CAPE TOWN – Evicted farm workers in Paarl are challenging a court order granting permission for them to be booted from the premises.
A family of ten was evicted from a farm on Tuesday and is now homeless after the Land Claims Court in Johannesburg granted permission to the owner to eject them.
A non-governmental organization (NGO), Women on Farms, is now assisting the family.
The project’s co-director, Carmen Louw, explains that the father of the household was dismissed in 2008.
“Because he was no longer working on the farm, the farmer owner then started eviction proceedings against the family.”
Louw says the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform assigned an attorney to represent the family.
“We’re busy drafting papers to approach the court again to ensure that the family has a fair opportunity to defend themselves in court.”