Introduction

Welcome to BlaqChain, a Non Profit Company based at New Mabaalstad, which is made up of Rietfontein and Holfontein. We are from a very proud nation of BaPhiring, driven by their resilience which inspired us to put together a vehicle, through which to change both the economic and social narratives currently besetting our village and its people. We feel strongly that as young BaPhiring, we have an obligation to change this situation, give hope to those who have lost hope through years of systematic degeneration and hopelessness. While our full story follows under "who we are", this one is of a people, who endured the raw apartheid laws of dispossession, desolation and dehumanisation.

Where it all Began

The BaPhiring nation originates from what we now refer to as Old Mabaalstad, a village surrounded by small dorpies of Koster, Ventersdorp, Lichtenburg and Swartruggens, which is where they moved to from Lemao near Potchefstroom in the 18 hundreds. They were successful subsistence farmers and sold their surplus on the local market.

Early in 1970, however, the apartheid government identified Old Mabaalstad as one of the “black spots.” Actually, rumours that Mabaalstad village was under threat of removal, were heard back in the 1960s, along with several neighbouring villages like Botshabelo, Mogopa, Boons, Molote and others, because they were outside areas designated for black occupation. A circular released by the Department of Bantu Administration in April 1965, made people whose areas were classified as "black spots" aware that they would be removed. The circular made it clear that that all freehold rights of the black communities within so-called white areas, would be cancelled and such communities would be moved to areas classified as released areas. These released areas were in the reserves or in areas which were about to be incorporated into then Bantustans like the homeland of Bophuthatswana. The Group Areas Act of 1950, formed the legal basis for forced removals of Black communities from their lands, and over 3.5 million people were forcibly removed to Bantustans to clear the so called white areas off the socalled 'black spots'.

The apartheid government used different methods to remove people. Some of these methods included persuasion, a method/policy of divide and rule, cutting off of services and the use of brute force, to ensured that these removals were executed. In October 1971, after apartheid government lorries had loaded the people and their broken belongings, bulldozers went on to demolish their houses one by one, schools, churches and the only clinic at the time.

A traumatic experience for those who were there at the time, as they watched what used to be their homes, built with through hard work, brutally turned into rubble. The use of brute force in October 1971, exposed all the sufferings endured by the BaPhiring. No provision was made for those who had livestock like cattle, and for seven days and nights, young BaPhiring men had tosacrifice and walk their families' herds of cattle all the way from Old Mabaalstad, through Swartruggens to Rietfontein and Holfontein. They carried with them, food provisions for the long walk, but sadly had to come to terms with the reality that their food could only stay fresh for one day, and had to throw away what had remained, as it was no longer safe for consumption. For the next six days, they had to make plans about what to eat and drink for themselves and their herds, in a largerly uninhabited vastness of land before and after Swartruggens, until they arrived at their bushy new 'homes'.

The fact that forced removals took place under strict police control, in an attempt to prevent or hide publicity, indicated that the apartheid government used unacceptable methods to remove people. This effectively proves that there is no question that BaPhiring moved voluntarily, but that they were forcibly removed.

It is therefore important to note that the policy of forced removal was both brutal and inhuman, and as part of the apartheid system, villagers had no option once identified as 'black spots'. Once people were forcibly removed and 'resettled', the communities that they once belonged to were destroyed, leaving their members scattered across a variety of areas with little opportunity to reconnect and re-estabish their former relationships. BaPhiring were not exempt from this historical trauma!

Moving to Rietfontein and Holfontein

BaPhiring then arrived at now Rietfontein and Holfontein. In contrast, whilst they lived on subsistence farming at Old Mabaalstad, here they were thrown in the middle on nowhere, inside one room corrugated iron shacks under scortching heat, and had to deal with snakes on a daily basis, on top of challenges like poor water supply and failing crop production, turning out to be serious natural challenges to this day. A section of those who were moved earlier it was discovered, that the area where they were dumped, was not suitable for habitation as it was clayey and made things worse on rainy days, the very season that BaPhiring arrived here. Sadly these families had to be moved again to another part of the village.

Since their arrival back in 1971, BaPhiring never quiet settled in the new environment, with most having had to seek employment in the Rustenburg mines, while others decided to try their luck back in Johannesburg. From Old Mabaalstad where they lived off their farms, now they had to literally buy everything, with no jobs locally, Rustenburg, about 80km away, became the sole source of potential employment, despite the low wages and travel costs.

The roads within the villages are gravel, run down by rains, while the original bushes BaPhiring found here, are busy growing back again on yards and streets alike, making driving and walking almost impossible. The layout is rudimentary. There is a large administrative office building, a clinic, two primary schools and a high school, the only landmarks in the village, desperately looking for facilities where people can go realise their dreams or further them. Over time, authorities have increased the number of communal taps, but three to four weeks of every month, there's no water, forcing people to buy from those with boreholes . Electricity is reticulated in both villages for dwellings and street lighting by means of Appollo lights, but like the taps, for instance in Rietfontein central, only three lights are working, making the remainder of the village to be covered by darkness, enabling criminals to take advantage by breaking into people's houses . As a result of this sad turn of events, original owners of most of the houses in central Rietfontein, have either passed on or migrated to either neighbouring villages or urban centres.

Today's Rietfontein and Holfontein are characterised by hopelessness, high school dropout rate in both primary and high schools, teenage pregnancy, high drug and alcohol consumption and break-ins. The residential structures are varied; other homes have vegetable gardens, some residents keep chickens, goats and even cattle, but for the majority, the trauma continues extending to their children, who are struggling to make sense of this sad situation.

Let Justice be Done

As early as 1990, as it was becoming clear that South Africa was about to undergo irreversible political changes with far reaching announcements made by F W De Klerk in parliament, several of the BaPhiring elders based in Gauteng, started making enquiries about the possibility of the land being returned back to its rightful owners. But it was only in 1998, that The BaPhiring land case was first heard in the Land Claims Court and the first trial dealing with the interpretation of aspects of the Restitution of Land Rights Act that required legal clarity.

The second trial dealt with the validity of the community’s claim in light of “alternative land” they received at the time of their removal. Evidence was led about the hardship the community suffered after being uprooted and forced to relocate with almost no government support. The judge ruled that the community did not receive just and equitable compensation when they were removed and had a valid claim.

The third trial dealt with the feasibility of having Old Mabaalstad returned to its rightful owners. One of the main factors was what support the community needed from the state to post settlement. Expert evaluators contested that the community needed at least R40 million for sustainable resettlement and the state was only willing to offer R2.6m.

Then BaPhiring lost the case in the Land Claims Court and appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal, jointly with government, for a ruling on whether the land was too expensive to be bought back and whether the state could afford post-settlement support.

The SCA found in BaPhiring’s favour and noted the “appalling manner” in which the state had dealt with the matter. The case was referred back to the Land Claims Court to consider the costs of restoration, disruption for the then land occupiers and their workers, how the nature of the land might change, land use planning, institutional and financial planning support, loss of food production and any impact on the local economy.

Subsequently the farmers agreed to sell as they could no longer keep up with high and cummulative legal costs that were beginning to bite. As a result of this move, title deeds for all the claimed farms that constituted Old Mabaalstad, were issued to BaPhiring, and now the challenge is between BaPhiring and the government, to fully comply with the conditions set by the Supreme Court of Appeal. At the centre of these conditions is for both parties to work out post settlement support terms, negotiate and agree on them, before taking them to the Land Claims Court, which will in turn issue a court order, in line with agreed terms. Since 2015 when the SCA issued this ruling, the challenge remains a glaring imperative for BaPhiring, for the sake of their children and in memory of those who steadfastly kept the struggle for land restitution alive even though they passed on without seeing the fruit of their labour. The obligation now lies with those who know, understand and appreciate the importance of creating an environment condusive for those wanting to return to the land of their forebears and rebuild their lives there. History is curiously watching over us and what we do about this, lest it judges us harshly!