Khoisan ‘king’ in bid to halt elections

AN APPLICATION for a cease and desist order has been filed against President Cyril Ramaphosa and the government that no elections take place in what self-proclaimed Khoisan king Goab Khoebaha Calvin Cornelius III calls the Sovereign State of Good Hope (SSGH).

He filed the application on March 11 at the Western Cape High Court and claims the state consists of the Western Cape, Northern Cape and part of the Eastern Cape as far as the Great Fish River.

“There should be no elections held here because there are no politics here. It is an urgent order and we know that we are fourth on the list for a court date. We hope that South African lawyers understand international law. They will either challenge or accept it,” said Cornelius.

He claims that there can’t be elections until the court case is completed.

“The SSGH aims to implement a policy of self-determination rather than being a politically dominating force of corruption and coercion. For political convenience, successive governments have labelled the Khoisan as ‘coloureds’ in order to downplay the first people’s absolute rights and entitlement to the land,” reads the SSGH information book.

The book says the government continues to avoid the obvious legitimacy of the Khoisan land claims while driving forward their own illegitimate agenda for restoration of all South African land to the Bantu-speaking people.

“Title deeds are a modern trap to alienate first peoples from their land and arose through the imposition of illegal colonial legislation drafted for the purposes of controlling and disposing of the indigenous people. The various authorities’ claims that the Khoisan did not hold the title deeds to their own land is mischievous adulteration of history,” says the book.

Presidency spokesperson Khusela Diko confirmed it was aware of the order and would be opposing it.

Advocacy group First Indigenous Nation of Southern Africa spokesperson (Finsa) Gregg Fick said it was not aligned with Cornelius and questioned his legitimacy.

“We don’t recognise his legitimacy, we question how he is part of the royal Khoisan; there has never been a royal Khoisan house. He has no mandate to speak on our behalf.”

Finsa has therefore decided to employ its own structures to attempt to halt the elections.

“He is not legitimate and I can’t see why his application would be accepted.”

Finsa was in court this week with other respondents to halt elections because it claims the Electoral Act is unconstitutional because it does not allow independent candidates.

Such candidates are allowed only in municipal elections and not in provincial or national elections.

“If the request is not approved there will be spoiled ballots. They will have thousands and thousands of people spoiling their ballots. The land issue is very clear, we have legitimate claims to this land. We were the people here and we will go nowhere. It is our right.”

The Independent Electoral Commission was unable to provide comment at the time of publication.