Criminal charges laid against Members of Parliament for crimen injuria and racist behaviour
Sean Hoatson, the CEO of Normandien Farms, said the group has laid criminal charges against members of parliament (MPs) for crimen injuria and racist behaviour.
This followed an unannounced visit by the MPs, accompanied by armed police officers, to Normandien Farms last month.
Members of this committee were on an oversight of departmental operations in the Amajuba district.
Normandien Farms is the district’s largest employer and includes Thirsti, which produces bottled water and sports drinks.
Normandien Farms and Thirsti have 3,000 employees and a spotless compliance record with South Africa’s labour laws.
On 4 February 2026, the Department of Employment and Labour released a statement saying it was a joint inter-department team visit to the farm.
It said the visit included people from the Inspection and Enforcement Services and the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour.
The inspection assignment was being overseen by the committee, it said.
“During the visit, there was muted resistance to cooperation. The farm owners were warned of their actions and later relented and allowed the inspection,” it said.
However, Hoatson has a different version of events. He said a group of approximately 50 unidentified individuals arrived at the property in ten SUVs.
The MPs, who arrived unannounced, demanded entry to the private property and did not comply with safety or foot-and-mouth disease protocols.
On arrival, they intimidated and overran security. When security refused them entrance, they were threatened with arrest by the police.
He explained that no introduction, identification, or letter of appointment was shown or offered by the group.
Hoatson added that members of the Portfolio Committee on Labour hurled verbal abuse and racist remarks towards senior staff members of the employer.
Criminal charges laid against MPs
Hoatson described the group’s visit to his farm as a hostile, unauthorised inspection intended for social media likes rather than for actual legal compliance.
He added that the inspectors found no actual violations but issued a prohibition notice for media optics.
Hoatson described the group as unmanageable, adding that they forced their way past security with the help of heavily armed police
They have registered cases for crimen injuria and racist behaviour exhibited by some members of the group.
“We have laid cases at the local police station against some of the members of the group for crimen injuria and racist behaviour,” he said.
However, Hoatson said that despite registering these cases, they have not heard back from the police about further action.
In addition to the criminal charges, the company has written directly to Parliament to bring focus to the overreach and intimidation that occurred during the visit.
One of the biggest problems was that the group ignored strict biosecurity protocols for foot-and-mouth disease.
Hoatson said they had not laid specific charges under those health protocols at that stage, focusing instead on the individuals’ criminal behaviour.
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