Looking Back on 2024

All Rise had a busy year full of challenges, new partnerships, presentations and lawyering!

New Faces at All Rise 

Candidate Attorney

In August 2024, we welcomed our first Candidate Attorney, Kaliope Geldenhuys, a postgraduate law student from UKZN. Since 2021, Kali has volunteered at All Rise during her holidays, helping us and, in the process, learning that environmental law is her passion. We are fortunate that Kali is now a full-time member of the team and are thrilled to welcome another woman to All Rise.

Columbia Law School Human Rights Internship Program

Through the Columbia Law School Human Rights Internship program in the United States, Lena Swirczek joined us as an intern for 10 weeks. This was Lena’s first time to South Africa, and her contribution, though short, was invaluable. It was enlightening to have a young person with an international perspective to contribute to All Rise’s work. We now have an established partnership with Columbia Law School and will welcome more interns in 2025 and beyond.

Hosting Nikki Walsh 

Nikki Walsh is a criminal defence lawyer turned law professor at London City Law School from the UK. Nikki reached out to All Rise in August 2024 when she was in South Africa. She had been following All Rise’s work for some time and wanted to get insight into climate justice law. During her time with us, Nikki offered meaningful insights into her take on the climate justice sector in South Africa. It was a delight to have such a lovely person and experienced lawyer work with All Rise, albeit for a short time. 

Collaborations

MPRDA Coalition- MACUA

All Rise joined MACUA’s MPRDA (Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act) Coalition, calling on Parliament and the DMRE to amend the MPRDA in accordance with the right to free, prior, and informed consent for communities and to legalise artisanal mining.

Submissions were made to Parliament, which included proposed amendments in the areas of resettlement and relocation, free, prior and informed consent, and climate and environment.

This collaborative work will continue in 2025.

Black Girls Rising

We are thrilled to announce the graduation of the three ambassadors who were selected from the Ishoweni area through their collaboration with the Mpungose Traditional Authority and Black Girls Rising (detailed in our 2023 newsletter here). 

These ambassadors graduated mid-year in 2024 and were given the opportunity to fly to Cape Town to attend a wilderness leadership camp. We are excited to see how these ambassadors grow and thrive through all the learning opportunities, mentorship and tools they were given through the programme.

Workshops, Presentations & Events 

Environmental Assessment Practitioners Association of South Africa (EAPASA) Conference 

Janice presented on “A Rights Based Approach to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) – vulnerable and disadvantaged persons.” This presentation explores how and why vulnerable and disadvantaged communities are often not meaningfully consulted during the EIA process and how this can be remedied. A rights-based approach to EIAs is a framework that integrates human rights principles into the environmental decision-making process, ensuring that all stakeholders – especially marginalised communities – have the right to participate in, gain access to information about, and seek justice regarding environmental impacts. 

Access Janice’s presentation here. 

Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) Laws Website Webinar Series

 Kirsten and Janice were invited by EWT to contribute to their webinar series on laws relating to the environment. Two webinars were given, the first on “Intergenerational Equity: Exploring Environmental Justice” and the second on “Introduction to EIAs.” These will be uploaded onto the EWT Laws website.

ELCA Southern Africa’s Convening 

Janice was invited to participate in and present at the Environmental Lawyers Collective for Africa (ELCA) Southern Africa’s Convening. The purpose of the convening was to provide a space for information sharing and learning between public interest lawyers throughout the SADC region, particularly in climate and environmental justice.

State Capture and Beyond Campaign

Kaliope attended the State Capture and Beyond Multistakeholder Meeting in Durban created in collaboration with the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), Human Rights Media Trust, & Brot für de Welt. The theme of the campaign in Durban focused on how corruption makes citizens more vulnerable to climate change. To find out more: https://beyondstatecapture.org.za/

Alumni meeting – Rights and Remedies – a course for activists 

Lihle attended an alumni meeting of the CER’s “Rights and Remedies, a course for activists” course to make meaningful contributions to future attendees. 

Land Workshop with Sthembiso Gumbi

We invited Sthembiso Gumbi to speak at a workshop on land rights. This was held in KZN for one of our community organisation clients and, as usual, the presentation was informative and well received.

Opposing Unsustainable Projects on Behalf of Community Organisations and NGOs 

Tendele’s Somkhele Coal Mine

Review of Tendele’s 2016 Mining Right and court-ordered EIA process 

It has been nearly three years since Bam J’s judgment and Tendele still has not finalised the EIA process and submitted its report to the Minister of DMRE to decide the remitted appeal. In our interdict application brought in 2023, Koen J ordered that Tendele could undertake limited mining activities before the appeal was prosecuted. This was under the presumption that Tendele would adhere to all the promises made and timelines given in its commencement notice and court papers. This included not blasting until all the families within the 500 m blast radius had been relocated. Blasting began in September despite many families still living within the 500m zone. 

Tendele distributed its draft EIA report for I&AP comment in May 2024, the deadline for which was mid-July 2024. It has made no visible progress since then, nor has the final EIA report been finalised and submitted to the Minister. Tendele, however, commenced work at Emalahleni in May 2024 and is actively mining 24 hours a day, 6 days a week.

The public participation process done in an attempt to comply with the Order of Judge Bam, is once again flawed: 

Flawed EIA for Kwazulu Natal coal mine challenged in court by civil society – Green Building Africa

EIA Report | Organisations slam report as misleading – YouTube

Families who need to be relocated

Families who still need to be relocated from Emalahleni and Ophondweni are receiving assistance from All Rise and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR). Their relocation should have been completed before Tendele started its mining activities as per the undertakings it gave in court. Failing to keep to its word, these families, especially at Emalahleni where active mining is taking place, are being subjected to continuous blasting, dust, noise, heavy coal trucks, and other mine traffic. Another travesty of justice plays out. 

South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)

In 2022, All Rise reached out to the SAHRC to investigate the human rights violations of our clients from the violence and intimidation experienced by MCEJO members due to their protests against the mine’s unlawful actions within their communities. The SAHRC undertook to investigate these human rights violations, and although the process has taken a long time, we have been promised a report on its findings in February 2025.  

Jindal’s Iron Ore Mine

In early February 2024, we received the good news that the application for environmental authorisation for the proposed Jindal Melmoth Iron Ore Project in the Mthonjaneni Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal had been refused based on the significant gaps in the EIA reports. 

Soon afterwards, Jindal began again. This time for a greater area of almost 26,000 ha. Please see a link to an article by Tony Carnie describing the impacts of this Project in the local area:  https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-07-24-tensions-rise-as-iron-giant-returns-to-the-hills-of-kzns-melmoth/ 

In August 2024, All Rise submitted comments on the new Scoping Report outlining its many shortcomings, especially the lack of detail and information on the impacts on the surrounding community and environment, as well as the deficient public participation process. In late 2024, the DMRE rejected the scoping report,  and directed Jindal to redo Scoping.  The draft Scoping Report was released again for public comment at the end of January.

If this project is authorised, it will destroy vast areas of natural vegetation and commercial and small-scale farming land, and require significant volumes of water, impacting on biodiversity, water resources, food security, jobs and the regional formal and informal economy. We will continue to oppose it on behalf of our clients, most of whom will be directly affected.

Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) in Limpopo

The opposition to the MMSEZ in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province continues on behalf of our clients, Living Limpopo, The Herd Reserve and CALS. Aside from the ongoing court review of the provincial government’s decision to grant environmental authorisation to clear 3500 hectares of indigenous bush, All Rise has also objected to the township application for the Mega City and the water use license application, as well as investigated applications made for the destruction of over 600 000 protected trees.

Overall, the MMSEZ and the various coal mining projects surrounding it are so fundamentally flawed that they must be challenged on many levels and in many areas.

Thank you

We would find it extremely hard to do our work without the support of so many people and organisations that offer financial support, pro bono and “low bono” professional assistance and advice, volunteers, interns, and colleagues. We are so grateful to you all, but special mention goes to:

• The Ford Foundation, EDLC, Global Green Grants Fund, Natural Justice, Legal Aid South Africa, SDCEA, SAHRDN, GET, MACUA, ActionAid SA, CALS, Our Children’s Earth Foundation and individual donors.
• Our board of dynamic women – Mawande Mazibuko, Renee Kirkham, Trudie Nichols, and Dineo Skosana.
• Advocates Anna-Marie de Vos, Mawande Mazibuko, Sarah Pudifin-Jones, Jatheen Bima, Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane and Emma Webber.
• Adriaan Oosthuizen, Alice Harvey, Mohamed Kajee, Nicola Gerrard, Janelle Barnard, Sthembiso Gumbi, Adam Bennett, Sarah Bracking, Patrick Bond, Gwendolyn Wellmann, Mary de Haas, Sheila Berry, Arnold Tsunga, Lauren Liebenburg, Simphiwe Sidu, Rob Symons, Linda Tucker and Saskia von Diest.

Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Defenders

Towards the end of last year, the African Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders facilitated an academic visit to South Africa for Ms. Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders. This included a visit with All Rise and our clients. The Special Rapporteur and the WHRD Initiative joined us in Somkhele to meet members from MCEJO who bravely spoke out about the injustices of the Tendele coal mine. Thank you to the Special Rapporteur for your continued support of our clients and our work. 

Ending Off

After a challenging 2024, we welcome 2025 with the words of the late Wangari Maathai, who championed the creation of the Kenyan Green Belt and was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize: 

“There are opportunities even in the most difficult moments.” ― Wangari Maathai, Unbowed

Kirsten, Janice, Lihle and Kali

**As a non-profit clinic, we need funding to do our work. If you would like to support us, we would be very grateful! Head to this link to donate **