The high court in Cape Town’s finding that economic and infrastructure benefits do not trump the rights of indigenous people may see Cape Town losing a R4.5bn investment in what was meant to be tech giant Amazon’s Africa headquarters.

The weekend decision to interdict the project may also lead to the loss of 5,000 construction jobs and put a stop to road upgrades and the creation of a public park, while leaving the developer liable for more than R100m in penalties, including a breach of contract with the world’s biggest online retailer...