Madadeni Community Lives in Regret for Looting R1.2 Million Worth of Stock From Chicken Farm, Many Jobs Lost

• The looting of R1.2 million worth of stock from a chicken farm in 2021 left community members living in regret
• The Hofina Poultry Shop had to close down after the looting and as a result, many people lost their jobs
• South Africans are not very sympathetic with community members because they decided to loot in the first place

NEWCASTLE - The community of Madadeni says life has not been the same since the looting of R1.2 million worth of stock from a chicken farm just outside Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal.

On 12 July 2021, Hofina Poultry Shop was broken into by looters from the Madadeni township and the surrounding area. They vandalised the shop and stole approximately 25 000 eggs, 10 000 chickens, 700 goats and 500 sheep.

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Following the vandalism and looting, the shop in Madadeni was permanently closed down and moved to a different location 14km away, according to TimesLIVE.

Over a year later, this has devastated the community, with many people now without jobs. On Hofina’s Madadeni farm, only a security guard is still employed; the rest are said to have been transferred. Four people lost their jobs after the looting.

The employees who have been transferred have to leave their homes early to get to work and return later than they did when they worked nearby.

One man who participated in the looting stated that the community sabotaged itself because the company has moved further away. He stated that the farm used to hire them temporarily, which meant they could feed their families.

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He added that they cannot afford to go to Hofina's new location for the temporary jobs and are missing out on the opportunity to buy rejected eggs for R1 like they used to.

Another man who was part of the looting group stated that he knows that looting is wrong but could not sit back when he saw other people stealing chickens. Others stated that they did not know why they joined in on the looting.

According to Farmer's Weekly, approximately two million chickens from over 10 farms were looted during the July unrest last year.

Here's what South Africans have to say about the Madadeni community's decision to loot:

@OtlileMakena said:

"You break it, you bought it."

@PelserGeorge said:

"Maybe the thieving scumbag looters should have thought of this saying BEFORE going on their little spree?"

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@ndosi_omkhulu said:

"Guess who looted? The same community. Abadlake ukudla kwabo."

July unrest: Protests, looting and violence, businesses in KwaZulu-Natal still rebuilding a year later

Briefly News previously reported that almost a year ago, KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng were thrown into chaos when unrest descended that led to violence, looting and deaths.

Several businesses are still rebuilding and others have closed their doors, causing more unemployment in the already-besieged economy.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said in an interview with SABC News that the anniversary of the unrest brings back memories of several people killed. A year later, he said plans are in motion to reconstruct the economy. Zikalala said a number of factories and warehouses and several businesses that were destroyed are opening up and getting back into operation.

Source: Briefly News