Cape Town – The charges of public violence against an activist have been dropped. She had peacefully protested against the removal of a family of six from the Winelands farm they had lived on all their
lives.
The owner of the farm allegedly had plans to turn the farmworker dwellings into “tranquil living spaces” for visitors, and Colette Solomon was arrested and charged with public violence after being involved in peaceful protest.
The case against her in the Paarl Magistrate’s Court was scrapped from the court roll yesterday due to a lack of evidence or reason to prosecute.
Women on Farms Project (WoF) co-director Carmen Louw said the Petersen family - Fransiena, 42, Christopher, 36, Franklin, 18, Christolene, 14, and Leana, 11 - were dumped near a graveyard on Tuesday by the owner of Anura Farm, found off Simondium Road, Klapmuts, Stellenbosch.
An email and several calls to the farm went unanswered yesterday.
WoF members have since demonstrated at the farm’s gate against the family’s eviction.
Louw said Fransiena helped the farmer, a Dutch national who arrived in the area in 1989, with establishing the farm.
But now he planned to turn the section where farmworkers lived into a “lifestyle village”, Louw said.
“We demand a moratorium on farm evictions. This farmer has land that stretches further than the eye can see. It must be expropriated and given back to people who are from this country,” Louw said.
The Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Department did not respond to questions yesterday.