Agri SA financially backs Moladora Trust in long-standing land case

Agricultural lobby group, Agri SA, has given financial support to the appellant in the historic land dispute known as the Moladora case, where the housing and grazing rights of the farm dwellers at one of the Moladora Trust farms came into question.

The body did not divulge the sum of its financial commitment.

In the matter, the Moladora Trust, which owns a farm in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality in the North West, sought to prohibit the children of its now-deceased former employee Meriam Mereki from grazing cattle on the farmland.

Mereki, as well as her children, occupied the farm in terms of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997 (Esta). Her children remained on the farm after her death, with her cattle under their control.

Read: Women beaten with knobkieries in battle over Wild Coast land, court hears

While the trust acknowledged that Mereki had consent to graze cattle on the farm, it argued her children did not, pushing the Moladora Trust to approach the Land Claims Court to have their livestock evicted.

But in a 2022 judgment handed down in the Land Claims Court, Judge Susannah Cowen dismissed the application by Moladora, arguing that…

depriving a resident of the right to graze their cattle is tantamount to eviction and will be subject to the protections of Esta.

But on Monday, Agri SA said Cowen’s judgment cannot be the precedent, stating that it will have “far-reaching implications for private property rights in South Africa” as well as the scope of Esta.

The industry body is of the view that the judgment protects grazing rights under Esta at the expense of private property rights and said if it is upheld, the administrative and legal costs of removals under Esta would increase significantly, as well as the liability of landowners.

Agri SA said it sought legal counsel on the impacts of the judgment on farmers.

Read:New Land Court Bill seeks to address slow processing of land claims

“It was based upon this expert guidance that Agri SA has taken the decision to provide financial support to the appellant,” the group said.

“Agri SA is concerned first and foremost with the sustainability of farming in South Africa and the protection of the nation’s food security. We will therefore provide support – whether legal or otherwise – where necessary to protect the interest of the agricultural sector,” it said.

Read: Parliament must do more on the land issue – Motlanthe [Oct 2019]