Alex Mitchley, News24 While it was not in dispute that dozens of animals died because of starvation on National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise's North West farm, a court has found she cannot be held responsible. On Friday, Modise appeared in the Potchefstroom Regional Court, where she was found not guilty on six charges relating to the dozens of animals that died or were found emaciated on her farm in the North West in 2014, while she was still the province's premier. More than 50 pigs and several other animals, including sheep, chickens and geese, were already dead when the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) first inspected the farm. A further 224 animals had to be put down, News24 previously reported.