Modise’s farmworkers may take the fall
NORTH West police have not excluded the possibility of charging workers on Thandi Modise’s farm for the death of hundreds of pigs and cattle.
The SPCA was alerted to the horrors on Modise’s Modderfontein farm two weeks ago, where starving pigs had started to cannibalise others and a pit had been filled with the carcasses of dead animals.
One farmworker, who worked on Danmel farm for two months, said he was never paid and deserted the animals after he and his family faced starvation.
Yesterday, North West police spokesman, Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said: “The investigators are interviewing people but we can’t say at this stage who is to be charged, because the farm was left in the care of other people. We have to determine who has the responsibility of neglect,” said Ngubane.
Last week, 27-year-old Tebogo Moekaedi described how his wife was unable to breast-feed their one-year-old daughter after the couple ran out of food while living on the farm.
Feed for the pigs had also run out and Moekaedi described how animals started dying in increasing numbers. Finally, after 47 days on the farm, Moekaedi and his family left.
Cosatu has called for the department of labour to conduct a thorough probe into the claims of exploitation of the farmworkers. “If these allegations are proved to be true — it will be shocking to find that one of the worst employers is a senior ANC and government leader.
“The department must conduct a thorough investigation into the wages and working conditions of the farmworkers, and if the employer is found to be non-compliant, the law must take its course,” said Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven.
The department recently visited the farm and found a sevenmember “intervention team”, none of whom were in the employ of Modise.
“Some said they were relatives of Modise. The inspectors tried to establish the whereabouts of the former employees but to no success,” said North West Department of Labour chief director Andile Makapela.
The SPCA’s Christine Kuch said it was still in the process of completing post-mortems and veterinary reports. “Once these are complete we will be able to determine how long the animals went without food and water.”