Manyaka Calastine Khiba and Others v Stephanus Francois van Niekerk and Others

The applicants are members of the Khiba family who alleged long-term residence on the farm Quaggafontein 208 in the Ficksburg district, Free State, stemming from family occupation dating back to at least the late 1980s through employment and consent of the previous owner, Mr Magiel van Niekerk. The family lived in self-constructed mud huts, grazed cattle on allocated camps, accessed services such as water, wood and electricity, and buried family members on the farm. In November 2020, during the Covid‑19 pandemic, the First, Third and Fourth Applicants were forcibly evicted, their home demolished, and movable property damaged or removed. The eviction was carried out pursuant to a PIE Act eviction order granted by the Ficksburg Magistrate’s Court against only the Second Applicant. The applicants contended that they were occupiers protected under ESTA and that eviction under PIE was unlawful. The respondents denied long-term residence by most applicants and asserted that only the Second Applicant unlawfully occupied the property.

The eviction of the First, Third and Fourth Applicants on 6 November 2020 was declared unlawful. Their rights of residence and use of land on Quaggafontein 208 were restored under section 14 of ESTA, including access to their homestead, restoration of services and grazing rights, and reconstruction of their demolished home by the respondents. The applicants were entitled to compensation for damaged movable property (excluding cattle). No order was made in respect of the Second Applicant. The First and Second Respondents were ordered to pay the applicants’ costs jointly and severally.

The case affirms the primacy of ESTA over PIE in relation to farm dwellers and occupiers, reinforces the Land Court’s wide remedial and supervisory jurisdiction, and underscores that evictions of ESTA occupiers under PIE are unlawful. It is significant for protecting vulnerable rural occupiers against procedural circumvention and for confirming the availability of restorative relief, including reconstruction of homes, following unlawful evictions.