The newly appointed speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, and several officials from the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development could soon face imprisonment.
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This is due to a contentious legal battle involving three sheep farmers (known as the Nuveld farmers) in Beaufort West that dates back to 2009.
Back then, the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform gave five farms (collectively known as Plateau Farm) located in Beaufort West to more than 80 beneficiaries under the government’s land reform programme.
These beneficiaries included Joshua Bezuidenhout, his brother Herold Bezuidenhout and Jan Bergh. The trio established a successful wool co-op known as Nuveld Farming Empowerment Enterprises, which garnered several awards over the years.
Other beneficiaries who got the opportunity to farm abandoned the effort, Daily Maverick reports.
Despite their success, the Nuveld farmers faced many challenges. In January and February, government officials seized two of their farms, replaced the locks and allowed other beneficiaries to occupy the land.
The move was in contravention of a court order obtained by the farmers in March.
However, Daily Maverick reports that the department continued to permit new occupants onto the farms.
The Nuveld farmers then returned to court, demanding that Didiza, who was the minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development, and government officials comply with the court’s directives. These directives were reportedly ignored.
The leases expired in 2019 and the Nuveld farmers were appointed as caretakers of the farms pending the finalisation of a 30-year lease. At the time, the National Land Acquisition and Allocation Control Committee recommended them as the preferred candidates for the lease.
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In 2020, their sheep farming operations continued successfully. In 2023, their wool brought in the highest average price for the region at the national wool auction in Gqeberha.
Despite this, the acting chief director of Western Cape Provincial Shared Services opted in September 2020 not to grant the lease to the Nuveld farmers and did not explain either.
The farmers applied to the Western Cape Division of the High Court to review and set aside the decision on 4 April 2023.
More recently, Judge Mahomed found Didiza and the implicated officials guilty of contempt of court, giving them 30 days to vacate the farms and return them to the Nuveld farmers.
If they don’t, they could face a 30-day prison sentence.
Mahomed reportedly dismissed Didiza and the government respondents’ defence that the court order did not ‘direct them to launch eviction proceedings’.
‘At no stage did the departmental respondents consider it necessary to explain to the court how or why this conduct would not be perceived as the department’s ‘continued consent’ for [the widow] to continue to occupy [the farm] in direct contravention of the March court order and the alleged revocation of their consent,’ she said, adding that the department was in ‘wilful contravention of the court order and acted in bad faith’.
She also ruled that a third family be given access to one of the farms.
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Picture: Brenton Geach / Gallo Images