Eastern Cape farmer convicted on six counts of trafficking young women

A 42-year-old Eastern Cape farmer has been convicted on six counts of trafficking in persons and five counts of rape after luring young women to his farm with job adverts and false promises of pay.

Louis Stephanus Lategan appeared in the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Makhanda on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, where the court handed down the verdict. The farm sits at Xamdeboo, formerly Aberdeen, in the Karoo.

The court also convicted him on two counts of assault as a competent verdict on two of the rape counts, three counts of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to children, two counts of common assault on adult workers, one count of assaulting a child, and two counts of unlawful possession of more than 200 rounds of ammunition.

He was acquitted on one count of rape because the child complainant did not testify.

How the women were brought to the farm

Evidence led in court showed that Lategan lived alone on the farm in 2020 after separating from his wife. He advertised on Facebook for an au pair to work on the farm and care for his minor children when they visited, and later used an employment agency for the same purpose.

Young women, aged between 18 and 21, responded from Bloemfontein, Emalahleni, Standerton and Amanzimtoti. They were desperate for work. The advertised pay ranged from R5 000 to R30 000.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tiyali said the women were given alcohol or a drink laced with a drug that made them extremely drowsy. They would wake the next morning naked, with pain in their genital area.

Between 2020 and 2023, the same pattern repeated on different occasions.

They would find themselves naked on the following morning, with pain in their genital area.

The trial ran for more than 18 months. Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Nickie Turner led the evidence of 24 witnesses. Lategan pleaded not guilty, called four witnesses and testified himself.

Prosecution-guided investigations that began in 2023 also uncovered the abuse of workers on the farm. Some were assaulted with a broomstick, some with a sjambok, some kicked, and some pushed into water.

What the conviction means for the women who came forward

The case turns on a pattern that women looking for work in South Africa know too well. A job advert on a social platform, a remote farm, an offer of pay that would change a household, and a long drive away from anyone who could help. The state’s case was that the adverts were the trap.

It took 24 witnesses and 18 months of trial to prove it. That is the cost of a prosecution like this, and it is the reason the National Prosecuting Authority treats the outcome as significant.

Tiyali said the NPA remains steadfast in its efforts to combat gender-based violence and femicide and to ensure that victims and their families receive justice through the criminal justice system.

The conviction also shows what prosecution-guided investigation can do when it starts early. The investigation into the farm began in 2023, three years after the first women arrived. The evidence that followed covered trafficking, rape, assault and the unlawful ammunition found on the property.

Anyone who needs help can reach the national gender-based violence command centre on 0800 428 428, or use the USSD line 1207867# from any cellphone.

What happens next

Lategan returns to the same court on Monday, 21 September 2026, for sentencing proceedings. The trafficking counts alone carry a statutory minimum of life imprisonment unless the court finds substantial and compelling circumstances.

Source: The Citizen, Eastern Cape farmer convicted of trafficking and rape after luring young women