Case Law[2023] ZASCA 178South Africa
Nedbank Limited and Another v Surve and Others (160/2023) [2023] ZASCA 178; [2024] 1 All SA 615 (SCA) (18 December 2023)
Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
18 December 2023
Headnotes
Summary: Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000 – application for interim interdict in Equality Court – failure to establish prima facie case – appealability of interim interdict.
Judgment
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## Nedbank Limited and Another v Surve and Others (160/2023) [2023] ZASCA 178; [2024] 1 All SA 615 (SCA) (18 December 2023)
Nedbank Limited and Another v Surve and Others (160/2023) [2023] ZASCA 178; [2024] 1 All SA 615 (SCA) (18 December 2023)
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sino date 18 December 2023
THE
SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL OF SOUTH AFRICA
### JUDGMENT
JUDGMENT
Reportable
Case
no: 160/23
In
the matter between:
NEDBANK
LIMITED
FIRST
APPELLANT
NEDGROUP
PRIVATE WEALTH
STOCKBROKERS
(PTY) LTD SECOND
APPELLANT
and
MOHAMMED
IQBAL SURVÉ FIRST
RESPONDENT
SEKUNJALO
INVESTMENT
HOLDINGS
(PTY) LTD
SECOND RESPONDENT
AFRICAN
EQUITY EMPOWERMENT
INVESTMENT
LIMITED
THIRD RESPONDENT
PREMIER
FISHING
AND
BRANDS LIMITED
FOURTH RESPONDENT
PREMIER
FISHING SA (PTY) LTD
FIFTH RESPONDENT
PREMFRESH
SEAFOODS (PTY) LTD
SIXTH RESPONDENT
MARINE
GROWERS (PTY) LTD
SEVENTH RESPONDENT
TALHADO
FISHING
ENTERPRISES
(PTY) LTD
EIGHTH RESPONDENT
RUPESTRIS
INVESTMENTS (PTY) LTD
NINTH RESPONDENT
DAZZALLE
TRADERS (PTY) LTD
TENTH RESPONDENT
MANICWA
FISHING (PTY) LTD
ELEVENTH RESPONDENT
MB
FISHING VENTURES (PTY) LTD
TWELFTH RESPONDENT
ROBBERG
SEA FREEZE (PTY) LTD THIRTEENTH
RESPONDENT
3
LAWS CAPITAL
SOUTH
AFRICA (PTY) LTD
FOURTEENTH RESPONDENT
AFRICAN
NEWS AGENCY (PTY) LTD FIFTEENTH
RESPONDENT
BUSINESS
VENTURE INVESTMENTS
NO.
1126 (RF) (PTY) LTD
SIXTEENTH RESPONDENT
CAPE
SUNSET VILLAS (PTY) LTD
SEVENTEENTH RESPONDENT
GLOBAL
COMMAND & CONTROL
TECHNOLOGIES
(PTY) LTD
EIGHTEENTH
RESPONDENT
HAIFAMS
INVESTMENTS (PTY) LTD NINETEENTH RESPONDENT
JABSTER
TECHNOLOGIES
(PTY) LTD
TWENTIETH RESPONDENT
KATHEA
COMMUNICATIONS
(PTY) LTD TWENTY
FIRST RESPONDENT
LINACRE
INVESTMENTS
(PTY) LTD
TWENTY SECOND RESPONDENT
AFRICA
ONLINE
RETAIL
(PTY) LTD
TWENTY THIRD RESPONDENT
MADJADJI
AFRICAN EMPOWERMENT
CONSORTIUM
(PTY) LTD
TWENTY FOURTH RESPONDENT
SAGARMATHA
GROUP
HOLDINGS
(PTY) LTD
TWENTY FIFTH RESPONDENT
SAGARMARTHA
TECHNOLOGIES
LIMITED TWENTY
SIXTH RESPONDENT
INDEPENDENT
MEDIA
CONSORTIUM
(PTY) LTD
TWENTY SEVENTH RESPONDENT
SEKUNJALO
CAPITAL
(PTY) LTD
TWENTY EIGHTH RESPONDENT
SEKUNJALO
PROPERTIES
(PTY) LTD
TWENTY NINTH RESPONDENT
SILO
CAPE WATERFRONT
PROPERY
INVESTMENTS (PTY) LTD THIRTIETH
RESPONDENT
SIYOLO
ENERGY AND AFRICAN
RESOURCES
(PTY) LTD
THIRTY FIRST RESPONDENT
THE
TRUSTEES OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN
INSTITUTE
FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SOCIAL
ENTREPRENEURS
TRUST
THIRTY SECOND RESPONDENT
SOUTH
AFRICAN
PRESS
ASSOCIATION (PTY) LTD
THIRTY THIRD RESPONDENT
SURVÉ
PHILANTHROPIES NPC THIRTY FOURTH
RESPONDENT
THE
TRUSTEES OF
THE
HARAAS TRUST THIRTY
FIFTH RESPONDENT
THE
TRUSTEES OF THE
IQBAL
SURVÉ BURSARY TRUST THIRTY
SIXTH RESPONDENT
THE
TRUSTEES OF THE SAVNASI
VILLAGE
TRUST
THIRTY SEVENTH RESPONDENT
THE
TRUSTEES OF THE
IQBAL
SURVÉ FAMILY TRUST
THIRTY EIGHTH RESPONDENT
THE
TRUSTEES OF THE
SEKUNJALO
DEVELOPMENT
FOUNDATION
TRUST
THIRTY NINTH RESPONDENT
THE
TRUSTEES OF THE SOCIAL
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
FOUNDATION
TRUST FORTIETH
RESPONDENT
THE
TRUSTEES OF THE
SURVÉ
FAMILY FOUNDATION TRUST FORTY FIRST
RESPONDENT
KALULA
COMMUNICATIONS
(PTY)
LTD
FORTY SECOND RESPONDENT
THE
TRUSTEES OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC
ARTS
AND CULTURE TRUST
FORTY THIRD RESPONDENT
INDEPENDENT
NEWSPAPERS
FORTY FOURTH RESPONDENT
Neutral
citation:
Nedbank Limited and Another v Survé and
Others
(Case no 160/2023)
[2023] ZASCA 178
(18 December 2023)
Coram:
GORVEN, MEYER and WEINER JJA and BINNS-WARD and KEIGHTLEY AJJA
Heard
:
14 November 2023
Delivered
:
This judgment was handed down electronically by
circulation to the parties’ legal representatives by email
publication on
the Supreme Court of Appeal website and by release to
SAFLII. The date and time for hand-down is deemed to be 11h00 on 18
December
2023
.
Summary:
Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4
of 2000
– application for interim interdict in Equality Court –
failure to establish prima facie case – appealability
of
interim interdict.
### ORDER
ORDER
On
appeal from:
Western Cape Division of the High Court, Cape Town
(Dolamo J, sitting as the Equality Court):
1
The appeal is upheld with costs, including the costs of two counsel
where so employed.
2
The order of the Equality Court is set aside and replaced with the
following order:
‘
The
application is dismissed with costs, including the costs of two
counsel where so employed.’
# JUDGMENT
JUDGMENT
Keightley
AJA (Gorven, Meyer and Weiner JJA and Binns-Ward AJA concurring)
[1]
This appeal has its origins in proceedings instituted
in the Western
Cape Division of the High Court, Cape Town sitting as the Equality
Court (the equality court), by the first respondent,
Dr Survé,
and the remaining respondents (the equality court proceedings). The
latter are entities within what may broadly
be termed the Sekunjalo
Group of Companies (the Sekunjalo Group). Dr Survé describes
himself as the founder of the Sekunjalo
Group. The appellants,
Nedbank Limited and Nedgroup Private Wealth Stockbrokers (Pty) Ltd
(Nedbank), are two of several banks cited
as respondents in the
equality court proceedings. The nature of the equality court
complaint against the banks is that the decision
to close the
accounts of Dr Survé and the other entities in the Sekunjalo
Group constitutes conduct amounting to unfair
discrimination on the
ground of race.
[2]
The equality court complaint was lodged against the backdrop
of
several banks, including Nedbank, placing the accounts of the
respondents on review. On 15 November 2021, Nedbank dispatched
termination letters notifying the respondents that their accounts
would be closed (the termination letters). In February 2022,
the
equality court complaint was filed against Nedbank. On 21 February
2022, the respondents instituted an urgent application (the
application) in the equality court for an interim interdict in terms
of s 21(5) of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of
Unfair
Discrimination Act 4 of 2000 (the Equality Act). It is this
application that is the subject matter of the appeal.
[3]
In brief, the respondents sought to prohibit Nedbank
from closing the
bank accounts of those respondents that had received termination
letters, but whose accounts had not yet been
closed. In respect of
those respondents whose accounts had already been closed, an order
was sought directing Nedbank to re-open
them with immediate effect,
coupled with a prohibition against subsequent closure. Both
categories of relief were to be effective
pending the final
determination of the equality court proceedings.
[4]
The equality court (per Dolamo J) granted an interdict
in the terms
sought and ordered Nedbank to pay the costs of the application. Leave
to appeal was dismissed with costs. The appeal
is with leave of this
Court
.
[5]
The event that triggered Nedbank’s decision to
review
its banker-customer relationship with the respondents, was the Mpati
Commission of Inquiry (the Commission). The Commission was
appointed
in October 2018 to investigate, report and make findings and
recommendations on allegations of impropriety concerning
the Public
Investment Corporation (the PIC). One aspect of the Commission’s
scope of inquiry was the relationship between
the PIC and certain
companies within the Sekunjalo Group, notably, but not solely, Ayo
Technology Solutions (Pty) Ltd (Ayo), and
certain transactions that
had been concluded between them.
[6]
The Commission’s report was released to the public
in March
2020. It contained several findings which raised concern for Nedbank.
The Commission found that Ayo’s shares were
grossly over-valued
at its listing date, when the PIC subscribed for shares at a price
previously agreed between the PIC and Ayo.
Soon thereafter, the value
of the shares plummeted by 87%. This, concluded the Commission,
demonstrated ‘the malfeasance
of the Sekunjalo Group’. It
observed that the PIC’s interactions with, and investments in,
the Sekunjalo Group were
questionable from the outset and that
investment proposals had emanated from direct discussions between Dr
Survé and Dr
Matjila, the then Chief Executive Officer of the
PIC. This close relationship created top-down pressure on the PIC
teams involved
to recommend approval for the investments.
[7]
The inquiry and the Commission’s report also generated
significant adverse media attention for Dr Survé and the
Sekunjalo Group. Concerned about the possible reputational risk
its
continued relationship with the respondents would generate, Nedbank
embarked on a process of reviewing that relationship. There
were
extensive engagements between the parties over several months in 2021
and in January 2022. Nedbank received representations
from Dr Survé,
as well as receiving responses to queries directed at other
representatives of the Sekunjalo Group. These
included queries about
the flow of funds between different accounts held by the respondents
with Nedbank. Ultimately, Nedbank decided
to terminate its banking
relationship with the respondents.
[8]
It is
common cause that all the contracts governing the banking
relationship permitted Nedbank to terminate the contracts on
reasonable
notice. In the termination letters, Nedbank gave the
various respondents 120 days’ notice of the closure of their
accounts.
Notwithstanding that Nedbank was under no obligation to
provide reasons for its decision,
[1]
the letters recorded that the reason for the closures was that, in
Nedbank’s view, taking into account a number of factors,
a
continued relationship with the respondents was likely to pose
significant reputational and association risks for Nedbank.
[9]
The termination letters listed the factors. Common to
most of the
respondents, these were identified as: the respondents’ direct
or indirect association with Dr Survé and
the Sekunjalo Group;
the serious nature of the allegations levelled against Dr Survé
and the Sekunjalo Group; the litigation
in which some companies in
the Sekunjalo Group had been involved; the adverse inferences and
statements made in the Commission’s
report; and the Sekunjalo
Group’s failure to appreciate that the report implicated
certain entities in the group in wrongdoing.
In respect of some
respondents, the termination letters also cited, as factors,
Nedbank’s detailed transactional analysis
of certain bank
accounts and the unsatisfactory responses Nedbank had received to its
associated queries.
[10]
Following the dispatch of the termination letters, there was further
engagement
between the parties. The Sekunjalo Group appointed Mr
Heath SC to conduct an independent review of the Commission’s
report.
He wrote to Nedbank on 30 November 2021 advising them of this
fact. He also quoted from his letter of appointment from Dr Survé,
in which the latter had indicated that the Sekunjalo Group intended
to make the report available to, among others, their bankers.
However, on 5 January 2022, he wrote again indicating that he had
prepared a preliminary report but that the Sekunjalo Group had
claimed privilege over it. According to Nedbank, the respondents were
prepared to share the report with the bank if it withdrew
its
termination notices. This was not acceptable to Nedbank and the
notices remained in effect.
[11]
With the imminent closure of some affected bank accounts, the
respondents turned
to the courts. They first approached the high
court for an urgent interdict against Nedbank to prohibit the closure
on the basis
of unfair discrimination on the ground of race. On 14
February 2022 the high court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction
to consider
the application as the matter fell within the exclusive
jurisdiction of the equality court. A week later the respondents
instituted
the application now on appeal.
[12]
Two main issues arose for consideration in the appeal. First, the
issue of
whether the order of the equality court is appealable.
Second, the question of whether the respondents established a prima
facie
case of racial discrimination. Nedbank contended that they did
not, that the equality court erred in concluding otherwise, and that
the order was appealable. The respondents’ submission was that,
even if the order was appealable (which they dispute), it
was
correctly granted.
[13]
The
question of appealability arose because the equality court’s
order was expressly stated to be an interim interdict under
s 21(5)
of the Equality Act.
[2]
Nedbank
submitted that despite the apparent interim nature of the order, its
reach rendered the order final in effect. This was
so because the
order prohibits Nedbank from closing the bank accounts of the
respondents for any reason, even if that reason has
nothing to do
with unfair discrimination. If a respondent, for example, breached
the terms of the banker-customer contract, the
equality court order
prohibits Nedbank from exercising its contractual right to terminate
the relationship. Due to the equality
court’s limited
jurisdiction, which is restricted to unfair discrimination related
matters, it would never reconsider its
order insofar as it dealt with
the prohibition against non-discrimination related terminations.
Nedbank submitted that to this
extent the equality court order was
final and appealable.
[14]
The respondents disputed Nedbank’s interpretation of the
equality court
order. They contended that, properly interpreted, the
order is not as broad as Nedbank suggested, and that it simply does
not prohibit
non-discrimination based terminations. They based this
contention on the order requiring Nedbank to re-open any accounts of
the
respondents which it had closed. The balance of that order was
that the re-opening was directed to ‘retain the terms and
conditions on which these accounts were operating prior to their
closure’. While that is true of that paragraph of the order,
it
clearly does not apply to the prohibitory interdicts of the first two
paragraphs of the order. Those are not made subject to
the accounts
being governed by the prior terms and conditions. The respondents
relied on Dolamo J’s statement, in his judgment
in the
application for leave to appeal, that the order was not intended to
enforce a total prohibition on account closures. However,
this is not
how the order reads. Nonetheless, I do not consider that it is
necessary to make a finding on this interpretational
dispute. In my
view, the question of appealability in this case does not turn on
whether the order is interim or final in effect.
For the reasons set
out below, my view is that even if the order is interim in effect, it
is appealable.
[15]
As a matter
of general principle, an appealable decision is one which is final in
effect and not susceptible to reconsideration
by the court that
granted it, is definitive of the rights of the parties, and has the
effect of disposing of at least a substantial
portion of the relief
claimed in the main proceedings.
[3]
It follows that, ordinarily, an interlocutory interdict that operates
pending the outcome of further proceedings is not appealable.
[4]
Orders of this nature do not usually satisfy the triad of
requirements for appealability mentioned above.
[16]
However,
these requirements do not constitute a closed list.
[5]
Where a decision does not dispose of all the issues in the case,
s
17(1)
(c)
of the
Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013
provides that leave to appeal
may be granted if this would lead to a just and prompt resolution of
the real issues between the
parties.
[6]
In recent years, the role of the interests of justice in determining
whether an order is appealable has received attention. This
has
resulted in judgments of this Court which could be said to differ in
approach to this issue.
[7]
Since, however, none of them deals with interim interdicts, and the
Constitutional Court has done so expressly, it will not benefit
this
judgment to rehearse them.
[17]
In
United
Democratic Movement and Another v Lebashe Investment Group (Pty) Ltd
and Others
[8]
the Constitutional Court dealt with the application of the interests
of justice in an appeal relating to interim interdicts. This
Court
had struck a matter from its roll on the basis that the order, which
was an interim interdict, was not appealable under the
Zweni
test. The Constitutional Court upheld an appeal against that
judgment. It found that ‘[o]ver and above the common law
test, it is well established that an interim order may be appealed
against if the interests of justice so dictate’.
[9]
It found further that, in deciding whether an order is appealable,
this Court does not exercise a discretion but rather makes a
finding
of law.
[10]
The Constitutional
Court concluded that the interim interdict in question was appealable
because it had resulted in the infringement
of the right to freedom
of expression.
[11]
This Court
is bound by that finding.
[18]
In a matter
where no case was made out for an interim interdict and the order
accordingly ought never to have been granted in the
first place,
along with other relevant considerations, interests of justice might
well render an interim interdict appealable despite
the
Zweni
requirements not having been met.
[12]
An analysis of the second issue in this appeal, namely, whether the
respondents made out a prima facie case for the interim interdict
granted, demonstrates that this appeal is one of those exceptional
cases.
[19]
The
established requirements for an interim interdict in common law apply
to an application for interim relief in the equality court.
[13]
The well-established approach to interim relief requires the court to
consider the facts set out by the applicant, together with
any facts
set out by the respondent which the applicant cannot dispute, and to
assess whether the applicant should, on those facts,
obtain final
relief in due course.
[14]
The
inquiry is fact-based. In the context of equality court proceedings,
this Court has emphasised that mere allegation or speculation
as to
an infringement of the Equality Act will not suffice, and that an
application may not be based on ‘conjecture, perception
and
supposition’.
[15]
This
means that it is not sufficient for an applicant to baldly aver that
there has been unfair discrimination. It must adduce
evidence
of facts that objectively support the conclusion contended for. In
order to succeed the respondents had to make factual
allegations to
support a prima facie case that Nedbank had discriminated unfairly
against the respondents on the basis of race
when it closed the
respondents’ accounts.
[20]
The thrust of the respondents’ case was that there appeared to
be a collective
effort among the banks to ‘unbank’ (the
term used in the affidavits) the Sekunjalo Group. Nedbank was one of
several
banks that had either closed bank accounts held by entities
within the Sekunjalo Group or had placed the accounts under review.
Although, like the other banks, Nedbank had cited reputational risks
as the underlying reason, the respondents cast suspicion on
this
explanation. The key element of the respondents’ case for
unfair discrimination was that Nedbank had been selective
in its
assessment of which customers posed a reputational risk, and that
this selective assessment was based on the race of the
entities in
question.
[21]
In support of this thesis, the respondents identified the Steinhoff
Group (Steinhoff),
EOH Limited (EOH) and Tongaat Hulett Limited
(Tongaat) as entities that had not had their bank accounts closed
despite them having
been found guilty of fraud and other offences. By
way of contrast, no actual findings of financial misconduct had been
made against
the Sekunjalo Group, and yet entities within that group
had either had their relationship with Nedbank terminated or
threatened
with termination. The respondents asserted that these
examples of what the respondents labelled as ‘white dominated
businesses’
not being punished by Nedbank in the same manner as
the respondents was absurd and that it was ‘difficult not to
infer that
there is racial discrimination at play here’.
Consequently, Dr Survé stated in the founding affidavit that
‘the
[respondents] have taken the view that they are being
targeted inter alia, on the basis of race’.
[22]
Of course,
the respondents’ view or perception that it was being
discriminated against on the basis of race is not sufficient
to
establish a prima facie case. Their case was expressly inferential.
Consequently, they were required to adduce facts sufficient
to
satisfy the equality court that the inference of unfair racial
discrimination they sought to draw from the facts was more plausible
than the alternative inference drawn from the facts averred by
Nedbank in its defence to the charge.
[16]
[23]
This means that the respondents had to show that:
(a)
the other impugned companies, which had not had their accounts
closed, were ‘white companies’, whereas the respondents,
which had faced closure, were ‘black companies’;
(b)
these two groups were similarly situated in all other respects apart
from race; and (c) the reason for this differential treatment
was the
race of the companies.
Without
this, a plausible inference could not be drawn that it was the victim
of unfair racial discrimination by Nedbank.
[24]
There were fundamental inadequacies in the respondents’ case on
each
of these aspects of the application. On the first, being the
asserted race of the two contrasted groups of customers, the
respondents
applied the racial designation of ‘white’ or
‘white dominated’ to Steinhoff, EOH and Tongaat without
any
underlying factual basis to support that designation. In their
submissions, the respondents contended that the race profile of a
company must be determined by considering factors such as the racial
composition of its senior management, its board of directors
and its
beneficial shareholders. However, the affidavits filed in support of
the application were devoid of any reference to these
factors, let
alone an evaluation, based on them, of the alleged ‘white
companies’ identified.
[25]
Effectively, the respondents’ case rested on no more than an
assumption
of racial designation. That assumption was insufficient to
establish even a prima facie case that Nedbank had treated the
respondents,
as black customers, differently from white customers.
The equality court compounded the problem by itself expressly
assuming, without
deciding, that Steinhoff, EOH and Tongaat were
white companies. Having done so, it went on to decide the case on
precisely this
basis. It misdirected itself in this regard by making
this assumption in the absence of any evidence to support it, and
then proceeding
to the next leg of the inquiry without being
satisfied that the respondents had discharged their onus on this, the
foundational
element of their case. This, in itself, is decisive of
the matter. The necessary foundational element of racial identity had
not
been established.
[26]
As to establishing a prima facie case that they were treated
differently to
other, similarly situated, customers of Nedbank for
racial reasons, the respondents similarly fell short. Nedbank met the
respondents’
case with an express denial that its decision to
terminate its relationship with the respondents was motivated by
racial factors.
It went further and explained why it had not decided
to terminate its relationships with Steinhoff, EOH and Tongaat. These
companies
did not pose the same reputational risk as the respondents.
This was because, unlike the respondents, they had all been
restructured
following the adverse findings against them; they had
acknowledged their past wrongdoing; those implicated had been
dismissed or
resigned; new management was in place and other remedial
actions had been undertaken. In contrast, its interaction with the
respondents
demonstrated that they had sought to downplay the
seriousness of the Commission’s adverse findings and comments
directed
at the Sekunjalo Group and Dr Survé. Further, a
number of Nedbank’s queries regarding account transactions had
not
been adequately explained.
[27]
It was inherent in Nedbank’s defence that the respondents and
the other
entities were not similarly situated. There were material
differences between them, bearing no relation to race, that informed
Nedbank’s decision to terminate its relationship with the
respondents and not with the other entities. The respondents did
not
substantially dispute Nedbank’s explanation. Their case
essentially remained one based on their expressed perception
that
Nedbank’s conduct was racially motivated. This is insufficient
to sustain a prima facie averment of unfair racial discrimination.
Consequently, the equality court could not properly have found that
the respondents had discharged their onus of establishing a
prima
facie case of unfair racial discrimination. It ought to have
dismissed the application for this reason.
[28]
Inexplicably,
the equality court reversed the onus of proof. Relying on s 13 of the
Equality Act,
[17]
the equality
court found that Nedbank had not proved that its conduct was not
based on the prohibited ground of race. The application
being for an
interim interdict, the court clearly misdirected itself in this
respect. As this Court confirmed in,
Manong
[18]
it was the respondents that bore the onus of establishing a prima
facie case of discrimination before Nedbank attracted an onus.
They
could not do so based on mere perception of unfair racial
discrimination and an inferential case unsupported by facts. For
the
reasons already stated, it failed to clear that bar.
[29]
In sum, the
respondents did not allege the facts necessary to make out a prima
facie case. The order of the equality court should
not have been
granted in the first place.
[19]
For this reason, it is one of those exceptional cases where, despite
the interim nature of the order, it falls within the appeal
jurisdiction of this Court.
[30]
There is an additional reason for this interim interdict being
appealable.
The equality court found, albeit on a prima facie basis,
that Nedbank’s decision to close the respondents’
accounts
was based on unfair racial discrimination. This is a serious
charge. Racism is a scourge which has infected the fabric of our
national
life for well over three hundred years. The Equality Act was
specifically devised, in part, to address and eliminate this scourge.
Any order under this section of the Equality Act requires a finding
that the entity against which the order is granted has unfairly
discriminated on the ground of race. A finding of that nature has
obvious serious reputational repercussions, particularly considering
Nedbank’s standing as one of the major banks in South Africa.
Where a case is properly made out for an order having this
effect, a
party cannot be heard to complain. However, where, as in this case,
the order ought never to have been made, justice
requires that the
impugned decision is rendered appealable and rectified.
[31]
It follows for this reason that the appeal must succeed. In the
result, the
following order is granted:
1
The appeal is upheld with costs, including the costs of two counsel
where
so employed.
2
The order of the Equality Court is set aside and replaced with the
following
order:
‘
The application is
dismissed with costs, including the costs of two counsel
where so employed.’
____________________
R
M KEIGHTLEY
ACTING
JUDGE OF APPEAL
Appearances
For
the appellants:
A Cockrell
SC
with M Mbikiwa
Instructed
by:
Edward Nathan
Sonnenbergs Inc, Sandton
Mayet
& Associates Inc, Bloemfontein
For
the respondents:
V Ngalwana SC with
J Moodley
Instructed
by:
Adriaans
Attorneys, Cape Town
Honey
Attorneys, Bloemfontein.
[1]
Bredenkamp
v Standard Bank of SA Ltd
[2010]
ZASCA 75
;
2010 (4) SA 468
(SCA) para 23;
[2010] 4 All SA 113
(SCA).
[2]
Section
21(5) states that:
‘
The
court has all ancillary powers necessary or reasonably incidental to
the performance of its functions and the exercise of
its powers,
including the power to grant interlocutory orders or interdicts.’
[3]
Zweni
v Minister of Law and Order of the Republic of South Africa
[1992]
ZASCA 197
;
[1993] 1 All SA 365
(A);
1993 (1) SA 523
(A) (
Zweni
)
at 536B.
[4]
Cipla
Agrimed (Pty) Ltd v Merck Sharp Dohme Corporation and Others
[2017]
ZASCA 134
;
[2017] 4 All SA 605
(SCA);
2018 (6) SA 440
(SCA) (
Cipla
)
para 36.
[5]
Cipla
para
37.
[6]
See
also
DRDGold
Limited and Another v Nkala and Others
[2023] ZASCA 9
;
2023 (3) SA 461
(SCA) (
DRDGold
)
paras 22-26.
[7]
See
S
v Western Areas
[2005] ZASCA 31
;
2005 (5) SA 215
(SCA) paras 215-216;
[2005] 3 All
SA 541
(SCA);
Philani-Ma-Afrika
and Others v Mailula and Others
[2009] ZASCA 115
;
2010 (2) SA 573
(SCA);
[2010] 1 All SA 459
(SCA);
2010 (2) SA 573
(SCA) para 20;
Cipla
para 37;
DRDGold
n
5 paras 22-26;
Road
Accident Fund v Taylor
[2023] ZASCA 64
;
2023 (5) SA 147
(SCA) para 26;
TWK
Agriculture Holdings (Pty) Ltd v Hoogveld Boerderybeleggings (Pty)
Ltd and Others
[2023]
ZASCA 63
;
2023 (5) SA 163
(SCA paras 30;
Knoop
NO and Others v National Director of Public Prosecutions
[2023] ZASCA 141.
[8]
United
Democratic Movement and Another v Lebashe Investment Group (Pty) Ltd
and Others
[2022] ZACC 34; 2022 (12) BCLR 1521 (CC); 2023 (1) SA 353 (CC).
[9]
Ibid
para 45.
[10]
Ibid
para 40.
[11]
Ibid
para 45.
[12]
Old
Mutual Limited and Others v Moyo and Another
[2020]
ZAGPJHC 1;
[2020] 4 BLLR 401
(GJ);
[2020] 2 All SA 261
(GJ); (2020)
41 ILJ 1085 (GJ) para 103, endorsed in
Eskom
Holdings SOC Limited v Lekwas Ratepayers Association NPC and Others;
Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd v Vaal River Development Association
(Pty)
Ltd and Others
[2022]
ZASCA 10
;
[2022] 1 All SA 642
(SCA);
2022 (4) SA 78
(SCA) para 7.
[13]
Manong
and Associates (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Public Works and Another
[2009]
ZASCA 110
;
2010 (2) SA 167
(SCA);
[2010] 1 All SA 267
(SCA) (
Manong
)
para 22.
[14]
Gool
v Minister of Justice
1955
(2) SA 682
(C) 688D-E.
[15]
Manong
para
30.
[16]
Cooper
v Merchant Trade Finance Limited
[1999]
ZASCA 97
;
2000 (3) SA 1009
(SCA) para 7.
[17]
Section
13 deals with burden of proof. It provides, in relevant parts:
‘
(1)
If the complainant makes out a prima facie case of discrimination-
(a)
The respondent must prove, on the facts
before the court, that the discrimination did not take place as
alleged; or
(b)
The respondent must prove that the conduct
is not based on one or more of the prohibited grounds.
(2)
If the discrimination did take place-
(a) on a ground in
paragraph (a) of the definition of “prohibited grounds”
then it is unfair, unless the respondent
proves that the
discrimination is fair. . . ’.
[18]
Manong
paras
22 & 27.
[19]
Ibid
para 22.
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