The KwaZulu-Natal High Court has directed the minister of police to pay a farmer R2 million in damages after his...
The KwaZulu-Natal High Court has directed the minister of police to pay a farmer R2 million in damages after his animals were slaughtered by community members.
The plaintiff, Arnold Fourie Raath, testified that he farmed macadamia nuts, pineapples and game on Kroonvrug Farm. Within a ten-hectare camp adjoining his house, he kept approximately 80-90 animals, including nyala, black impala, reedbuck, bushbuck and red duiker.
On 17 May, 2015, cattle belonging to members of the Mdletshe community strayed onto his farm and were later found dead.
South African Police Service (Saps) and Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals officials attended to the scene and initially intended to bury the carcasses.
The community objected, insisting that the MEC and media view them the following day. Saps acceded, leaving the carcasses at the farm.
Farmer’s arguments
On 19 May, 2015, at about 6.20am, Raath was alerted to a planned protest.
He immediately phoned Captain Zelda Ntuli, the Hluhluwe station commander, asking her not to allow entry.
Raath said in court papers he called Ntuli at least six more times that morning, reporting that people were gathering along the fence, setting machinery alight, destroying crops and, later, slaughtering his animals.
“Each time, Ntuli acknowledged the call but did nothing,” said Raath.
From vantage points near his house, Raath saw groups move from the cattle site to the camp, setting fire to a Caterpillar bulldozer and raiding pineapple fields along the way. He later received calls from his worker confirming that animals were being chased and killed inside the camp.
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Raath argued that the Saps, despite repeated warnings and their visible presence, failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the incursion and destruction. He alleged that their omission was both wrongful and negligent, thereby breaching their constitutional and statutory duties.
The minister of police contended that the police were focused on Raath’s safety, were overwhelmed by the scale of the protest, and that Raath lacked lawful entitlement to some of the game animals.
Raath’s ‘safety’
Ntuli testified that on the morning of the incident, she first attended to a protest at a local school before making her way to Raath’s farm.
Ntuli admitted that by the time she arrived, the crowd had already begun assembling near the site of the dead cattle. She positioned herself with other officers at the entrance to Raath’s camp, claiming that the primary concern was the safety of the farmer and his family in the farmhouse.
Ntuli said she instructed the police members not to leave their positions because she feared the farmhouse would be attacked.
Ntuli admitted under cross-examination that throughout that morning she received several calls from Raath reporting on the situation as it escalated. She also conceded that she received a call from Conrad Botha, another farmer, warning her of the planned march.
Ntuli denied, however, that the plaintiff called him six or more times or that he was specifically told animals were being slaughtered inside the camp.
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Ntuli further maintained that from her position at the gate, she did not see any animals being killed. She insisted that her line of sight was obstructed by the layout of the camp.
She also conceded that the allegation of poisoning levelled by the community was unfounded. Laboratory tests conducted on specimens from the carcasses showed no evidence of poisoning.
She accepted that it would have made no sense for Raath to poison cattle when other farmers rented grazing from him.
‘Implausible’
Judge Mokgere Masipa said Ntuli’s denial of observing the killings was implausible.
“She was positioned at the camp gate, from where the northeastern and southeastern corners were visible. It is inconceivable that a large group chased and killed animals for over an hour without detection. Her version is further undermined by her foreknowledge of the march, the planned meeting and the community’s anger,” said Masipa.
“I find that the omissions of the Saps were both wrongful and negligent, and that they caused the plaintiff’s loss.”
The judge ordered that Raath be paid R2 million plus interest at the rate of 9% per annum, calculated from the date of demand to the date of final payment.
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