They argue that the City of Johannesburg failed to comply with two court orders.

Listen to this article 5 min Listen to this article 5 min A group of Soweto property owners want City of Johannesburg officials to be sent to jail for not complying with two court orders.

The nine owners, who bought land under the City's land regularisation process, have not been able to occupy the land and have been charged rates and taxes despite their stands not being connected to basic services. The City's regularisation process was aimed at selling thousands of council-owned properties to residents, giving them access to land and home ownership.

But, these owners say, they have been let down. And in spite of getting two court orders compelling the City and its agent, the Joburg Property Company, to install the basic bulk infrastructure in the area so they can build on their stands, more than five years later this has not been done.

The property owners, who are represented by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, bought their properties in the Zondi area of Soweto between 2009 and 2014.

They first went to court in October 2017 after discovering that there was no bulk infrastructure for basic services and they could...