Giant Indian Steel producer Jindal has been sent packing in eNtembeni tribal land in Melmoth, northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The tense situation and hostilities, which have been brewing for months over the establishment of what is believed to be one of the biggest iron-ore mines in Africa, reached a head this week.
Angry residents of eNtembeni blockaded the R66 road, which connects rural towns such as Pongola, Vryheid, Eshowe Nongoma and Ulundi, demanding that the company collects its machinery and equipment and leave the area with immediate effect.
For several hours, traffic came to a grinding halt with motorists and trucks going and leaving Richards Bay harbour unable to access the road.
This because residents do not want to leave the area , saying apart from using the land for farming, their ancestors were buried there and they do not want their graves desecrated and relocated.
Mbhekiseni Mavuso, a known land activist, told Sunday World that consensus had been reached among community members not to grant the mine permission to commence its operations.
“We are the genuine owners of the land, and we will not allow our forefathers’ graves to be removed. We will also not be hounded off our ancestral land. We are prepared to die because many of us have died before fighting for their land.”
He also lamented that he was a marked man, with a bounty on his head. “I know that they want me dead. I have survived many hits before. But I do not fear death because everyone will die, someday,” he said.
Sunday World reported earlier how the proposed mine had pitted the rural community against each other.
Jindal wants to establish an opencast mine and processing facility to produce iron-ore concentrate for export in the middle of Melmoth and eShowe region, which is known for its extensive agricultural activities such as avocados, bananas, citrus fruits and macadamia nuts.
Zwakele Nxumalo of the eNtembeni crisis forum, accused the company of peddling lies that only 300 homes would be removed, arguing that the number was higher.
“Remember, we have witnessed a similar destruction and untold suffering endured by people of Somkhele because of mining. They were forced out of their land and their ancestral graves were removed with no proper reburial. The residents are united that we do not want any mines in our area. They must go somewhere else,” he said.
The residents recently met with a delegation from AmaZulu king MisuZulu, which pleaded with them to accept the mine, but the residents would have none of it. They also ignored pleas from the Ingonyama Trust, an entity which controls over 2.8-million hectares of tribal land in the province.
Jindal stakeholder engagement manager Lindelihle Gcabashe did not respond to questions from Sunday World.
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