Solidarity urgently takes Lesufi and Johannesburg Metro to court over ‘race banner’

Solidarity will take the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) to the Johannesburg High Court on an urgent basis on 18 November, after the JMPD unlawfully removed a Solidarity banner.

Court papers have been served on, among others, Panyaza Lesufi, Premier of Gauteng, and the Johannesburg Metro.

The banner carried the message: “Welcome to the most race-regulated country in the world” and formed part of an awareness campaign on race laws that Solidarity had planned specifically for November 2025 and the G20 Summit.

According to Solidarity, they worked through a recognised agency and paid all fees in advance to ensure that the banner was properly designed and displayed. However, the banner was removed by city authorities on 10 November without any notice, explanation or due process. 

Shortly before, Lesufi and some city officials encouraged, then confirmed and finally openly applauded the removal on social media, citing the banner’s “political message”.

In the urgent application, Solidarity argues that the city council’s actions were unlawful and politically motivated. Moreover, the city’s own municipal by-laws do not give officials the power to unilaterally remove advertisements. 

The city council also never issued the required notice or asked for an explanation. This is contrary to the general principles of administrative justice, as well as a court ruling against the city council in August 2025, in which the court expressly found that similar action by the city council was unlawful.

“The banner’s purpose was to hold up a mirror to the world of South Africa’s racial policy. The government is now denying its own policy and removing references to it. The banner has now also become a mirror of a government that takes the law into its own hands and that undermines freedom of speech. While Lesufi should be a statesman for G20 countries, he is now an activist who removes banners,” says Dr Dirk Hermann, Chief Executive of Solidarity.

Accordingly, Solidarity is requesting that the removal of the banner be declared unlawful and that the court orders the immediate restoration of the banner in the same location, or that the banner be returned to Solidarity free of charge. 

In the meantime, Solidarity will continue to erect similar billboards across the province. 

*See the notice of motion attached here. *See the supplementary affidavit attached here. 

*Members of the media interested in attending the court proceedings can indicate their interest at pieterj@solidariteit.co.za before/on 14 November 2025.