Court orders police to compensate farmer R2m for slaughtered animals
KZN High Court directs police minister to pay farmer R2m after officers allowed protesters to slaughter his animals…
The KwaZulu-Natal High Court ordered the Police Minister to pay farmer Arnold Fourie Raath R2 million in damages after protesters from the community slaughtered his game animals.
Raath, who farms macadamia nuts, pineapples, and game at Kroonvrug Farm, kept around 80–90 animals in a ten-hectare camp next to his home.
On 17 May 2015, cattle from the Mdletshe community strayed onto his land and later died.
Incident on Kroonvrug Farm
SAPS and Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals officials initially planned to bury the carcasses, but the community objected.
Police abandoned the carcasses on the farm, and by 19 May, protesters had gathered.
Raath told the court he repeatedly phoned Hluhluwe station commander Captain Zelda Ntuli to stop the protesters from entering.
He said protesters set fire to machinery, raided crops, and slaughtered his animals while police stood by.
Police response challenged
Raath argued that police ignored his warnings and acted negligently and unlawfully by failing to intervene.
The police minister’s defence claimed officers prioritised protecting Raath and his family, but the protest’s size overwhelmed them.
Ntuli testified that she remained at the camp gate to guard the farmhouse, but an obstructed view prevented her from seeing the animals being killed.
She admitted that Raath and another farmer called her about the protest, but she denied that they told her about the slaughter inside the camp.
Court rejects police account
Judge Mokgere Masipa dismissed Ntuli’s version as implausible.
“She stood at the camp gate, from where she could see the northeastern and southeastern corners. It is inconceivable that a large group chased and killed animals for over an hour without detection,” Masipa said.
The court ruled that SAPS acted wrongfully and negligently, directly causing Raath’s loss.
It ordered the minister of police to pay Raath R2 million in damages, along with 9% annual interest from the date of demand until final payment.