Judge orders farmland occupiers to vacate

OCCUPIERS at a farmland in Joostenbergvlakte, just outside Paarl, have been evicted after a Western Cape High Court judge ruled they should vacate the property, which is under new management.

Judge James Lekhuleni said despite the eviction order also affecting minors, the occupiers “would have to depend on family and friends to assist them”, after the new land owner tried to amicably evict them since he bought the farmland on auction in 2020.

According to the judgment, Judge Lekhuleni said the application was rightfully brought before the court in terms of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (PIE Act), despite the respondents relying on the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (Esta), arguing they had been living on the farm for a number of years prior to the land being sold.

“The applicant (CJW Beleggings Pty Ltd) is the owner of the farm. The applicant purchased the farm on October 28, 2020 at a public auction.

“The farm was registered in the applicant’s name on February 4, 2021.

“The first respondent (Colleen Arendse) and her late husband, Trevor Daniels, previously owned the farm.

“At the time of the auction, Arendse’s estate was sequestrated, whilst her husband’s deceased estate was also insolvent.

“On February 16, 2021, the applicant’s attorney made telephonic contact with Arendse to plan for her to vacate the farm.

“Arendse was not interested in discussing the matter. Arendse advised that her attorney would contact the applicant’s attorneys regarding the farm.

“The applicant’s attorneys received no correspondence from the respondents’ attorneys, and thereafter, they could not get hold of Arendse,” the judgment read.

According to the judgment, many attempts were made to amicably go about the eviction, but to no avail.

Arendse, who lives on the farmland with her two minor children and brother, had refused to hand over the keys after CJW’s attorneys contacted her to arrange for the handover.

In answering affidavits to court, Arendse argued that she had occupied the farm for many years before it was sold and had continued to occupy it after it was sold, adding that they had no means of survival and depended on other people’s assistance. If evicted, it would lead to homelessness.

“In my view, the respondents have been in occupation of the farm for quite a long time. The respondents were informed in March 2021 that the property was sold at an auction. The applicant requested the respondents to vacate the farm on April 12, 2021. Most importantly, the respondents have known for a considerable period that the farm was sold on auction. And throughout that time, the respondents have known of the necessity to seek alternative accommodation,” said Judge Lekhuleni.

The judge ordered that the occupants vacate the property by the end of January and if they failed to do, the Sheriff of the court was authorised to evict them on February 3, 2023.