NPA SECURES CONVICTION OF XAMDEBOO FARMER FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING, RAPE AND ASSAULT OF EMPLOYEES

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has secured the conviction 42-year-old  of Xamdeboo, (formerly Aberdeen) farmer, Louis Stephanus Lategan, in the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Makhanda. Lategan was convicted  on six counts of trafficking in persons, five counts of rape, 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 of common assault on adult workers, one count of assaulting a child, as well as two counts of unlawful possession of more than 200 rounds of ammunition.  

The charges stem from  offences committed on his remote farm, to which he lured young women seeking employment as au pairs, drugged them and raped them. 

Evidence led in court revealed that the accused, who in 2020 lived alone on his farm after separating from his wife, advertised on Facebook for an au pair to work on his farm and take care of his minor children when they came to visit.  He later also used an employment agency for the same purpose; however his real intentions were to acquire the presence of young women of the farm in order to sexually exploit them.

On different occasions between 2020 and 2023, young women, aged between 18 and 21 years of age, desperate for employment, responded to the advertisements and accepted the accused’s employment offers with the promise of paying them between R5000 and R30 000 for their services. The young women came from cities such as Bloemfontein, Emalahleni, Standerton, and Amanzimtoti.  The accused, on different occasions, made the complainants consume alcohol or a drink laced with a drug that made them extremely drowsy, and they would find themselves naked on the following morning, with pain in their genital area. 

Prosecution-guided investigations that began in 2023 also revealed physical abuse of some of the workers in the farm, with some assaulted with a broomstick, sjambok, kicking with feet and being pushed into water. During the marathon trial, which ran for more than 18 months, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Nickie Turner, led the evidence of 24 witnesses. The accused, who had pleaded not guilty, also called four witnesses in his defence and testified himself. The court only acquitted him on one count of rape as the child complainant did not testify.

The case has been postponed to Monday, 21 September 2026, for sentencing proceedings.  

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.

Issued by:

Luxolo Tyali

NPA Regional Spokesperson – Eastern Cape Division