Chaos as territorial council refuse to address community

A meeting that was supposed to iron out differences between the community of Khwekhwe Pfumbida and the local Mugivhi traditional leadership nearly turned into a violent drama.

Angry residents had to lock the doors at the traditional leadership’s offices, when the officials from the Mugivhi traditional authority tried to leave the venue before addressing the angry villagers. As if that was not enough, the drama continued when a reporter of Limpopo Mirror covering the story was threatened with violence and a lawsuit by people purporting to be members of the royal council.

The meeting was held last Friday morning.

Among the issues at stake were electricity, an acute shortage of water, no accessible roads, crime and corruption. Community leader Mr Itani Mabada said they had watched the developments in the village with dismay. "Things are not going right in this area. We have stayed here for a long time without development, and we have identified the loophole for non-development in this area, which is the leadership self-imposed on us. They do not have the interests of the community at heart and we have had enough of their leadership," he said.

Mabada said they had been complaining about the lack of electricity in their area, which was making life very difficult for them. He blamed the increasing crime rate squarely on the unavailability of electricity as criminals prowl in darkness with ease. He said an interdict by Mr Madzhie was what was delaying electrification in their area. He urged Madzhie to reverse the interdict for the benefit of the community.

Among the other burning issues in the community was accountability, which they said was lacking. The allegation is that the territorial council has not made the financial status quo of the village known since 2011, which they claim was because of corruption in the leadership.

"Our lives are held at ransom by greedy individuals who have imposed themselves on us as our leaders. We are tired of these corrupt people and we want the royal family to come up with an incumbent who will be installed as chief.”

 The council's spokesperson, Mr Muthuhathonwi Ramadaya, who was joined by Mr Hendrick Mugivhi, the principal of Ndamuleleni Secondary School, threatened to sue the reporter and the paper if they should dare to publish the story.

The territorial council was given two months to solve the problems of the community.

News - Date: 22 September 2018

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

Email: