MEC welcomes arrest of a farmer’s wife and son after allegedly force-feeding faeces to employee

02 February 2018

MEC Lebogang Maile welcomes the arrest by police of a farmer’s wife and son accused of force-feeding faeces to one of his employees (see report). The accused are expected to appear in the Springs Magistrate Court today, Friday 02 February 2018.

“This is very dehumanising and an insult of highest pedigree. Clearly, some sections of our society have not embraced our new democratic dispensation; and continue to see our people especially Blacks in general and Africans in particular as inferior beings”, said MEC Maile.

It is alleged that these two, including the farmer took part in assaulting and humiliating the worker at their farm near Endicott, east of Johannesburg, before forcing the employee to eat faeces.

“The long arm of the law must take its course; the alleged culprits are spitting on the grave of the founding father of our Rainbow nation, the late President Nelson Mandela. No human being deserves such a dehumanizing and disgusting treatment in a supposedly free and democratic South Africa”, charged MEC Maile.

According to the police the incident occurred in early December 2017 and the worker was allegedly tortured after he failed to switch on the engine of a septic tank pump on the family’s smallholding outside Springs.

MEC Maile has instructed senior officials at the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) to speedily convene an urgent meeting with all stakeholders, especially Farmer’s associations, labour unions, farm dwellers and civil society formations. One of the key objectives of the meeting will be to systematically deal with all the challenges faced by the sector and developing strategies to deal concretely with attacks; assaults; exploitation and evictions meted against farm workers or communities living in farms.

“We have a responsibility as government to provide leadership, and address all the challenges. Our inability to act right now might fuel racial tensions, reminiscent of the past era”, concluded MEC Maile.

Statement issued by Castro Ngobese, Spokesperson: MEC of Economic Development Environment Agriculture and Rural Development, 2 February 2018