Oupa can rest in peace at last

2003-05-02 07:54

Philip de Bruin

Johannesburg - Elijah "Oupa" Nhlabathi, who died more than seven months ago, will at last be laid to rest with his loved ones on Mooifontein farm in the Amersfoorst district.

After a long, bitter battle in the land claims court - because farm owner W J Fick refused to allow Nhlabathi to be buried on the farm - judges Antonie Gildenhuys en Fikile Bamruled on Wednesday ruled that Fick had to allow the funeral on the farm.

When Nhlabathi died, his two sons, who work for Fick, asked for permission to bury their father on the farm. Their father and mother had lived with them on the farm.

Fick refused and locked the gate to prevent mourners from viewing Nhlabathi's body.

Nhlabathi's sons and his widow approached the land claims court for permission to bury him on Mooifontein.

Fick argued in court that his constitutional right, as owner of the farm, would be denied, even if the land involved was only the size of a grave.

The court found that that the sons' right to bury their father on the farm outweighed Fick's constitutional rights to the burial plot, despite the fact that Fick argued he was trying to remove the two sons from his land.

The judges took into account that Fick had previously given the sons permission to bury two other members of the Nhlabathi family on Mooifontein.

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- Beeld