The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) says it will help the families of the slain victims of the Phoenix Massacre to collect their spirits.
This was revealed by newly appointed chairperson of the CRL Rights Commission Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva, who is making a return to the powerful position, during a media briefing on Tuesday in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva, who first served as the Chapter 9 institution’s chairperson between 2014 and 2019, said the commission will engage various cultural experts who will advise it on how the families of the slain victims can fetch the spirits of their loved ones.
Media briefing
The purpose of the media briefing was for the newly elected leadership of the commission to present its strategy in terms of how it will address the challenges impacting the cultural, religious and linguistic communities.
The commission also outlined some of the urgent investigations that it will embark on within the next five years.
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva was joined at the media briefing by her deputy chairperson, George Mahlangu, and other commissioners.
“The commission will engage with various stakeholders on the matter of the Phoenix massacre.
Public education and advocacy programmes
“This will be done in respect of those matters that relate to our mandate. But we will also conduct public education and advocacy programmes on the issues of the culture and religion. Thereby helping to promote coexistence among the diverse communities,” said Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.
“We are engaging the families of the victims to help them to fetch the spirits of the victims. And we are engaging cultural experts to help us in that process,” she said.
The Phoenix massacre occurred in Pheonix, north of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, during the July 2021 civil unrest. It is alleged that black Africans were assaulted and killed by Indian people in Phoenix. The Pheonix massacre led to the deaths of 36 people.
Engagement of Phoenix communities
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said the commission will engage the Indian and black community in Phoenix in order to bring about “peace”.
She also said the commission will review all municipal by-laws. This will aim to ensure that they do not violate cultural, religious and linguistic rights.
She said the recycling of graves by municipalities is a problem. The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality was cited as the number one culprit.
“The commission will engage the eThekwini Municipality on the matter related to the recycling of graves. This act continues to be a challenge to the religion in line with the commission’s programme of evaluating and monitoring municipal by-laws that impact the religious and linguistic [aspects of] communities.
“The commission has continued to receive complaints from families who are refused access to the graves of their loved ones. In some instances, this refusal is despite all the necessary protocols and applications that would have been duly submitted,” said Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.
Focus on people’s rights
“We will do whatever it takes to protect people’s rights. We won’t sit here, drink coffee and do nothing while people’s rights are violated,” she said.
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said the commission will also look into other issues such as the deaths of initiates. Also commercialisation of religion, virginity testing, and the promotion of the equal treatment of all languages, especially the Khoi, San and other indigenous languages.
The 12 commissioners were appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa last December. Their five-year term effectively began on January 2.
