Cape Town – Prominent Vredendal farmer Wilfred Stephan’s memberships of the DA and lobby group AfriForum have been suspended after his arrest for allegedly assaulting farm dweller Piet van Zyl with a steel pipe, breaking his leg in three places.
Stephan, the ex-husband of the previous DA mayor of Matzikama Municipality, appeared in the Vredendal Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
He was arrested in December and charged with assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm for the alleged assault on Van Zyl. He was released on R1 000 bail.
Rural and Farmworkers Development Organisation executive director Billy Claassen said that the community was angry about the treatment Stephan had received from the authorities.
“Van Zyl was brutally assaulted and had it not been for our insistence, police would not have arrested him.
“They then moved the bail hearing to a later time and issued him with a mere R1 000 bail, all so he wouldn’t have to face the community,” he said.
Claassen said the organisation demanded justice in this case because farm owners often went unpunished for assaulting farmworkers.
The case was postponed to April 5 for further investigation and a preliminary hearing has been set for June in the Vredendal Magistrate’s Court.
DA Western Cape chairperson Anton Bredell visited Van Zyl in hospital in December and said what happened to him was wrong.
“Mr Van Zyl does not have a cellphone or a fixed address, so I have made several follow-up calls via the local mayor and speaker.
“In addition, the accused is no longer a member of the DA,” said Bredell.
AfriForum’s chief executive, Kallie Kriel, said: “When we received the news of the incident, we immediately informed the member that his membership was suspended pending the outcome of the matter before the court.
“We strongly condemn any form of violence, or the violation of someone’s dignity, irrespective of who the victim is.”