EFF takes up case of farmworkers allegedly beaten by farmer

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has taken up the case of four Free State men hired as farmworkers on an Eastern Cape game farm near Makhanda who were allegedly badly beaten by a farmer.

The farm workers, who were hired in the Free State and brought to the farm, situated between Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) and Port Alfred, raised farmer Dirk Gouws ire when they refused to carry out an instruction to catch people who broke through the game farm fence and kill them.

The farmer allegedly told the workers that after they had killed trespassers, they must inform him so he could bury them. The employees said they refused to do this because they were hired to do ordinary farm work and not to kill people. Gouws, owner of the Elephant Park Game Farm, became angry and allegedly severely beat them up and fired shots at them with a gas gun. They fled the farm without being paid and did not even have money to pay for transport to return to the Free State.

An EFF councillor in Ndlambe Municipality, Xolisa Runeli, said the party had taken up the plight of the four workers.

“We are now going to the police station to lay a change against Gouws,” he said. Runeli said the men were presently in hiding in the Eastern Cape fearing for their lives and in pain because of the assault.

Attempts to get comment from Gouws were not successful at the time of going to press.

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