Bafokeng still leaderless
This year marks 100 years since the passing of the segregationist Land Act of 1913. University of Cape Town held a successful conference, the Land Divided Conference, on 24-27 March in commemoration of the Act.
Bruno Seabela, the earstwhile legal guru for the Bafokeng and the Security head, Zietsman have since left the Royal house. This has added to the increasing number of professionals and senior Bafokeng employees leaving the Royal house since the start of RBN’s attempted land heist.
Bafokeng Head of Research, Suzan Cook was out of character to admit, as reported, that Bafokeng leadership has been negligent on environmental damages caused by mining within Bafokeng villages.
The Constitutional Court has ruled in favour of Mmuthi Pilane, chief of Motlhabe village against Nyalala Pilane. The Court found the Mafikeng High Court to have erred in refusing Motlhabe community permission to hold meetings and discussions about their wish to secede from the broader Bakgatla ba Kgafela ‘tribe’. This is a major victory for North West traditional communities in many respects, one of which is a reprimand of and an acknowledgement of rebuttable decisions taken in a number of cases by the Mafikeng High Court in support of imposed illegitimate chiefs. In terms of the ConCourt decision, communities are free to meet and to discuss if whether they still want to be ruled by the imposed illegitimate tribal authorities or not.
Led by the Legal Resources Centre, BLBA and communities’ defense on the Mafikeng case 999/08 is on course. The RBN has conceded to have committed a procedural flaw. To circumvent their mistake, they then lodged a second application based on Rule 6(5)g, that instead of dismissal, that the case should instead be referred directly for trial. The communities are opposing the second application, and want the dismissal of the main Bafokeng application first, with costs. The communities submitted to the Court a further application in terms of Rule 7 to have the Bafokeng chief submit proof, before he goes further with anything on any matter, that he has authorization to bring these cases to the Courts. Without such proof, all cases, including the main one, should be dismissed, with costs.
The community of Chaneng once again went on the streets in February/March and shut Anglo/ RBPlat’s Styldrift Project. Around six activists were arrested. There are in fact a number of cases on members of the community that are still outstanding. The arrests and charges leveled against community members are seen as a common intimidation tactic by mining companies and the collaborative States all over the world on poor and weak mining communities.
Poverty is an inherent feature in the Bafokeng, despite being declared the richest tribe in Africa with R36 billion in assets. Government has recently provided a number of indigent Bafokeng households, well over 100, with RDP houses.
There is a planned picket demonstration against the repressive Royal Bafokeng Platinum at their offices at Fourways (Montecasino) on the 02ndMay 2013. Details will be made available on our ‘Know Your Past’ facebook group page.
