Lawyer representing hairdressers plans to appeal court ruling

With level 3 regulations set to come into effect next week, those in the hair and beauty industry were still not being allowed to fully operate.

CAPE TOWN - The lawyer representing the hairdressing industry in a court case calling for them to return to work under lockdown regulations plans to appeal.

The urgent application was dismissed in the Western Cape High Court on Thursday.

With level 3 regulations set to come into effect next week, those in the hair and beauty industry were still not being allowed to fully operate.

And even though the industry was offered some reprieve under level 4 regulations - being allowed to sell beauty and hair products - they argued this was not enough to stay afloat.

The lawyer who took their case to court, Carlo Viljoen, said he brought the application against the health minister and knew it should have been directed at another department.

“In short what happened was I had to choose between the minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs on the one side, and the minister of health on the other side. I chose the minister of health,” Viljoen said.

“The judge believed I should have chosen the minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs. Going forward we know now in our next application we need to state the minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs,” he added.

Viljoen said they planned to take the matter forward.

“It also appeared that the judge agreed with the merits of the case. The merits of the case are strong and haven’t been decided on,” he said.

For official information about COVID-19 from the Department of Health, please click here.