A bid to have mosques re-opened during the lockdown has been dismissed by the North Gauteng High Court. Muhammed Bin Hassim Mohomed, Anas Mohammed Chotia and the As-Saadiqeen Islamic Centre launched an application to have the lockdown regulations declared unconstitutional, citing that it infringes on the religious obligations of Muslims. The case was heard over two days last week.

In delivering her judgment, Judge Brenda Neukircher says every citizen is called upon to make sacrifices to their fundamental rights entrenched in the Constitution. She says South Africans are called upon to do so in the name of “the greater good”, the spirit of “ubuntu” and they are called upon to do so in ways that impact on their livelihoods, their way of life and their economic security and freedom.

“To the extent that the Government has put together its Task Team has consulted exhaustively with them to ensure the safety of its citizens in order to “flatten the curve” and prevent an already fragile health system from being overwhelmed, I cannot find that the restrictions imposed are either unreasonable or unjustifiable and thus the application must fail.”

There is no costs order for the applicants.