28/09/2026
PRESS RELEASE
MADIBENG ATTORNEYS’ ASSOCIATION SUCCESSFUL IN COURT PROCEEDINGS TO RETURN MADIBENG TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE GAUTENG HIGH COURT
The decision by the Minister of Justice, Mamoloko Kubayi, to transfer Madibeng (Brits/Hartbeespoort) from the jurisdiction of the Gauteng High Court to the North West High Court, seated in Mahikeng, was reversed today, 28 September 2026, by way of a court order.
The Minister’s decision, which took effect on 1 July after only being published in the Government Gazette on 2 July, came as a surprise to the residents of Madibeng.
The Madibeng Attorneys’ Association had already instituted its semi-urgent application in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, on 6 August 2026.
According to Cerneels Lourens, coordinator and attorney of record for the Madibeng Attorneys’ Association, the Association instituted the application after Kubayi failed to respond to the MAA’s request of 17 July 2026 that the decision, which the Association regarded as irrational and flawed, be withdrawn.
Following negotiations since the beginning of September 2026, the Minister agreed to withdraw the decision and also to pay the MAA’s costs, and the agreed order was made an order of court.
Lourens states that he enjoyed excellent cooperation throughout from his fellow attorneys in Madibeng and that the brilliant advocates Evert van As and Boipelo Ramela led the MAA’s legal team with distinction.
