Ndifuna Ukwazi

12/10/2026

FREE DOCUMENTARY SCREENING
○ Mother City ○

When: Wednesday, 14 October
Time: 18h00 - 21h00
Where: Kramer, LT2 (UCT Middle Campus)

Come join Ndifuna Ukwazi for a screening of MOTHER CITY. This documentary is essential viewing for anyone who cares about land and housing justice in Cape Town, especially in the middle of the current housing crisis. Our story follows a group of activists and communities as they fight against spatial apartheid in Cape Town and for dignified housing. The movie will be followed by a panel discussion with activists, academics and lawyers to unpack the Constitutional Court's landmark Tafelberg judgement and how students can take action.

Sign up for the screening with this link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfwM0PzxzxyRU0zIF1ifM9x8s_8h0jY3KvUg9auaIBrwLP4wA/viewform?usp=preview

09/10/2026

Why is social housing only rental?

So it stays affordable for the next family, and the one after that.

Scroll here to find out the other reasons.

07/10/2026

"NU argued that relying on crime in the surrounding area to implicate occupiers amounted to guilt by association.

"Taken to its conclusion, this logic means that everyone living in an area with crime statistics is a criminal. By that standard, no one in South Africa is innocent."

- TimesLIVE

04/10/2026

"Ndifuna Ukwazi, which was one of the organisations that challenged the Tafelberg disposal, is questioning whether the City's release of public land is translating into actual housing delivery.

Booi said being “not in breach” meant more than just releasing parcels of land. He said the organisation was still reviewing the reports after receiving them on Friday and had three weeks to respond.

“I’m not convinced of that,” Booi told The National of the City's statement that it is “currently not in breach”, questioning whether the release of public land could itself be used as a measure of whether the City was meeting its obligations.

“Not whether they are releasing parcels of land or not – it is they are not developed,” he said. "

We work to broaden access to well-located land and affordable housing. Through our campaigns, Ndifuna Ukwazi combines community organising, research, advocacy and litigation to advance urban land justice and fuel systemic change.

02/10/2026

"Yusrah Bardien, communications and engagements officer at Ndifuna Ukwazi, described Cape Town as facing an “extreme, escalating urban housing crisis”, arguing that decades of market-led development and insufficient use of well-located public land for social housing had reinforced existing spatial inequality.

According to the organisation, 76% of Cape Town residents earn below R22,000 a month, 58% below R10,000 and 25% below R3,500.

Using common affordability measures that housing costs should account for no more than about a third of household income, Ndifuna Ukwazi said more than half of Cape Town’s population could not afford rent or bond repayments above roughly R3,333 a month." - story by Tracy-Lynn Williams Ruiters for Cape Argus

Cape Town’s housing shortage is forcing lower-income workers further from jobs, increasing commuting costs and travel times.

02/10/2026

"Seven years to the day after the eviction of Singabalapha residents from Arcadia Place, the Western Cape Government and City of Cape Town must account to the court today for their plans to deliver affordable housing in central Cape Town and Sea Point.

The deadline follows the Constitutional Court’s landmark Tafelberg judgment, which found that the Western Cape Government and the City had failed to meet their constitutional obligations relating to affordable housing in well-located parts of Cape Town.

The court handed down its judgment on July 2 and ordered the province and City to submit detailed reports setting out their affordable housing programmes, projects and plans for the Cape Town C*D and Sea Point.

The reports are due today, October 2.

The case has implications beyond the future of the former Tafelberg Remedial School site in Sea Point. It has put the use of valuable public land, the location of affordable housing and Cape Town’s long-standing spatial inequality under direct constitutional scrutiny." - Reclaim the City Singabalapha

01/10/2026

On 2 October 2026, the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government must file reports with the Western Cape High Court.

The reports must set out their plans and progress to redress spatial injustice and meet their constitutional housing obligations.

30/09/2026

What do you think? : "The court rejected the argument that emergency accommodation was an automatic prerequisite for an eviction, with the judge saying the availability of suitable alternative accommodation is an important but not determinative consideration."

https://www.news24.com/southafrica/news/eviction-deadline-looms-for-161-cape-town-occupiers-after-leave-to-appeal-bid-fails-20260929-0736

28/09/2026

Ndifuna Ukwazi invites you to the launch of KwaLangaLibalele, a project exploring the connections between housing, climate resilience and security of tenure in Langa.

​As communities face increasing risks from flooding, fires and extreme weather, KwaLangaLibalele asks an important question: how can we build safer, more resilient communities while strengthening people’s ability to remain securely housed?

​The project brings together community knowledge, housing advocacy and practical approaches to climate resilience, with lessons emerging from work in Langa.

​Join us as we share the journey, the lessons and the possibilities emerging from KwaLangaLibalele.

Ndifuna Ukwazi invites you to the launch of KwaLangaLibalele, a project exploring the connections between housing, climate resilience and security of tenure in…

28/09/2026

On 2 July 2026, the Constitutional Court ruled that the location of housing matters when determining what constitutes adequate housing and equitable access to land and that government must take reasonable measures to redress the spatial injustice inherited from apartheid.

The Court specifically found that the Western Cape Government and the City of Cape Town have failed to meet their obligations to provide affordable housing in well-located areas, including Cape Town’s C*D and Sea Point.

The Court also ordered the Western Cape Government to report back to the High Court within three months on the steps it is taking to fulfil these obligations, including its policies, projects, budgets and plans for affordable housing in the C*D.

As we anticipate this report, due this Friday, 2 October, here’s an article written by our Head of Political Organising and Campaigns, Buhle Booi, unpacking the Tafelberg case, the Constitutional Court victory and what comes next.

Read: Tafelberg: A fight for the soul of the city

https://www.amandla.org.za/tafelberg-a-fight-for-the-soul-of-the-city/?fbclid=IwZnRzaAUjQ_9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mBWZkaWQWUPEJ-vqPI5ALcfZn9bnOEFvLgB0HYHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR7xNDCXYvdmjBGI4IRT90w_9QyPKxzLOZEIKscbRzasavfwA0Y1udsozTGFdw_aem_CSF4pwZJt4CKTvzr1CBBWQ

With the Constitutional Court's ruling now final, Tafelberg remains public land, and a live, ongoing public participation process is underway on its future use.