David, the trespasser!

0n the 05^th of February 2011, the AmaCirha, amaTshawe and amaKhwemte sat for a meeting with all the traditional leadership of the amaTshawe clan of Gatyeni. The purpose of this meeting was to mobilise amaTshawe and elect a representative body that will go to King Xolilizwe Sigcau in Ndaqu; amaTshawe want the king to facilitate a process that will result in reimbursement to all the families that were moved from the area that is now being occupied by the nature reserve.

The Great place elected its own Trust in an attempt to overthrow the Trust that already existed; they blamed the old Trust of misusing the funds under their care for personal endeavors. The new Trust opened a court case against the old one. The court researched the case and found the allegations to be false, however, the court did not rule this case, and instead it threw it back to the community to solve this issue to the best of their interest.

Land Affairs intervened in this case and suggested electing a Trust and thus nullifying the two previous Trust bodies. Land Affairs set a date on which they would come hold these elections to ensure fairness. CPA’s, Chiefs and old Trustees were informed about the date and the elections. The communities involved, from Cwebe to Mpume, were not formally notified of the date.

There was unhappiness amongst the locals with the date set as it clashed with a long awaited for opening event of a local Clinic and most community members missed the elections to attend the event.

The elections were held and all Trustees elected are not from within the residing area of true claimants, which is those that live closer to the sea, those who have ancestral graves and their original homes within the nature reserve.

King Xolilizwe sent chief Mngomezulu to be his representative at this meeting. This community wants the king to summon Land Affairs to come back to Cwebe and facilitate elections of the Trustee committee, one that includes people of Hobeni, especially the Elalini area in Hobeni.

9 community members were elected who will go to speak to Xolilizwe in Nqadu, a date had not been set yet.

People of Hobeni are getting bitter and bitterer at the treatment they encounter with parks board. People of Hobeni struggle for wood (dry and wet wood), they cannot access natural medicines and they also do not have access to the sea resources that they have grown up using.

The community is puzzled that after so much glitz and signing by Jacob Zuma (then Vice President) and Thoko Didiza (then minister of agriculture and land affairs) to symbolize handing the land over to the community; that there is actually more hardship and harassment by the Parks board and it has become almost impossible to access most natural resources that form a huge part of their way of life.

David told this story, his court case and other 2 community members was set for 21 February 2011, he is being charged for trespassing: that means sitting on a rock at full moon with his fishing rod in the sea waters and catching a fish.