After a two-day court hearing, the traditional custodians of Phiphidi Waterfall last week won an injunction to halt the construction of a tourist resort at their sacred site for 20 days, allowing them to prepare for further legal action.

The Ramunangi clan, in South Africa’s Limpopo Province, has been waging a years-long battle to protect the Phiphidi Waterfall area from tourism and other forms of development. The latest threat began on April 19 when bulldozers broke ground on a tourist complex that would include eight chalets, a restaurant and a bar at the head of the falls. (See June 22 story.)

After unsuccessfully seeking other remedies, the Ramunangi and members of Dzomo la Mupo, custodians of a larger network of sacred sites in the Venda region of which Phiphidi is a part, petitioned the Limpopo High Court for an injunction. Construction is being carried out by Tshivhase Development Foundation Trust, which is run by a relative of Venda king Kennedy Tshivhase.

According to the Ramunangi’s legal representative Roger Chennells, the judge, after hearing testimony from both sides, agreed to conduct an on-site inspection of the construction in response to the defendants’ claim that Phiphidi Waterfall was not a sacred site and that the Ramunangi were not the traditional custodians.

Dzomo la Mupo member Mpatheleni Mapaulule said that upon visiting the site and witnessing Ramunangi elders performing a ritual, “the judge said we must not disturb them.” She noted that the judge could see that the whole area, including the surrounding forest, was sacred: “He said the church is the yard, the altar is not only sacred but the whole surrounding.”

For background on this story, read our Phiphidi Waterfall sacred site report.

Update: Read more in this Aug. 1 article from BBC News.