The Stellenbosch Municipality is aware of the illegal occupation of a parcel of council land, apparently by an initiation school, in the Ida’s Valley Nature Area.
The municipality, however, says its hands are tied by legislation and it cannot take any action.
About three principles (groups), two Basotho and one amaHlubi, have apparently been occupying the land since last week. They say it is too late to halt the rituals.
“Our request is simple: allow us to finish the rituals for this year and let’s speak on a way forward that will work for all of us in the new year,” said Basotho chief Isaac Manoheng. “Any decision taken must be with us present.”
He added that although his group is dismayed at its part in the kerfuffle over use of the land in question, there are regrets. “We have no regrets because we saved some boys’ lives in the process. We tried going the right route, but circumstances did not allow us. If the municipality wants to remove the boys, whatever happens to them is on the municipality’s conscience.”
The municipality said it was electronically served with an application for an urgent interdict to set aside the decision not to approve the initiation schools on the three sites requested after 17:00 last Friday (25 November).
It said the current initiation site in Ida’s Valley is identified as a high fire-risk area by the Cape Winelands Fire Protection Association (CWFPA). Last year, safety issues were identified around open fires at the site at the height of the dry season. The CWFPA is an institution created by the National Veld and Forest Act.
“The municipality informed the initiation schools of this development,” explained Stuart Grobbelaar, communications manager of Stellenbosch Municipality.
“We engaged with the CWFPA and applied for a permit so that the initiation rituals be allowed to continue at the site. It was not granted by the association and we were then required to approach the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) for an exemption application.”
Grobbelaar said DEFF informed the municipality of its decision to decline the exemption application on Thursday 3 November.
Talks with the provincial Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS), the custodians of initiation schools in the Western Cape, apprently continued on possible alternative sites to be used by the initiation schools.
On Tuesday 8 November DCAS informed the municipality of an alternative site.
“A decision was taken without consulting us and was communicated to us only in October,” Manoheng said. “We had very short notice, but it is too late now. We have strict rituals that the municipality does not want to understand. Family needs to be close to the boys.
Manoheng claimed the alternative sites offered by DCAS was located in Hermanus, Villiersdorp and Franschhoek. “We cannot just leave our area where we live. We need an area with trees and water,” he pointed out.
“Stellenbosch is better for us, as the hospital, police and fire brigade are nearby in case of emergencies. We need to do things in accordance with our ancestors’ wishes.”
The municipality said officials had been in continuous contact with stakeholders to ensure that the initiation schools may continue operating and their sacred cultural activities were safeguarded.
“The municipality is involved only from the perspective of the landowner of the site,” Manoheng pointed out. “We have been performing our rituals and the initiation school in this area since 1995, and it has never been a problem, so I don’t know what is going on.
“We have already started with the rituals; it is not something one can stop halfway through. We have to complete the process
“We have three principles in the bush with a total of about 24 people, a number which is expected to grow to more than 50. Moving us has larger implications, not only for our culture and rituals, but also for the families of the boys. This costs us tens of thousands of rands.”
