Last Surviving Respondent Notable Absentee In Labour Tenant Judgment

Mndeni Sikhakhane will be a notable absentee when the Constitutional Court delivers judgment on a key matter that could set a legal precedent regarding land claims lodged by farm labour tenants Tuesday.

The 89-year-old, who had gone blind, was the last surviving applicant in two key legal matters on behalf of thousands of farm labour tenants.

Sikhakhane died a fortnight ago at his home in Hilton village in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands.

One of his last wishes was that he could live long enough to see the finalisation of the two cases, one whose judgment will be delivered in the Constitutional Court today and another upcoming in the Land Claims Court next month.

The Constitutional Court ruled Tuesday that the Land Claims Court was right to appoint a special master of the court to handle a backlog of claims including those of 11,000 labour tenants seeking access to land