Buys committee wants to evict granddaughter of Serakalala

The tension between the Buysdorp Management Committee and residents of Thalane took another turn last Tuesday.

This follows after certain members of the Buysdorp Management Committee, acting on a court order from the Louis Trichardt Magistrate’s court, allegedly forcibly removed Mrs Sarah Ndou (67) from her homestead at Thalane village.

According to the pensioner, members of the Buys Committee have been insisting that she move from the village because she was influencing other villagers to stop working for the Buys people. Ndou claims to be the direct granddaughter of the late indigenous leader of the Thalane tribe, Serakalala.

She alleged that bad blood between her and the Buys Committee developed after she became vocal when the Buys people denied residents of Thalane the opportunity to visit the graves of their ancestors. "On several occasions, I was requested to join the Buys Committee, but I refused," she said.

Ndou said that the chairperson of the Buys Committee, Simeon Buys, is staying on the piece of land where her ancestors, Masisevhe, Masidi Divhani and Serakalala, were buried. "Bad blood between the two of us developed when he denied me and other family members the opportunity to visit the graves of our ancestors, so I am not shocked by this action," she said.

She alleges that, last Tuesday, two members of the Buys Committee came to her home and instructed her to pack all her goods in their bakkie, because she was no longer wanted at Thalane. "I refused and locked my house, but they broke down the doors and put all my belongings into their vehicle. Everything happened in front of my two grandchildren and other villagers," she said.

Mirror found Ndou’s belongings dumped on the main road to Buysdorp, a kilometer away from her home, but close to the Mara police station.

"I will never move out. My father was born in this area and he told me not to abandon this homestead as I would be the one to welcome other family members when they come to perform rituals," she said.

Ndou said that since she regarded herself as an indigenous inhabitant of the area, she could not allow the Buys Committee to continue marginalizing her and residents of Thalane. "When Simeon’s family arrived, they found us here, so I am not like him who does not have a heritage at Thalane and South Africa in particular. I am ready to fight for my ancestors’ land. I will never move. I do not want to be oppressed any longer. If there are locals, where are their ancestors’ graves?" she asked.

Presently, there is no steering committee at Thalane because the Buys Committee is alleged to be against its existence. Last year, the Buys Committee disrupted the meeting between the speakers of the Makhado Municipality, Cllr Joan Hoorzuk, who also comes from Buysdorp. The interruption ended up breaking into a riot. The meeting was about bringing housing, electricity and water to the people of Thalane.

Buysdorp and certain parts of land in Vivo are under a land claim by the Serakalala claimants who are being represented by Adv Chuene Rammutla. The chairperson of the Buysdorp Management Committee, Mr Simeon Buys, declined to be interviewed, referring all enquiries about the matter to his legal representative.

News - Date: 21 December 2007

Nthambeleni Gabara

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