Activist Rev Modise Molefe has escalated a long-running sewage crisis in Boipatong in Gauteng to parliament, accusing the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) of deliberately downplaying claims of national government negligence to protect senior officials, including the Presidency.
In a petition to the portfolio committee on justice and constitutional development chair Xola Nqola, he claims the commission “downgraded” a complaint involving alleged national executive liability into routine municipal service delivery cases linked to the embattled Emfuleni Local Municipality.
Allegations of downgraded accountability
Molefe argues that this administrative move effectively shields the Presidency and the department of water and sanitation from accountability, despite what he said was clear evidence of state failure in addressing raw sewage flooding Boipatong and surrounding areas.
The petition draws a sharp contrast with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Human Rights Day remarks on 21 March, where he pledged to take a “hardball” approach against failing municipal managers.
“However, in the Boipatong matter, we see the [SAHRC] playing softball. While the president demands local-level accountability, his own office and the department of water and sanitation, under Section 63 Intervention, are being shielded by the SAHRC’s refusal to treat this as a case of national executive negligence.
“Why is the commission not holding the Presidency to the very hardball standard the president set for the rest of the country?” he asked in the petition.
Human cost of the sewage crisis
At the centre of the complaint is the case of Dimakatso Mofokeng, a Sebokeng resident who allegedly died while waiting for intervention from authorities to address persistent sewage leaks in her home.
Molefe describes her death as illustrative of systemic failure and the petition also details claims involving a 70-year-old woman and a toddler, who were reportedly identified as vulnerable residents under a 2023 intervention programme.
According to Molefe, the state failed in its duty of care, with the child now suffering from chronic respiratory illness linked to exposure to sewage.
He accused SAHRC officials of ignoring key evidence during a site visit in June last year, as well as an alleged attempt to consolidate multiple complaints into a single report, which Molefe said effectively erased claims of executive-level wrongdoing.
Molefe also raises concerns about what he terms the “Evaton fraud”, alleging misleading photographs were used to falsely report progress to the Presidency.
Escalation and call for investigation
He has given parliament 21 days to act, calling for the SAHRC to “unbundle” the case, subpoena internal reports and investigate the conduct of its officials.
Failing that, he warns the matter will be escalated to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The SAHRC had not responded to the allegations by the time of publication.
