CCN Reporting
WELLINGTON:- The recent eviction of a young woman from Leeurivier Farm outside Wellington, has once again exposed the painful..
The ongoing crisis of farm evictions across the Western Cape, and activists warn that the law is fast becoming a joke and a privilege reserved only for the wealthy.
According to information received by CCN, the young woman, raised as part of a farmworker family, moved into her late grandfather’s house after his passing earlier this year. But just weeks later, she was informed by the farm owner that she has “no rights” to remain on the land. Allegedly, without any legal eviction order, the house’s roof was removed and her belongings were thrown out – a situation community members say is all too common across the region.
“It’s the same old formula,” says, a well-known community activist from Wellington involved in the case. “The farmer chases you out, you wait for legal help, and by the time anyone acts, you’re long gone and left with nothing.”
Not the First – Not the Last
Two years ago, a similar situation unfolded on a farm near Hopefield along the West Coast. The local magistrate’s court granted an eviction order, only for human rights activists – and even members of the South African Human Rights Commission, to later declare the eviction unlawful. By then, however, the affected family had already packed their belongings and been forced off the farm.
“We see this happening over and over, the law is applied incorrectly, and there’s no accountability,” adds another activist, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons.
Laws on Paper, Injustice on the Ground
The Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA) is intended to protect farm dwellers, preventing anyone who has lived on a farm for more than 12 months from being evicted without a proper court order. But activists say that means little when farmers take the law into their own hands and legal assistance processes are slow and bureaucratic.
In the current Wellington case, the woman has reportedly approached Legal Aid, but the farm owner allegedly acted unlawfully in the meantime.
Legal System Failing the Poor
“The South African justice system is a joke, if you have money, you win. If you have nothing, you lose everything,” a frustrated resident told CCN.
Many feel that farm communities are left vulnerable to the power and resources of large landowners, while victims struggle to enforce their rights on paper in real life.
No or Little Hope
Justice for farmworkers and their families remains a distant dream in many parts of the Western Cape. Community leaders from Wellington, the West Coast, and other affected regions are now calling for the Department of Agriculture, the Human Rights Commission, and legal organisations to work directly with farm communities to address this decades-old problem.
In the meantime, the young woman in Wellington, like many others in similar situations, waits, often with little hope, for the law to finally work as it should.
