The Democratic Alliance (DA) has intensified its legal challenge against South Africa’s Expropriation Act, arguing in the Western Cape High Court that the legislation was adopted through an unconstitutional parliamentary process and should be declared invalid.
The DA has joined AfriForum and the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) in separate but related court applications challenging key provisions of the Act, which was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa in January 2025. The applicants contend that the legislation threatens constitutional property rights and unlawfully enables expropriation in certain circumstances without compensation.
Speaking outside the Western Cape High Court on Monday, DA Federal Council Chairperson Ashor Sarupen said the party’s primary argument is that the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) failed to comply with constitutional voting requirements when approving the bill.
According to Sarupen, the Constitution requires at least five provincial delegations to vote in favour of the legislation. However, he argued that fewer than five provinces had the lawful authority to support the bill on the day it was passed.
“The Constitution requires at least five provinces to vote in favour of the bill in the National Council of Provinces. Whereas fewer than five delegations voted in favour of the Expropriation Bill with the lawful authority on the day. That means the bill was passed through the NCOP unlawfully,” Sarupen said.
The DA is asking the court to declare the Expropriation Act unconstitutional and set it aside, arguing that the alleged procedural defects alone are sufficient to invalidate the legislation. The party is also challenging provisions it believes are inconsistent with constitutional protections for private property.
AfriForum and the IRR are pursuing their own constitutional challenge, focusing on sections of the Act that they argue make expropriation without compensation possible and allow the state to take ownership of property before disputes over compensation have been resolved by the courts.
The Expropriation Act replaced the Expropriation Act of 1975 and establishes a legal framework governing how organs of state may expropriate property for a public purpose or in the public interest. The government maintains that the legislation aligns expropriation procedures with the Constitution and provides for “just and equitable” compensation, while allowing for nil compensation only in limited circumstances where it is constitutionally justified.
The legal challenge has also highlighted policy divisions within South Africa’s Government of National Unity, with the DA maintaining its opposition to expropriation without compensation, while the African National Congress has defended the legislation as part of its land reform agenda.
The Western Cape High Court is expected to hear arguments from all parties before deciding whether the Expropriation Act was lawfully enacted and whether any of its provisions are inconsistent with the Constitution.