Traditional leadership bill rejected

KHOISAN leader Chief Khoisan SA and his fellow men who have been camping outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria for almost two months said yesterday that they rejected the Traditional and Khoisan Leadership Bill which was passed by the

National Council of Provinces.

“We reject the bill in all its forms, the bill doesn’t talk about the issues we’ve brought forward for years, our first nation status, our official language status, land claims as well as our identity,” said Chief Khoisan SA.

The bill was passed on Thursday. This is the second time the men have camped outside the Union Buildings.

In 2017 they walked barefoot for 18 days from their homes in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape to Pretoria.

Chief Khoisan SA rejected the bill and said that it did not recognise the indigenous Khoisan tribe as the “first nation” and rightful owners of the land in South Africa.

“Currently government is busy with a land expropriation without compensation bill. We are making it clear to government that all proceedings regarding land expropriation must stop now.

“It is not the land of the government, it is the land that belongs to the first nation,” he said.

The group also said their language – which is in the coat of arms – must be made official.

Chief Khoisan SA said he was not happy that they were still classified as “coloured”.

He said they wanted to be recognised as Khoisan, San or Bushmen.

“We will be sitting here even for 100 years.

“What the government must know is that the longer it takes for them to listen, they are losing the faith of the people,” said Chief Khoisan SA.

The bill was backed by all provinces except for the Da-led Western Cape.

The Western Cape opposed the bill on the grounds that it used different criteria when it came to Khoisan people than with other traditional leaders and was therefore discriminatory.

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