The court ruled that the Apostolic Mission of South Africa (AFM) cannot simply change locks on a building. The High Court of the Western Cape dismissed AFM's attempt to appeal a court decision that ordered the restoration of ownership rights to pastors Japie and Susan La Poort over the building after the church changed the locks.
High Court Judge Da Silva Salye rejected the application for leave to appeal and ordered AFM and Sebastian Lucas to jointly and severally pay the legal costs.
The church had requested permission to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal or to the full bench of the High Court of the Western Cape against the urgent order issued on August 21. This order required AFM and Lucas to hand over the complete set of keys to Building C to the La Poorts within 48 hours, thereby restoring their peaceful and unimpeded possession of the premises.
The latest ruling does not determine whether the La Poorts have a legal right to remain on the property; this issue must be resolved in separate eviction proceedings. The central point of the appeal was whether the La Poorts had factual possession of Building C before the locks were changed.
Not just actions
AFM argued that even if they held the keys and controlled the building, they did so as employees, managers, or trustees of the Susan La Poort Children's Home, which is a separate legal entity. Consequently, they claimed, they were merely holding the property on behalf of another organization and could not personally rely on the legal remedy of repossession known as mandament van spolie. However, Da Silva Salye rejected this argument.
The La Poorts stated that they kept the keys, managed access to the building, were responsible for its security, maintenance, and associated municipal services. Building C was also used as an operational facility for the children's home and community projects in which they were actively involved. The judge found that their involvement went beyond the role of employees or representatives of the children's home.
It was established that Japie La Poort is an ordained pastor of AFM who held various leadership positions, and the couple's activities on the premises also included pastoral duties and participation in the community they founded. The court concluded that their continuous involvement in church and community activities constituted sufficient grounds to support their possession of the building.
Changing the lock
AFM's own evidence regarding their attempts to gain access also worked against their argument. The ruling noted repeated attempts in May and June to obtain the keys from the La Poorts. On June 11, Susan La Poort was notified that if the keys were not handed over, Lucas had been instructed to remove the existing lock 'for access' and install a new one.
Since the keys were not surrendered, the lock was subsequently removed and replaced. Da Silva Salye noted that this evidence was difficult to reconcile with the claim that the first respondent had at any time exercised unrestricted physical control over the building. The judge added: 'The ability to break/remove a lock to enter is not the same as already possessing the building.'
The court also dismissed the argument that its August order created a precedent whereby merely holding the keys to an empty building equates to possession. Da Silva Salye explained that the previous conclusion was based on the totality of all evidence, including the La Poorts' control over access, possession of the keys, security of the premises, and the circumstances immediately preceding the lock change. The judge concluded that there were no reasonable prospects that another court would reach a different conclusion, and there was no compelling reason to hear the appeal, resulting in the dismissal of the application for leave to appeal, and AFM and Lucas being ordered to pay the costs.