Selsley Farm Trust v Mhlongo

The respondent, Simon Mhlongo, had lived and worked on the farm Selsley in KwaZulu-Natal since about 1953. He and his mother were employed by members of the Kimber family and were permitted to reside on the farm, grow crops and graze cattle. After ceasing work due to ill health in 1999, the respondent remained on the farm. He applied to the Land Claims Court for a declaratory order that he was a labour tenant in terms of the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act 3 of 1996. The Land Claims Court upheld his claim. The current owner, Selsley Farm Trust, appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal succeeded. The orders of the Land Claims Court were set aside and replaced with an order dismissing the respondent’s application, making no order on the counter-application, and no order as to costs.

The case clarifies the strict, conjunctive interpretation of the statutory definition of ‘labour tenant’ under the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act and confirms that the onus rests on the claimant to prove all definitional requirements before any statutory presumptions apply. It underscores the importance of proving a link between labour and land-use rights, and that such labour must be rendered to the owner or lessee.