"South Africa: Entire Village Issued With Court Interdict Following Mining Company's Application", 11 May 2017

The entire Ngwaabe village in the platinum belt was issued with a court interdict, preventing any member of the community from protesting against Northam Platinum Mine's employment policies. The judge later limited the interdict to four members of the community, and they applied to appeal his decision. The origins of the dispute date back to June 2015 when Northam Platinum, which operates the Booysendal mine, was negotiating with various communities about employment at a number of its mines along the platinum belt...[T]he Ngwaabe community then decided to organise a protest against Northam. But, a day later, Northam applied for an interim interdict against the entire village of Ngwaabe. The interdict was expansive in that it covered everyone living in Ngwaabe Village and prevented them from engaging in a range of protest activity, including some legal protest actions...There are a number of points of conflict between the versions given by Northam and the Ngwaabe community. According to Northam, the respondents arranged and participated in violent protests and marches on the mine. It was these violent protests that prompted Northam to apply for an interdict. However, the community insisted that the protests they were involved in were not violent, and that the photographs Northam used as evidence of the "violent" protests were actually photographs of protests organised by the task team...Many mining companies use their wealth to obtain expansive interim interdicts against communities based on very little evidence. The communities then have to live under the interdict until they can obtain a court date and attempt to have the interdict withdrawn.