Media Statement
4 March 2020
Call for government to probe farmworker death
Khanyisa Educational and Development Project, an affiliate of Inyanda Land Movement, has called on the Department of Labour to conduct a full investigation into the death of a farmworker on a citrus farm near Patensie in the Eastern Cape.
Rowado Pakamisa died on February 2020 whilst operating a tractor at Nuweland citrus farm. He was buried this past weekend in Patensie.
According to a fellow worker who witnessed the incident and spoke to Khanyisa, Pakamisa was struggling to control the tractor before the accident that killed him on the spot.
“He was standing on his two feet trying to steer it from the danger zone. The tractor then rolled over and killed him,” the farmworker said.
When police arrived on the scene, they apparently enquired if the deceased worker had a drivers licence. The response by company secretary Ms Ciska Viljoen was that he did not have one, and she claimed a licence was not necessary as he was not driving on public road.
“We demand that the Department Labour conduct a full investigation into the incident. If any negligence is found on the part of the farm employer, they must be prosecuted,” said the Director of Khanyisa, Simphiwe Dada.
Pakamisa had worked on the farm for more than 10 years. The farm has 54 full time/permanent employees and scores of seasonal employees. Almost half of the work force are migrant workers.
“What is shocking too is the lack of support and empathy from the management after the incident,” said Dada.
Farm manager Solomon Ferreira allegedly chased fellow workers away when the came to the scene, telling them to get back to work despite the fact that they were on lunch. The deceased’s shocked partner was among those who were chased away from the scene. When a neighbouring commercial farmer suggested that the partner at least be taken to a doctor, Ferreira allegedly insisted that the police should do it as he will not.
“I could not sleep on Friday night. Even last night. I could see the body of Boeta lying there dead,” said one of the workers who spoke with Khanyisa. The deceased workers colleagues have not been provided with counselling nor told to go home for the day after the incident.
Pakamisa was apparently seriously injured in another tractor accident at work three months prior to his death. In November 2019, a tractor he was driving rolled and he suffered head injuries.
“There are clearly no health and safety safeguards on this farm, and no regard for the welfare of the workers,” said Dada
In February 2018, another worker, Joseph [who is a Zimbabwean migrant] was also operating a tractor when it rolled causing him to suffer multiple injuries. His leg was broken, ribs fractured and he underwent three operations. The injury on duty forms were allegedly never submitted and the worker has apparently never been compensated.
