Fired drunk's drug-addled children kicked off wine farm

Ex-employee of a leading Western Cape wine farmFrans Nero and his four adult children have been ordered by the Supreme Court of Appeal to vacate the house at Nederburg
Ex-employee of a leading Western Cape wine farmFrans Nero and his four adult children have been ordered by the Supreme Court of Appeal to vacate the house at Nederburg
Image: 123RF/ Oleg Mikhaylov

Constant intoxication‚ unruly behaviour‚ harassment and threats of violence have seen an ex-employee of a leading Western Cape wine farm losing the house he and his family have called home for more than 25 years.

Frans Nero and his four adult children have been ordered by the Supreme Court of Appeal to vacate the house at Nederburg‚ in Paarl‚ after an “irretrievable breakdown of the relationship” between the farm and the family.

In a court ruling on Thursday‚ Drakenstein Municipality was ordered to provide the family with temporary emergency accommodation.

Nero‚ who lost his job at Nederburg seven years ago due to alcoholism‚ had been living on the farm since July 1993‚ when he was employed as an irrigator.

The farm is regarded as a leading wine producers‚ and featured in the World Most Admired Wine Brands’ top 50 list for the third consecutive year in 2018.

Nederburg had appealed against a Randburg Land Claims Court ruling that dismissed its bid to evict the Nero family.

The wine estate claimed Nero and his children — Fransoiwa Baadjies‚ Jaraet Nero‚ Geraldine du Toit and Veronica Du Toit — had unlawfully occupied the four-roomed house without paying rent or electricity bills since he lost his job in 2011. His children were not farm employees.

Judge Jeremiah Shongwe said on top of Nero’s dismissal‚ his children’s behaviour on the property “had become increasingly intolerable”.

Not only did they harass‚ abuse and insult employees of the winery‚ but through their violence the five family members “placed other employees safety at risk by threatening them with violence”.

Shongwe added: “The court heard that the Nero children were forever on drugs and under influence of alcohol‚ and that Nero‚ who had remarried‚ did not regularly reside on the farm any more but lived with his life partner on a neighbouring farm.”

Judging by a probation report‚ Nero was more worried about his children’s fate than his own. “[He] will not be deemed homeless‚ as he stays with his wife‚” said Shongwe.

The judge described the four children as “ irresponsible and delinquent” people with no right to occupy the property. “They are a nuisance to [Nederburg] and the lawful inhabitants on the property. Such behaviour cannot and should not be countenanced at all‚” he said.

As their eviction may result in homelessness‚ the court ordered Drakenstein Municipality to provide the family with emergency accommodation within 60 days.

 

 

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