Wild Coast Residents Protest At ConCourt Against Shell’s Seismic Oil Exploration

Community members from the Wild Coast gathered outside the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg to protest against Shell’s plans for seismic oil and gas exploration along the Eastern Cape coastline.

The demonstration coincides with a court hearing where environmental groups and communities are seeking leave to appeal a Supreme Court judgment that previously ruled in Shell’s favour.

In 2023, the appeal court granted Shell permission to proceed with seismic exploration activities on the Wild Coast — a move that has since sparked legal challenges and widespread public resistance.

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Organisations including Natural Justice and Greenpeace argue that the seismic blasting poses severe risks to marine ecosystems and threatens the livelihoods of local fishing communities.

Greenpeace oil and gas campaigner Sherelee Odayar criticised Shell’s consultation process, claiming it ignored the voices of ordinary community members.

“They do not consider communities in terms of public participation. They went in consultation with the chiefs and the monarchs and that’s not actually public consultation, it’s not community consultation because they didn’t consider the full community when doing consultation,” Odayar said.

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Local fisherman Jacobus van Wyk expressed frustration at what he sees as the disregard of big business for both the environment and community welfare.

“You have to make a decision and a strong decision. The future of our children, the future of our land, the future of our marine system is in our hands. If you can’t protect it now, tomorrow we will be very ashamed,” he said.

The outcome of the Constitutional Court proceedings will determine whether Shell can move ahead with its oil and gas exploration on the Wild Coast or whether environmental concerns will halt the project.

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