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Farmer gives in to land threats
30/09/2007 23:15 - (SA)
Marida Fitzpatrick, Beeld
Johannesburg - The KwaZulu-Natal farmer who has been threatened with land invasions says his situation has become so intolerable that he has reluctantly agreed to sell.
"The people living on surrounding tribal land are giving me a terrible time.
"I can still take it, but I have to think of my wife and children," Jaap de Villiers, 76, owner of the cattle farm Uitval said on Sunday.
De Villiers, his wife Ester, 50, and their two sons, Jacob Paul, 13, and Jacob Hendrik, 9, live on the farm near Vryheid.
De Villiers' farm is surrounded on three sides by tribal land. King Bheki Zulu bought the other two farms from commercial farmers many years ago.
Not aware of the claim
Prembeka Ndlovu, district manager of the Department of Land Affairs in the Vryheid area, said a total of 147 families had filed a claim on a section of De Villiers' farm in terms of the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act.
De Villiers was, however, not aware of the claim and the Department of Land Affairs had not yet processed it.
A group of tribal land residents protested outside De Villiers' farm two weeks ago and handed a memorandum to him demanding that he leave the farm before September 28.
Another group protested outside De Villiers' farm on that date.
" They damaged my water pipes last week. They're trapping my cattle in snares.
"They start veld fires.
"I can take it, but if I'm no longer around, my family will suffer."
De Villiers emphasised that although he'd agreed to sell, the transaction would have to be on his terms.
"They're trying to intimidate me so that I'll just say 'Take the land.' But I can't give up my whole life.
"I must replace my land. I must carry on farming. "If I don't get my price, I'm going to hang on. Then I'll have to get armed guards to patrol the farm."
Ndlovu said a valuation of the farm would be done soon, so that the Department could begin negotiating a price with De Villiers.
'The future looks bleak'
"There's is no question of expropriation," Prembeka said.
"Everything will be transparent."
Ndlovu said she'd explained the situation to the protesters and told them to stop threatening De Villiers.
But De Villiers remained sceptical.
"I carry my gun on my hip at all times. The future looks bleak."
Agri SA's land affairs spokesperson, Annelize Crosby, said the situation was causing concern.
She said: "The Department of Land Claims must prioritise this claim and examine its validity.
"The answer is not to allow people to pressurise this farmer into selling his farm against his will."
Crosby said this case illustrated the high level of frustration over the delays in settling land claims.
"People are now beginning to act illegally and that creates chaos and conflict."
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