Some of the community members of Ha-Phaphazela, near Malamulele, are accusing the office of the regional land claims commissioner in Limpopo of isolating them from the list of people who should be compensated for their forceful removal from Venda to the Giyani area.

One of the affected community members, Mr James Maluleke (58), said the commissioner’s office and a junior traditional leader, Gezani Chauke of Ha-Maphazela village, were to be blamed. “The office of the regional land claims commissioner and our traditional leader, Maluleke, deliberately left us off the list of people who must benefit," said Maluleke. He added that his family was part of the 400 households that were moved out of Dididi, Piet Boy, Khakhanwa and other villages in Venda.

Maluleke said he was surprised that his family and others who were affected by the removal were left out when the process of collecting the names of the people who should be given money as compensation for their forceful removal was compiled early last year. “We are also concerned that some undeserving families had been included in the list of the people who are supposed to be compensated while we are left out. Most of the people who were included on the list, while they were not affected by the removal, are in the good books of Chauke,” said Maluleke.

Another affected community member, David Mabannda, said: “We confronted Chauke and he promised that we would be included on the list, but that never happened. ”In a telephonic interview, Chauke said that their list only included those who were forcefully removed from their homes in 1968. "Those who were removed in 1962 are not included, because they had been given stands in Phaphazela,” said Chauke.

Chauke later changed his tune, however, and said that “Catherine Mathebula from the land claims commission is the one who is dividing people, because she left others off the list. I did nothing wrong. I thought this was what the government wanted. I am just a traditional leader who is just following the government’s instructions,” said Chauike.

Chauke’s senior, Chief Richard Mukhomi, said that he was not aware of what was happening there. "No one bothered to inform me about the process of collecting names of people who must be compensated."

Meanwhile, Motlatsi Lebea, who responded on behalf of the regional land claims commissioner, said that the office had gone through a due process of verification. “The names of beneficiaries were adopted by the entire community without any of such issues being raised by anyone." He added that the commission had visited the community on many occasions before the signing of settlement agreements and therefore believed that the households and beneficiaries appearing on the Phaphazela list were the ones entitled to compensation.

"All who are aggrieved by the process can still write to the commissioner to enlist their names and the commission will then investigate if they do qualify. Due process will then be followed,” said Lebea.