Johannesburg Bylaw Backfires: AfriForum Stops Security Camera Grab

Johannesburg’s Bylaw Threatened Private CCTV, Drones, and Body Cams

Johannesburg’s Metropolitan Municipality has been forced into retreat after AfriForum mounted a successful legal challenge against a controversial bylaw that would have stripped citizens of control over their own security infrastructure.

The bylaw, passed in February, attempted to regulate private CCTV cameras, drones, automatic number plate recognition systems, and even body-worn cameras. It handed sweeping powers to undefined “authorised officials”, allowing them to demand access to private systems, dictate fees, and even seize equipment without a court order.

AfriForum responded by taking the city to court, arguing the bylaw was unconstitutional, unlawful, and fundamentally irrational. Their case stressed that the municipality lacked both the constitutional mandate and legal authority to regulate privately funded security infrastructure.

Civil society pressure paid off. In August, Johannesburg’s Metro confirmed that the bylaw would be repealed following the legal challenge. Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s spokesperson for community safety, described the outcome as “a massive win for Johannesburg’s residents”, warning that the attempt was nothing more than a power grab.

Other organisations, including Outa and Sapoa, echoed the critique, highlighting how the bylaw undermined privacy rights, ignored due process, and would have crippled community safety networks across the city.

The case reveals a broader tension: municipalities that fail to deliver basic safety services are seeking to regulate — and even hijack — the very community-driven systems that keep citizens safe. AfriForum’s victory underscores that civil society remains the most effective safeguard against government overreach.

So the question stands: when the state fails to protect its people, do communities not have the ultimate right to defend their sovereignty and security?