A history of violence amid shifting sands
The December outbreak was not the first violent episode that villagers perceive to be associated with plans to mine the dunes at Xolobeni, though the evidence is flimsy in some cases and contested in others. Incidents include:
headman from the Wild Coast village of Mpindweni, was shot dead, allegedly after criticising proposed Xolobeni dune mining at a meeting at the Pondo king’s “Great Place” outside Lusikisiki. Police found no evidence connecting his murder to the mining proposal, though the case is still being investigated.
leader Scorpion Dimane publicly rejected the Xolobeni Mineral Sands project, allegedly after a sponsored trip to see dune mining in action in Richards Bay. On January 1 2008 Dimane died of what his death certificate listed as a middle-ear infection. Despite this innocent explanation, his death sparked fear and suspicion among anti-mining activists.
Qunya, the brother of Xolobeni Empowerment Company founder Zamile Qunya, allegedly blocked social worker John Clarke and others on the road to Xolobeni to prevent them meeting Belgian tourists. Clarke, who claims a death threat was made, laid charges of intimi- dation with the police and Qunya appeared in court. The case was ultimately dropped.
the Xolobeni Junior Secondary School were reportedly sjambokked by police after refusing to sing at an event organised to celebrate the granting of mining rights, according to Clarke. He reported the incident to the police’s Independent Complaints Directorate, the office of the president and four Cabinet ministers. It is not clear what happened to the complaint.
travelling in a convoy through Mtentu village to reach one of the prospecting areas were allegedly stopped by a blockade. Villagers said random firing followed and some people were beaten with pistol butts, allegedly by members of the convoy. A bullet is said to have grazed the head of a resident.
was beaten with a knobkerrie and hacked with a bush knife, and nocturnal shots caused a woman to flee from her home and hide in a river gorge with her twin babies. Zamokwakhe Qunya was cited as an aggressor in a successful application for a temporary high court interdict against continued assaults and intimidation. The interdict was ultimately withdrawn by agreement. —