Nothing but land for the people
NOTHING else but the land. This was the call of the majority of speakers at the public hearing on the review of Section 25 of the Constitution in Rustenburg in the North West province.
Judging by the comments from speakers and the response from hundreds of people at the hearing and others across the province in recent days, Parliament may well be forced to change Section 25 of the Constitution to enable expropriation of land without compensation.
Young and old, traditional leaders, farmers, and traditional healers packed the Rustenburg Civic Centre to make their voices heard.
Those in favour of the expropriation of land without compensation painted a painful picture of forced removals under colonialism and apartheid. Also, of the shame of finding their parents’ graves ploughed upon.
One man said he was driving a truck during the forced removal and witnessed the injustice and brutality meted out to those resisting their removal from land as their houses were bulldozed.
“I know what happened to those who resisted… I was driving trucks relocating people to barren lands,” he said.
Community activist Napoleon Webster said people were prepared to die for the land.
“We are willing to fight with our bodies for the land, we sent people to exile to fight for this land and they did not come to kill those who stole our land, those who terrorised us.
“Now is the time for Parliament to do the right things, they should correct the past mistakes, otherwise we will take the law into our hands.
“The pain of our ancestors will manifest now in our body, the anger that will come out will never be manageable. We are willing to fight and die if that is the price for our land,” he said on the sidelines of the hearing.
Black First Land First North West provincial chairperson Jerry Mngxitama arrived at the hearing, dressed in the party’s signature black T-shirt with “Land or death” inscribed in red at the back. Mngxitama said the land in the hands of white people should be taken and government should not pay for it.
Frans Rootman, a white man who speaks Setswana fluently, made submissions to the parliamentary committee, stating clearly that he was against the changing of Section 25.
“Expropriation of property without compensation is unacceptable to me and my family and I vehemently oppose it. Everything in our Constitution is based on a just and equitable process in the public interest. Taking property without compensation even goes against Section 17 of the universal declaration of human rights, which is echoed in our Bill of Rights.
“The current Section 25 of the Constitution specifically states that property is not limited to land. When we want to change Section 25, we want to change the rights affecting my tie, your car, or another’s TV. That is all defined as property.”
– ANA