Rain clan wants sacred land
2003-10-08 15:31
Burgersfort - An Mpumalanga rain-making clan is gearing up to fight a bitter court battle with mining giant Anglo Platinum to regain sacred land where it used to perform secret rituals.
The Ga-Mawela community has been trying to get back their land, which runs along the Roossenekal, Sekhukhune and Lydenburg road, since 1998 when it first lodged a restitution claim with the land claims commission.
The commission has declared the community's claim valid, but the handover of the chrome- and platinum-rich property has been stalled, firstly by the land's two former owners and recently by Anglo Platinum's subsidiary, Rustenburg Platinum Mines (RPM).
Ga-Mawela community leaders have declined to comment in detail about the claim for fear of jeopardising their case, which is set to begin in the land claims court on Monday, October 13.
"This claim is not just about the land," said community chairman Mabutswe Mankge.
"It's about restoring the community's cultural identity and sense of belonging. We've been without a home for nearly 50 years."
Water from a sacred spring
A number of white land owners turned the community members into labour tenants before their eviction.
The community is scattered all over the Greater Sekhukhune area. Their reputable inyangas used to draw water from a sacred spring each August to perform their rain-making rituals.
Anglo Platinum's Mike Mthakati was not available for comment.
Xolani Luthuli of the Mpumalanga land claims commission said they were satisfied the Ga-Mawela community's claim was valid since there were graves and ruins on the land.
"There's basically supporting evidence of the claim, according to the Restitution of Land Rights Act," said Luthuli.
Legal Resources Centre lawyer Durkje Gilfillan-Weidema said the case would set a precedent for communities claiming land owned by mining giants.
"This claim will set an important precedent for many unresolved cases that are still on the books of the commission," said Gilfillan-Weidema.
"It's also about restoring the rights of former labour tenant communities who were dispossessed of their land under apartheid," she added.