Politician accused of cruelty to animals
Thandi Modise, the chairwoman of the National Council of Provinces, has hit back at AfriForum, accusing the rightwing-leaning group of targeting her in a bid to stop plans for the expropriation of land without compensation.
AfriForum yesterday announced that it would be privately prosecuting Modise on charges of cruelty to animals at her North West farm in 2014.
The unit’s head, Advocate Gerrie Nel, said yesterday they had already informed the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) about a move to prosecute Modise privately.
But Modise hit back, saying the revival of the matter was politically motivated and that AfriForum’s aim was to “advance a narrow narrative of failure of black farming”.
She further questioned the timing of the announcement, suggesting that AfriForum may have decided to privately prosecute her in reaction to parliament’s plans to change the constitution and allow for the state to expropriate land without compensation.
“The threat to privately prosecute coincides with the process led by parliament regarding possible amendment to section 25 of the constitution to expropriate land without compensation,” Modise said through her office in a statement. But AfriForum is gunning for Modise, with Nel saying they have approached the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) to assist with the case after the NPA declined to prosecute. “AfriForum’s private prosecution unit investigated the matter and concluded that there is prima facie evidence to successfully prosecute Modise. It is essential to institute private prosecution to ensure that justice prevails,” Nel said. Marcelle Meredith, NSPCA executive director, said they responded to a complaint received in July 2014 about animal cruelty at Modise’s farm and came across one of the cruellest cases of animal abuse that the animal welfare organisation had ever seen.
“The NSPCA can prosecute in their own right should the director of public prosecutions refuse to prosecute. We today advised the NPA that [Nel] will act as the prosecutor on the private prosecution case on the charges of animal abuse against Modise,” she said.
On arrival at Modise’s farm, inspectors apparently found the farm littered with carcasses of more than 50 pigs and other animals such as geese, ducks, sheep and goats.
Meredith said the animals were left to their own devices and many of them had died of hunger.
The starving pigs ended up cannibalising other animals out of desperation and the NSPCA had to put down 162 animals.