Happy birthday, Chief
NOT only did Chief Khoisan SA and his three fellow activists get back home in time for Christmas, but the leader of the men who camped outside the Union Buildings for several weeks also got to celebrate his birthday with his family.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa eventually visited the group on Christmas Eve at their camp and received their memorandum of demands.
The Presidency also arranged for the men to fly to the Eastern Cape. They had walked more than 1 000km to Pretoria a few weeks ago. Chief Khoisan SA, who celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday, told the Cape Times’ sister publication, Pretoria News, there were moments he thought he’d spend Christmas and his birthday camped at the Union Buildings.
He celebrated his birthday with his friends and family at Timothy Valley in Port Elizabeth, and said the fact that the celebration almost did not happen made it extra special.
“My family thought they would not celebrate my birthday with me, but when they heard that I had landed and that I was actually going to celebrate Christmas with them, they were over the moon,” he said.
Ramaphosa received the memorandum of demands from the so-called Khoisan 4, who had spent 24 days camping at the Union Buildings.
The men wanted President Jacob Zuma or his deputy to receive the memorandum. In the memorandum, they demanded recognition from the government as the first inhabitants of South Africa.
They want their language, emblazoned on the coat of arms, to be recognised as an official language.
They also called for the scrapping or amendment of legislation on land as it prevented them from making land claims. Lastly, they wanted to be referred to as either Khoi, Koranna, Griqua, San or Nama, and not as coloureds.
Chief Khoisan SA said they did not regret any experiences they went through to achieve what they wanted. “We faced a lot of challenges during our stay at the Union Buildings, including the horrific behaviour of government officials and police, who detained us without any provocation.
“One of us, Christian Martin, was admitted to hospital after experiencing chest pains, but I can say I do not regret any of the experiences we faced.”
Martin was admitted to hospital after the group embarked on a hunger strike.
Shane Plaatjies and Brendon Billings completed the group.
Chief Khoisan SA said: “The most important thing is that the deputy president received our memorandum.
“I liked how everyone supported us throughout our journey, and that showed diversity from our people.”
He said Ramaphosa committed to inform them on a date when they would talk about their issues raised.
He said Ramaphosa told them there would be talks about the land, where they would be part of the delegation in Kimberley next month.
“We are going to address several issues in our communities, including language.
“We will enrol the language to be taught in schools; even if it is one class per school, it will be a good start.
“We are also going to visit Home Affairs and make a plea that people who did not want to be called coloured must be classified as something else,” Chief Khoisan SA added.