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By Citizen Reporter

Journalist


Farmer who transported woman in a cage is getting ‘death threats’

The Cradock based farmer said despite increasing security around his property, he still feared for his life.


Johan Erasmus said he had received about 40 death threats on his cellphone after a photograph of Linda Steenkamp sitting in a cage behind his bakkie went viral.

Speaking to Dispatch Live, Erasmus said he felt unsafe.

“I don’t even go out to work anymore; I’ve got 24-hour security guards doing patrols, especially at night.”

READ MORE: Racism, and racism alone, landed that woman in a cage on a bakkie 

Erasmus’ wife interviewed Linda shortly after the incident gained momentum in the media with many labelling it racist. Linda said she got into the cage of her own will because the ‘baas’ and farm workers don’t sit together in the front seat.

Linda’s father, Jaan said he made sure she sat comfortably in the cage.

READ THIS: Zille mauled on Twitter over ‘caged woman on bakkie’ tweets 

He says he arranged the lift for her so she could get a check-up, as she is four months pregnant.

“I even went as far as making sure she was sitting comfortably at the back in that cage.”

Bonga Kondile, Linda’s boyfriend, said it had been a health hazard and not right for his partner to have sat in a sheep pen.

“Claiming that a pregnant woman chose to lock herself inside a cage in the back of a car is not good enough. How do you allow that to happen when it makes sense not to give someone a lift if the front seat is off-limits?”

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