thandi modise afriforum

Photo: Twitter / AfriForum

Thandie Modise acquitted of animal cruelty charges brought by SPCA

Modise pleaded not guilty to six charges of animal cruelty after scores of animals were found dead on her North West farm in 2014.

thandi modise afriforum

Photo: Twitter / AfriForum

National Assembly Speaker Thandie Modise has been acquitted of charges relating to animal cruelty by the Potchefstroom Regional Court on Friday after the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) filed charges against her after finding dozens  of dead animals on her North West farm back in 2014.

Instead of Modise, the court determined that the man that she had hired to look after animals – but failed in his duties when he left the farm complaining that he hadn’t been paid – should be held responsible. 

SPCA ‘horrified’ by conditions on North West farm  

The SPCA were horrified when they visited the farm in 20214 and found some 79 animals, most of them pigs – dead due to lack of water and food. The SPCA said it had managed to rescue several dozen of the animals but was forced to put down more than 224 animals

A farm worker – Thebogo Mokaedi – testified about “the horrible circumstances“ on Modise’s farm, saying that he was paid a paltry salary to take care of the farm and its animals. 

AfriForum joined the SPCA in launching the criminal case against Modise, and told the court that the conditions there had left Mokaedi with no choice but to leave.

“Mokaedi worked on Modise’s farm for about two months, but with the exception of a single payment of R200 was not paid for his work. He finally took the road when he no longer had food to eat. At this time, a bunch of animals were already dead with another bunch who were so hungry that their chances of survival were extremely slim,” said AfriForum.

Court drops charges against Modise

On Friday however, the Court ruled that the six charges of animal cruelty levelled against Modise should be dismissed. 

The court agreed with Modise’s attorney, Dali Mpofu, who brought a Section 176 application to suggest that Modise had not directly facilitated the abuse.