Monday, 8 July 2019,...
Date: 08/07/2019
Sexual offences courts critical in the fight...
Organisations in the gender-based violence sector were shocked to learn that the Department of Justice intends to investigate the possibility...
Date: 15/05/2017
Police failure to assist complainants in terms...
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is deeply unsatisfied with the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Civilian Secretariat for Police...
Date: 30/09/2017
LHR rejects normalisation of violence against women
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is shocked to learn that Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Mduduzi Manana, allegedly assaulted two...
Date: 07/08/2017
#NotOurLeaders campaign launched during 16 days of...
#NotOurLeaders Campaing launched by Women and Democracy Initiative, Lawyers for Human Rights and gender violence specialist during 16 Days of...
Date: 24/11/2017
No more time limit to prosecute sexual...
On Thursday 14 June 2018, the South African Constitutional Court (Court) issued an unanimous judgment confirming that there will be...
Date: 15/06/2018
LHR supports #TheTotalShutDown
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) supports #TheTotalShutDown, the national intersectional womxn’s march against gender based violence. All LHR women and...
Date: 01/08/2018
#NotOurLeaders
Equality Court to hear case on the...
On 26 November 2018, the Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will appear in the Cape High Court, sitting as an...
Date: 25/11/2018
LHR on announcement that there is no...
On Monday, 2 September, the South African government on Twitter called on women to “speak out”, and “not allow themselves...
Date: 03/09/2019
Victory for Jade September and the transgender...
On Monday 23 September 2019, the Equality Court in the Western Cape handed down judgment in the matter of September...
Date: 23/09/2019
Judgment in the case of J September
Lawyers for Human Rights, the Legal Resources Centre, and Gender Dynamix cordially invite you to a press conference, on judgment...
Date: 16/09/2019
African organisations push for binding treaty on...
As part of the latest round of negotiations on the U.N. Binding Treaty on transnational corporations and other business enterprises...
Date: 01/10/2019
Marievale Community in court today to fight...
In November and December 2017 members of the SANDF stormed into the homes of about 150 families residing in a...
Date: 17/04/2018
Mayor of Lusikisiki for contempt of a...
15 April 2018 — On Friday, 13 April 2018, the New Rest community witnessed justice in action when the Mayor...
Date: 15/04/2018
Victory for the homeless
LHR represents a group of homeless people who reside at Prince’s Park, on the corner of Prince’s Park Road and...
Date: 03/04/2018
Mr Godfrey Mtenje and his family fight...
The matter of Mr Godfrey Mtenje will continue be heard in the Land Claims Court of South Africa on the...
Date: 19/03/2018
Victory for mining host communities in 2017...
This morning, the Pretoria High Court postponed the judicial review of the Mining Charter published last year by Minister of...
Date: 19/02/2018
LHR notes the statements released by the...
LHR notes the statements released by the Chamber of Mines and the Department of Mineral Resources regarding postponement of the...
Date: 19/02/2018
Mining host communities in court to challenge...
Beginning tomorrow, four mining affected communities represented by Lawyers for Human Rights will be in the Pretoria High Court to...
Date: 18/02/2018
In memory of Rudolph Jansen
Long-time human rights lawyer, Rudolph Jansen, who fought against injustice on behalf of the poor and marginalized for over three...
Date: 27/11/2017
LHR is delighted that the Pretoria High...
LHR is delighted that the Pretoria High Court today ruled that four of its clients, should be allowed to intervene...
Date: 14/11/2017
Mary Rahube // Hedsrine Rahube & others...
Today, the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria handed down judgment in the case of Mary Rahube, a...
Date: 26/09/2017
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