Amazon has been dealt a blow after a court halted construction of the ecommerce company’s new African headquarters.
Plans for the 70,000 sq m (750,000 sq ft) base in Cape Town has provoked outcry from groups representing the descendants of the country’s earliest inhabitants, the Khoi and San, who have claimed that the piece of land is sacred.
The Western Cape division of the high court has banned the project developer from continuing with construction on the site until talks are held with the affected indigenous peoples.
The River Club development covers a 15-hectare riverside area near Cape Town and has been earmarked for a 4 billion rand ($284 million) mixed-use scheme comprising a hotel, shops and offices.
Amazon, which already employs thousands of people in the city, in a global call centre and data hubs, was lined up as its anchor tenant.
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The development lies at the confluence of two rivers considered sacred, the Black and Liesbeek.
Judge Patricia Goliath said in her ruling: “This matter ultimately concerns the rights of indigenous peoples . . . The fundamental right to culture and heritage of indigenous groups, more particularly the Khoi and San First Nations Peoples, are under threat in the absence of proper consultation.”
The Khoi and the San were the earliest inhabitants of South Africa, the latter roaming as hunter gatherers for tens of thousands of years, and the former joining them as pastoralists more than 2,000 years ago.
Goliath said that her ruling should not be construed as a criticism of the River Club development, but that the core issue was that there needed to be proper consultation before it could go ahead.