A Free State farmworker’s family, which is accusing his employer of having a hand in his death, is demanding justice.
The owner of Snyman Broedery in Grootgewaagd, near Reitz, reportedly assaulted Duisend Andries Motlokoa.
He was later found close to death, lying on the side of a dirt road near the farm. Motlokoa’s family wants the police to disclose what caused his death.
Motlokoa’s daughter, Seipati Motaung, said her father, 49, had left their Petrus Steyn home on June 1 to go to Snyman Boerdery in Reitz, where he had worked since 2009.
“My father left home as usual on Monday for his week-long shift but the following day, people from the farm brought him back here and informed us that they had found him lying on the dirt road leading from the farm.
“He informed us that the white farmer he worked for had assaulted him. He spent only 30 minutes with us and then he died while we were waiting for an ambulance to take him to hospital,” Motaung said.
She told Sunday World witnesses said the white farmer had become enraged with Motlokoa after he told him that one of the cables on the tractor he was operating had broken.
“The eyewitnesses told us that the farmer went to my father and started assaulting him after he had inspected the tractor. After this farmer had assaulted my father, he fired him.
“On Tuesday, my father packed his things and was walking home but we are told the farmer passed him on the road at high speed and he fell on the roadside.”
She said Petrus Steyn police officers had initially refused to take statements from witnesses.
“It was only after the intervention of the Izwi Labantu Forum [black farming rights group] that the police started taking statements. What we do not understand is that the police have opened an inquest, not a case of assault and murder.
“This is troubling because … in these farming towns, the police protect white farmers who abuse black people,” Motaung said.
Captain Isaka van Eck, the station commander at Petrus Steyn police station said the police had initiated an inquest after the deceased’s wife informed him Motlokoa had suffered a stroke.
“I personally went to see the wife of the deceased and she said that she suspected that her husband died due to stroke. The police opened a culpable homicide case and we did indicate to the family that after the post-mortem, we would assess the case. If our investigation proves that the deceased was assaulted and murdered, we will change the case from culpable homicide to murder,” Van Eck told Sunday World.
He denied that police had not taken witness statement.
“Statements were taken from witnesses, including from one who claimed that he saw the farmer slapping the deceased.
“Investigators took all the statements and other witnesses said that they did not see the farmer assaulting the deceased. They said he was a good boss who would never lay his hands on them.”
Van Eck said he did not know whether the detective had interviewed the farmer, adding that he could not interfere because he was awaiting the post-mortem.
Motaung dismissed Van Eck’s explanation that Motlokoa’s wife had told police he had a stroke.
“The station commander is lying about the stroke … He mustn’t come up with fictitious stories,” she said.
Izwi Labantu Forum wrote a letter to Van Eck, raising the family’s plight. “The South African Police Service has a constitutional and statutory obligation to investigate all available evidence without delay.
“Witness statements alleging a violent assault immediately preceding a death are serious and cannot be ignored pending the outcome of a post-mortem examination … The family deserves answers, accountability and justice,” Regina Phoko of Izwi Labantu Forum said.
The farmer, whose identity is known to Sunday World, referred the publication to his lawyer, “I have no knowledge of what you allege and I have no comments,”he wrote.
- Duisend Andries Motlokoa, a 49-year-old farmworker at Snyman Broedery in Grootgewaagd, Free State, was allegedly assaulted by his employer and later found critically injured on a dirt road near the farm.
- Motlokoa's family claims the farmer became enraged after Motlokoa reported a broken tractor cable, assaulted him, and subsequently fired him; Motlokoa died shortly after being found and brought home.
- The family accuses local police of initially refusing to take witness statements and opening an inquest rather than an assault or murder case, raising concerns of bias protecting white farmers.
- Police maintain they took witness statements, opened a culpable homicide case based on the wife’s claim Motlokoa suffered a stroke, and await the post-mortem results before potentially upgrading charges.
- The Izwi Labantu Forum advocates for thorough police investigation and justice for Motlokoa’s family, while the farmer has denied knowledge of the allegations and declined to comment.
