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‘No Delay Tactics’ in Case Against Helen Botes

Former CEO and director the City of Joburg Property Company (JPC) Helen Botes says she did nothing wrong at JPC and, if she did, it was as the CEO and not as a director.

Botes said this in her plea outlining her defence in response to OUTA’s legal action against her, which calls on the Johannesburg High Court to declare her to be a delinquent director.

OUTA filed the legal action against Botes on 29 July 2025. OUTA publicly announced this action on 14 August (after the papers were duly served on the parties) and the following day, the City of Johannesburg removed Botes as a director of JPC.

Botes filed her notice of intention to defend the action on 27 August and subsequently had 20 court days to file her plea outlining her defence. In terms of the court rules, she should have filed this by 25 September 2025.

On 17 September 2025, Helen Botes instituted interlocutory proceedings and as such the 20-court day period started afresh, giving Botes until 24 October 2025 to file her plea.

By 24 October, no plea from Helen Botes had been received and OUTA proceeded to file a notice of bar which was served on Botes the same day. This notice required Botes to file her plea within five days of receipt of the notice, failing which she would be barred from filing it later. OUTA’s notice of bar was intended to prevent deliberate delays in a so-called Stalingrad-style defence.

In terms of the notice of bar, Botes’s deadline for filing her plea became 31 October.

On 31 October, Botes filed her plea, complying with the deadline.

OUTA’s case

OUTA’s case revolves around two issues:

  • The fatal fire at the Usindiso building on 31 August 2023, which killed at least 76 people, as the building was owned by the City and managed by JPC.
  • Concerns over Botes’s role in unlawful procurement of Covid-19-related services for JPC.

Helen Botes’s plea
In her plea document, Botes:

  • Denies any wrongdoing and challenges OUTA’s standing: Botes denies all allegations of misconduct during her tenure at the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC), including claims related to the Usindiso fire and Covid-19 contracts. She argues that OUTA lacks legal standing to bring a delinquency application against her, insisting that only affected individuals, law-enforcement agencies, or the City of Johannesburg could do so.
  • Bases her defence on circumstances and institutional constraints: Botes asserts that JPC’s actions regarding the Usindiso building and Covid-19 procurement were lawful and constrained by City of Johannesburg policies, budget limitations, and a moratorium on evictions. She maintains that JPC took all reasonable steps under difficult conditions, disputes the Khampepe Commission’s findings about her, and notes that the Usindiso lease and its problems pre-dated her leadership.

OUTA can now proceed with the legal action to ensure that this matter is resolved sooner rather than later.

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