PRESS RELEASE
To: All Media
Issued by: Organisations of the #RightToSayNo Campaign
Date: 12 September 2025
Subject: Mobilization on 16 September in support of Wild Coast Communities and their Right to Say NO to Oil and Gas
On 16–17 September 2025, the Constitutional Court will hear the landmark case Wild Coast Communities vs Shell. This case marks a historic moment in South Africa’s struggle for environmental and socio-economic justice for fishing communities.
The matter comes before the Constitutional Court after an unsatisfactory outcome in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). While the SCA confirmed that the permit Shell sought to use for offshore oil and gas exploration off the Wild Coast was unlawfully granted, it left the door open for the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy to renew that permit.
For the first time in history, fishing communities are taking their fight all the way to the Constitutional Court. They are standing up to defend their constitutional right to be heard, especially when their customary rights are threatened, while advancing their socio-economic rights linked to the use of natural resources, as well as their environmental and cultural rights guaranteed by the Constitution and related legislation.
Although this case centres on Wild Coast communities, it speaks to a much broader national struggle. At its heart is the fight of working people to define the kind of development they want for the country, and to reject extractivism in favour of people-centred and sustainable alternatives. In the past 5 years, fishing and coastal communities have led the charge to say NO to oil and gas development, while advocating for social and climate justice, as well as the protection of their livelihoods and cultures.
These actions form part of the Right To Say No (R2SN) campaign, a community-led call to resist extractive developments and demand democratic, people-centred alternatives. To amplify this call, a march to the Constitutional Court will take place on 16 September 2025. The action will highlight solidarity with the Wild Coast communities, the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC), and Coastal Links as they defend their right to reject oil and gas exploration.
Fisher people from all over the country and other working people’s movements (South African Green Revolutionary Council, Amadiba Crisis Committee, Sustaining the Wild Coast, BAM) will be marching in solidarity with Wild Coast communities. The march seeks to draw national attention to the struggles of fishing communities, strengthen solidarity between communities, workers, and justice movements, and create a shared space for political education on extractivism, the ocean economy, and the legal framework for the Right to Say No.
NOTE TO MEDIA:
A press conference will be held with the applicants in the case, together with the legal representatives and representatives from Coastal Links, the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC), and the Right To Say No (R2SN) campaign. Details regarding the time and venue will be communicated to media representatives closer to the time.
📅 Save The Dates:
- Mass Demonstration to the Constitutional Court (Johannesburg):
The march will be led by Coastal Links, the Amadiba Crisis Committee, and allied solidarity organisations, and will be followed by a press conference with Wild Coast representatives.
Date: Tuesday, 16 September 2025
Time: 09:30 for 10:00
Route: Starting point is at the Queens Road/Hospital Street intersection.
- Public Speak-Out & Teach-In at Constitution Hill:
The event will feature testimonies from affected communities, alongside sessions on the ocean economy and extractivism, the constitutional and legal frameworks that protect community rights, and a debrief by the legal team with reflections from the court proceedings.
Date: Wednesday, 17 September 2025
Time: To be confirmed
Location: Women’s Jail, Block A, Conference Centre (Google maps)
For further queries, please contact:
- Nobathembu Ndzengu, Media Officer (Masifundise): nobathembu@masifundise.org.za/ 078 593 4230
- Matthews Hlabane, National Organiser (Right to Say No Campaign)/ 082 707 9860
- Jordan Volmink, Project Coordinator (Masifundise): jordan@masfundise.org.za/ 079 145 5281
Download full press release here