A dispute between a smallholder and a family claiming tenancy rights on his property in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands has neighbouring farmers worried that bad blood between the two parties may affect other farmer/worker relationships in the area.
Colin de Gaspary of Bright Water Farm near Rietvlei is hoping the Pietermaritzburg Land Claims Court will soon announce an eviction order against the Masikane family which will finally end the hostilities and threats against him.
“When I bought my smallholding 11 years ago, I allowed Irene Masikane and her one son to continue living on a section of my property,” he explained. “However, I stipulated that only these two people were allowed to live here. Now Irene’s daughter, Joyce, and her daughter, Dudu, are claiming the right to live on my property because they say that their family has lived here since 1949,” De Gaspary told Farmer’s Weekly.
“But I have aerial photographs which show there were no dwellings on my property in 1973 and I know the Masikane family only moved onto my land in 1975. So they don’t have a right to tenancy on my property. I have a right to live in peace and I also have the right to evict Joyce and Dudu and anyone else.”
Farmers point fingers
Meanwhile, the Masikane family is digging in its heels and recently enlisted the help of the non-governmental land rights organisation the Rural Network to arrange a protest march against De Gaspary. Although a large group of protesters turned up on the day, Farmer’s Weekly discovered most of them had been bussed in from townships around Durban, over 100km away.
A number of farmers living in the region were at pains to point out that the dispute was an isolated case and should in no way reflect negatively on relations between farmers and their employees or tenants.
“The public and authorities should be aware Colin de Gaspary is not a farmer, but a smallholder,” one anonymous farmer pointed out.
“The farmers in our area have good relationships with their tenants. It would probably be best for everyone if Colin sold his land and moved somewhere else where he could start out fresh.”
De Gaspary said that in early May, he would be appearing in the Greytown Magistrates Court to face charges of assault which have been laid by the Masikane family. Later that month, his application to evict the family would be heard in the Pietermaritzburg Land Claims Court. – Lloyd Phillips
