Advocate Douglas Shaw says the South African constitution, under democratic government, has failed to reform laws by major banks in the country. Shaw is part of a group leading the charge against the banks for snapping up repossessed homes and offloading them for bargain-bin prices.

This week a high court judge slammed Standard Bank for its ‘disproportionate’ attempt to foreclose on the home of trade federation leader, Zwelinzima Vavi, even as he was consistently paying off the arrears on his home loan.

Shaw says hundreds of dispossessed homeowners’ human rights have been violated.

“This has been going on since before the Constitution even came in. But you would think that when the Constitution came in, the banks would have stopped doing this and it affects more than 100,000 people in this country who we believe the banks have sold their properties for significantly less than they could have sold them for what they were worth. This is before we got the reserve price, but even today, with the reserve price, they sometimes sell them for like 50% or 70% off their value,” says Shaw.

Meanwhile, Lungelo Lethu Human Rights Foundation President, Nkululeko Xhelithole says financial institutions are still based on apartheid systems.

“During apartheid, there were forced removals. We accepted that. We fought against that. Now, in todays’ era, forced removals are called evictions because people are still thrown away out of their houses. Our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, Chapter 2, Page 5 of the Constitution says if you evict a person, give them an alternative accommodation suitable for their needs. But it does not happen in our country. The question is, ‘do the banks’ commercial rights supersede our constitutional rights? The answer is definitely no!”