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By Sakhiseni Nxumalo 
1 hour ago
Durban – Tensions rose between farm owners and workers during a rural security imbizo in Normandien, near Newcastle, yesterday after allegations and against allegations of abuse, theft of animals and lack of government intervention.
Police Minister General Bheki Cele spearheaded the imbizo three weeks after the murders of Glen Rafferty and his wife, Vida, at their Normandien country home.
Farmworkers living and working in the area claimed that their employers were victimizing, assaulting and abusing them.
They also alleged that their livestock had been confiscated, that some of them had been attacked during working hours and that their informal housing structures had been illegally demolished.
They claimed that the police in the area ignored their pleas for help.
One worker, Dunazile Lukhele, claimed that they had been suffering at the hands of their employers for years and that they had not received help from the police or the government.
“We are being abused and treated like animals. Some of the farm owners even victimize our children. The farm owners confiscated my livestock. When we face the problem, we are mistreated even more, ”he said.
Another worker, Somnandi Hadebe, said that they were fed up with the way they were being treated and that they wanted urgent government intervention.
He said the government needed to engage with farm owners before they tried to fix the relationship with the workers.
“We are tired of all these structures that are mounted every time there is a problem. There are many committees that were formed to try to raise these issues. However, it has not been successful.
“These committees are meant to solve our problems. Why doesn’t the government compromise with the owners about the treatment they are giving us as workers? Why are you afraid of whites, Minister Cele? Hadebe asked in the imbizo.
One of the representatives of the farm owners, who was not identified, said at the meeting that they acted in accordance with the law and in the protection of their farms.
He accused the peasants of not caring for their livestock, which led them to eat their crops and damage them.
What do you do about it? We don’t even plan now.
“We report the matter and the police do not want to get involved. We are not stealing shares from the community, ”he said.
The farmers also accused the workers of illegally occupying their land and refusing to move when asked.
Both the owners and the workers agreed that the police in the area were “useless” and stated that they are doing nothing to resolve the tensions in the community.
After listening to both parties, Cele, unhappy, described the local police station as a “shebeen.”
He said teams would be deployed to the area to investigate complaints made against the police.
Cele commissioned the commissioner of the national police, Lieutenant General Khehla Sithole, to dispatch the team from the national office to investigate all complaints and cases opened by farmers and workers. According to Cele, more than 14 cases have been opened between both parties.
“I will also send my own team to investigate the police station. We cannot have a police station that is a shebeen and we will work to change that, ”Cele said.
Cele urged farmers and workers to fix their relationship and called for peace.
“It doesn’t matter if we take the entire army, all the police officers and put them here, because if there are no good human relations, nothing will work. You need to speak as a community. If you don’t, you will fight nonstop, ”he said.
Meanwhile, a 29-year-old suspect who was arrested on Sunday in connection with the murder of Glen and Vida Rafferty appeared in Newcastle Magistrates Court yesterday.
KZN police spokesman Brigadier Jay Naicker said Siyabonga Goodman Macu was arrested by the organized crime unit in Osizweni.
Natasha Kara, a spokeswoman for the National Prosecutor’s Office at KZN, said Macu faced two counts of murder, aggravated robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.
Kara said the matter was deferred until Monday for a formal request for bail.
He said the state would oppose the bail.
In reaction to the arrests, Cele said they were happy the suspect was now behind bars.
He said police were still searching for the other four suspects believed to be linked to the killer.
“The police have been following the suspects since shortly after the murder. These people are ruthless, ruthless and brutal that they can break into someone’s home and kill them, ”Cele said.
The Mercury
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