Salomon Wilhelm Bouwer N.O. and Others v Floors Linnerts and Others

The appellants, trustees of the Chormona Trust, owned a farm known as Koggelmandershoek. The first respondent had lived and worked on the farm since about 1995 as a general worker and occupied an on-site labourer’s house by virtue of his employment. After a fire destroyed farm buildings in 2005, the first appellant suspected the first respondent of involvement and subjected him to a polygraph test. Relying on the test results, the appellants summarily dismissed him and attempted to evict him and his family. Following legal correspondence, the respondent was reinstated but did not return to work. A disciplinary hearing was later held, resulting in his dismissal for absence without leave. The appellants thereafter sought an eviction order under the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997 (ESTA). The magistrate dismissed the eviction application as not just and equitable. The appellants appealed to the Land Claims Court.

The appeal was dismissed. The magistrate’s refusal to grant an eviction order was upheld. No order as to costs was made.

The case clarifies the distinction between termination of residence under section 8(2) of ESTA and the separate, stricter requirements for eviction under section 10. It reinforces that eviction under section 10(1)(c) requires clear, pleaded facts demonstrating an irreparable breakdown of the social relationship, not merely dismissal or ipse dixit allegations. The judgment underscores the high evidentiary threshold for evicting long-term occupiers.