Moyeni v De Vries and Others NNO

The appellant, Mrs Katie Moyeni, a 73-year-old pensioner, resided on Mooihoek Farm since 1997. She lived there with her late husband, Mr Brown Moyeni, who was employed on the farm from 1994 and later by the De Vries Family Trust after it acquired the farm in 2015. Mrs Moyeni herself worked as a seasonal worker over many years. After her husband’s death in March 2014, the Trust purported to terminate her right of residence and sought her eviction under the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997 (ESTA), alleging that her occupation was solely derived from her husband and that she had committed breaches of farm rules. The Magistrates’ Court granted an eviction order, which was confirmed on automatic review by the Land Claims Court. Mrs Moyeni appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was upheld with costs. The Land Claims Court order confirming eviction was set aside. The Magistrates’ Court eviction order of 17 November 2017 was set aside and substituted with an order dismissing the eviction application with costs. The costs of the condonation application were ordered to be paid by the appellant’s attorneys.

The case reaffirms the strong protection afforded to elderly and long-term occupiers under section 8(4) of ESTA and underscores that spouses may be occupiers in their own right. It emphasises the remedial and constitutional nature of ESTA and the need for courts to apply it purposively to protect vulnerable farm dwellers, particularly women. The judgment also highlights the evidentiary burden on landowners to prove breaches justifying eviction.