A farmworker has triumphed at the Constitutional Court over his former employer who evicted him without notice after 21 years of service.

The Star reports Alias Mtolo, his wife Maheneng Mtolo and their eight children found themselves homeless after Theunis Lombard, the former employer, told them to leave their farm home in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng.

The Mtolos pursued a series of urgent court applications against Lombard and his wife, Maria Lombard, over the unlawful eviction.

They sought an order compelling the Lombards to fix the farm so that they could return to it.

In August, the Mtolos enjoyed victory before two Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) judges who ordered the Lombards to fix the house. The first order against the Lombards was delivered by Judge Michael Antonie.

He directed the Lombards to return the farmhouse to the Mtolos and make it fit for human occupation.

Accusing the Lombards of not complying with the court orders, the Mtolos returned to court for the third time in August.

Following that hearing, Judge Fiona Dippenaar struck off their application from the roll for lack of urgency.

The matter reached the apex court following Dippenaar’s judgment, notes the report in The Star. Representing the Mtolos, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC submitted that the judge erred by striking down the application.

Yesterday, the Constitutional Court delivered its unanimous judgment favouring the Mtolos.

Penned by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, the judgment ordered the Lombards to comply with Antonie’s ruling.

‘I am satisfied that the respondents have not complied with the order,’ wrote Madlanga.

‘They must do so soonest so that the dignity of the applicants and their children may be restored. From the photographs, it is plain that this is a modest home. That matters.’

The Lombards ‘must repair the roof in a manner that renders the house fit for human habitation’, the judge ordered.

Full report in The Star

Judgment