The killing of Somkhele environmental activist, Fikile Ntshangase

Mama Ntshangashe was the Vice-Chairperson of asub-committee of the Mfolozi Community Environmental Justice Organisation(“MCEJO”). MCEJO has been challenging the further expansion of a large coalmine at Somkele in KwaZulu-Natal by Tendele Coal Mining (Pty) Ltd. One of thecourt cases brought by MCEJO is scheduled for hearing in the Supreme Court ofAppeal on 3 November 2020.

On Thursday, 22 October 2020 at about 18:30, fourgunmen arrived at Mam Nsthangase’s house, where she lives with her 11-year oldgrandson. Current reports say that they forced themselves into the home andshot her 5 times, and that she died on the scene.

Tendele’s coal mining operations have caused untolddestruction of the environment and the homes and livelihoods of the residentsof Somkhele. (Photographs and video footage available.)

Over the past few months, tension has been risingin the community over the proposed expansion of Tendele’s operations, andMCEJO’s opposition to that expansion.

Recently, Tendele was pushing for an agreement tobe signed between MCEJO and Tendele to the effect that MCEJO would withdraw itsCourt challenges of Tendele’s expansion of its coal mine at Somkhele. Mama Nsthangaserefused to sign the “agreement”, which certain of her fellow sub-committeemembers signed, purportedly doing so on behalf of MJECO.

She warned sub-committee members that they had nopower to make decisions on behalf of MJECO and that the “agreement” onlybenefited Tendele. She also refused to attend any of the secret meetingsthat other sub-committee members held with Tendele. Days before her brutalkilling, Mama Ntshangase stated her intention to write an affidavit, revealingthat sub-committee members had spoken to her of a payment of R350,000 in returnfor her signature.

The court challenge that placed a price on MamaNtshangase’s life is MJECO’s pending review application of Tendele’s new miningright in respect of a 222km2 area in Mpukunyoni, KZN. This review isdue to be heard by the North Gauteng High Court in March 2021.

Tendele has publicly characterised MCEJO’s legalchallenge as a threat to the mine’s continued existence, stating that, with thecurrent mining area depleted, it needed to expand its mining area, or faceclosure.

The expansion requires relocation of 21 families(19 of them MJECO members) from their ancestral land. Many of these familieshave lived on their land for generations.

Tendele cannot commence any operations in the newmining right area until these families agree to Tendele’s “compensation” offerand sign relocation agreements. These families were subjected to months ofviolence and intimidation. Despite the clear volatility of the situation,Tendele has accused these families of “holding the Mine, its … employees andmany families who have signed [relocation] agreements and indeed the entirecommunity to ransom”. Tendele carried out its pressure campaign even whilethese families were receiving anonymous death-threats and gunmen opened fire onone of the families’ homes.

In May 2020, Tendele tried to bring an urgentcourt application to force the families to accept their compensation offer, butabruptly removed the matter from the Court roll when the families opposed theapplication.

Tendele has now embarked upon a campaign to pitthe State, the Ingonyama Trust Board,traditional leaders and fellow community members against these families topressure them into signing relocation agreements. Tendele requested the MEC forTransport, Community Safety & Liaison KZN, Minister Ntuli and departmentofficials to set up a “task team”, with the aim of “the two court cases openedby MJECO against the mine remain a threat and needs [sic] to be withdrawn”.This Task Team has since described their role to include “deliberat[ing] on thecourt cases which pose a threat”.

It is against this backdrop that the pro-miningcampaign was stepped up during the past week. On 15 October, two sub-committeemembers, accompanied by two known hitmen, tried to disrupt a MCEJO executivecommittee meeting with community leaders, which included Mama Ntshangase. Onesub-committee member tried to lock the doors, and a prominent leader wasassaulted. A criminal case is being opened. This leader, who works in anotherarea, has been warned that his life will be in danger if he is seen in thevicinity.

Billy Mnqondo, a founding member of MCEJO,reports that one of the hitman kept saying “kuzochitheka igazi” (there will bebloodshed). His appeal to the police is: “Make sure that the criminals whomurdered our comrade are caught and go to jail. Mam Ntshangase was killed forstanding up for what is right. This is wrong and cannot go unpunished.”

It appears that the mine is being supported bythe KwaZulu-Natal government. In July, the Department of Community Safety andLiaison sent a staff member, apparently from its Civilian Secretariat arm(which is conspicuous in its absence whenever the threat of violence looms), topersuade community members to negotiate with the mine.

Since then, after MCEJO members thought it onlyproper to approach the office of the Ingonyama King Goodwill Zwelithini abouttheir struggle, they have come under even further government pressure via theoffice of the Premier and COGTA. This is the self-same government that claimsto be a custodian for land reform to redress the land imbalance – whilewilfully pushing to displace rural farmers from their family land from whichthey subsist.

For the State and Traditional Authoritiesactively to assist Tendele in its efforts to orchestrate a withdrawal ofMJECO’s review application is abhorrent to our Constitutional order. Withoutaccess to Court, local communities’ right to dignity and section 24environmental rights are illusory.

The strategies used by Tendele are sadly typicalof many companies operating in impoverished rural communities. Mines dangleincentives to impoverished community members with the inevitable consequencesof stirring deep community divisions, which almost always lead to violence anddeaths. In rural areas that are difficult to police, it takes someone with thedetermination and the courage of Mama Ntshangase to promote communitysolidarity and resistance in the face of these strategies. There are otherleaders of this calibre in MCEJO and, if anything, the assassination of MamaNtshangase has renewed their determination to step up the fight againstexploitation by the mine.

We mourn the senseless tragedy of MamaNtshangase’s murder, and condemn her killing.

We call on the South African Police Service toact swiftly to arrest and prosecute her murderers.

We call on Tendele to stop its campaign ofdividing and fomenting violence in the affected community of Somkhele, and toprovide funds for Mam Ntshangase’s funeral and for maintenance for her orphanedgrandson.

We stand by all defenders of land andenvironmental rights, and will act to defend their Constitutional rights tolife, dignity, free speech, access to justice, access to food and water, and anenvironment not harmful to health or wellbeing.

Contacts:

Tsepang Molefe; +27 74 405 1257; media@groundwork.org.za

Lerato Balendran; +27 79 071 744 ; lbalendran@cer.org.za

Sifiso Dladla; +27 78 849 8621; sifiso.dladla@actionaid.org.za

Robby Mokgalaka; +27 73 774 3362; robby@groundwork.org.za

On behalf of:

MCEJO (Mfolozi Community Environmental JusticeOrganisation)

GET (Global Environmental Trust) https://globalenvironmentaltrust.org/

MACUA (Mining Affected Communities United inAction) https://macua.org.za/

WAMUA (Women Against Mining United in Action) https://macua.org.za/

Mining & Environmental Justice CommunityNetwork of South Africa (MEJCON-SA) https://mejcon.org.za/

Earthlife Africa https://earthlife.org.za/

groundWork, Friends of the Earth, South Afirca https://www.groundwork.org.za/

Centre for Environmental Rights https://cer.org.za/

Centre for Applied Legal Studies https://www.wits.ac.za/cals/

Lawyers for Human Rights www.lhr.org.za

SAHRDN (Southern Africa Human Rights DefendersNetwork) https://africandefenders.org/members/southern-africa/

Just Share www.justshare.org.za

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH),within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders https://www.fidh.org

World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), withinthe framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders https://www.omct.org