As described in a previous post both Minister Mantashe and the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) appealed against Peter Becker’s victory in the Western Cape High Court in January 2023. Despite the High Court refusing leave to appeal, the appeal was heard by a full bench of five judges at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on 17 May 2024.

The Supreme Court of Appeal issued a ruling on 28 June 2024 upholding the High Court findings, as well as making additional observations. The NNR and the Minister could have appealed again to the Constitutional Court, but the deadline to do so passed on 19 July without either party filing papers to the Constitutional Court.

The original case was filed in response to Minister Mantashe dismissing Becker from the Board of the NNR, where he was appointed to represent the interests of communities. Becker asked to High Court to review the Minister’s decision, and the High Court ruled that Mantashe’s decision to dismiss was unlawful, unconstitutional and done in bad faith with an ulterior motive with undue haste.

The following describes the appeal hearing, the ruling and also includes the full Heads of Argument submitted to the Court and the full Ruling (see bottom of this article).