Somkhele Mining Protest: The battle for justice rages on.

Somkhele community and activists protesting in Mtubatuba, October 2021. Image: Lunga Bhengu

23 February 2022

On Thursday 24 February 2022 the community of Somkhele in northern KwaZulu-Natal will embark on protest action against Tendele Coal Mine and the local traditional council. The protest action is a response to a letter issued in December 2021 by the traditional council which was addressed to President Cyril Ramaphosa requesting his intervention in the court case between the mine and affected communities. In the letter the traditional council claims that the resistance against the mine does not reflect the majority of the community. The case referred to has already been heard and is awaiting judgment. Thanks to the separation of powers not even intervention from the President is possible.

The protest aims to discredit the claim that the majority of the community supports the mine and also to demonstrate to the public the solidarity between coal affected community members, environmental activists, and civil society in voicing out concerns and issues related to the Tendele mine operations in Somkhele. The march will invite all affected people in Somkhele to present their demands to the mine.

The concerns around mining in the area of Somkhele drew national and international attention in October 2020 when activist Fikile Ntshangase was assassinated at her home in the area. Ntshangase was a vocal and active member of MCEJO (Mfolozi Community Environmental Justice Organisation), a community organisation resisting mining and organising the community to fight for their rights. However, the community has been voicing its grievances against the mine since 2011. Recent years have seen a rise in violence linked to mining in the Somkhele area, with reports of threats and intimidation targeting those opposing the mine. Two years ago, the Mthethwa family in the area was targeted (pg. 14) and their home sprayed with a hail of bullets for refusing to relocate.

The Somkhele community subsists on livestock and crop farming. Since the arrival of the Somkhele coal mine, the local economy has declined as the mine grabbed the farming land from the community, and polluted or destroyed water resources which further drove the community towards extreme poverty.
The protesting community is planning to table the following demands:

that the Tendele mine stops inciting violence in the wider Mpukunyoni community through its relocation scheme and failure to comply with international standards, by asking Minister Mantashe and President Ramaphosa to influence the outcome of the court case, and by blaming others for the mine’s economic problems
that the Tendele mine repair all the houses that have been damaged due to mine blasting
that Tendele relocates the families that are living inside the mine area
that the Tendele coal mine rehabilitates its open cast operations in the Dubelenkunzi village and Area 2
that the mine fulfills all the promises of education and bursaries it made to those who were relocated from 2002 to 2013
the mine stops its expansion plan in the Ophondweni, Emalahleni and Mahujini villages and other targeted areas
the mine provides clean water to all people whose water is polluted by coal dust and whose water resources have been blocked off by mining activity
the mine compensates people for the land they lost due to its operations (which they have not done before as the mine told people the land did not belong to them but to the Ingonyama Trust)
the mine identifies the hundreds of graves that were exhumed and relocated without tombstones to make way for the mine. This will enable families to know where their ancestors are buried and are able to pay respect to them
Tendele, the MCMF, the traditional leadership and others refrain from attempting to interfere with the judicial process
that the mine must consult the community on the issues related to mining in the area, and NOT the traditional council or its self-created MCMF.

Mining in disadvantaged communities is well known for sowing divisions and pitting communities against each other under the guise of jobs and development. In 2018 the South African Human Rights Commission released a report on the negative impacts of mining in communities and the environment. The mining issues in Somkhele were cited in the report.

Quotes:
We are fighting for our land because it sustains us daily. The people and the land need to come first before any job opportunities. Land rehabilitation funds also must be monitored by host communities because most of the time the government blames mining companies when they are gone leaving a trail of destruction and the community with nothing, Billy Mqondo, member of MCEJO

We must take a stand for our rights, whether it’s against mining companies, government, or traditional authority. We will continue the fight before Tendele mine finishes everything Israel Nkosi, member of MCEJO

This is a common story in our country, where mining invades communities in the name of development while the reality is that these mining operations become a curse and the community benefits nothing. Robby Mokgalaka, Coal campaigner at groundWork

Protest Details:
Date: Thursday 24 February 2022
Place: Somkhele, Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal
Time: 10:00am - 13:00pm
Route: From Machibini Village to the Tendele Coal Mine gate

Background and Resources:

Post media release notes:

Read the post-protest Memorandum of Demands here.

Information Contacts:
Israel Nkosi
076 781 2193
telepumy@gmail.com
Robby Mokgalaka
073 774 3362
robs@groundwork.org.za
Tsepang Molefe
074 405 1257
media@groundwork.org.za