FAMILIES who live on a farm in Estcourt, KZN Midlands, claim insults have become a regular part of their lives.
They had been living on Sunnyside farm for several years when things changed – a stranger arrived in 2012.
The man, they claimed, insulted them and told them to leave the farm, saying he owned it.
According to the families, the
farm belonged to the government.
Now they want the department of land reform to
intervene.
A member of one of the families told Daily Sun: “He
arrived at the farm after the owner had left.
“There were discussions that suggested we be moved.
“But they were not valid because we were not given another farm to go to.”
Another family member said they couldn’t leave as their loved ones were buried there.
“This is unfair. We have a right to live here. That man has no right to treat us badly,” she said.
She said the man was not farming there and no longer had any livestock.
But Mdumiseni Mlangeni, the man accused of abusing the families, denied the allegations.
“The problem I have with these people is that they don’t want to pay for electricity,” said Mlangeni.
“I received the farm from the government, so I’m not the owner.”
The families said they had never paid for anything ever since they started living on the farm.
Land reform spokesman Sipho Dlamini said: “Mlangeni is responsible for the farm, but the law doesn’t allow him to mistreat people.”
Dlamini said he’d do a follow-up on the matter.
