By Meta Mphahlele
Johannesburg – The fight over the mining of chrome in Ga-Mphahlele, Limpopo, has resulted in the death of 58-year-old lawyer and activist Moleko Ratau.
Ratau, whose practice Moleko Ratau Attorneys was based in Randburg, was assassinated at his home in Lebowakgomo last week Friday.
He was shot six times by an unknown gunman. Speaking to Sunday World on condition of anonymity for fear of being victimised, Ratau’s friend and member of the Mphahlele Trust said he was still in shock and was not sure who was next on the hit list.
He was with Ratau 20 minutes before he was ambushed. According to the friend, there is a purported hit list doing rounds of people who must be killed so that the old members of the community trust can take over the mining rights.
“I was with him in Polokwane for lunch when he received a call, but something in me told me something was not right because the caller said he was referred to Ratau by a person who is no longer alive.
“But because of his love for his job, he insisted on meeting them. We drove to his place and he asked me to leave because the following day we were going to have a series of meetings,” he said.
“I left Ratau with one of our friends and he later received a call and when he went outside to meet with those people, an unknown man armed with a gun approached him and shot him six times. I received a call to rush back and when I got there, I found him in a pool of blood, dead.”
At the time of his death, Ratau was trying to unite the Mphahlele community because he wanted them to benefit from their mineral resources.
At his funeral yesterday in Ga-Maleka, Ratau was described as a fearless lawyer and a man who put his community first.
A family member, Cecil Matabane, said they hoped the perpetrators will be arrested soon.
Limpopo police spokesperson Moatshe Ngoepe said a case of murder was opened but no one has been arrested yet.
In 2017, the board of trustees was dissolved and a new one was appointed with Ratau as its legal representative. Last July, the chairperson of the board of trustees Nkopodi Mphahlele was shot dead.
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