Villagers fight on against Aussie mine
Xolobeni community on the Wild Coast in landmark court case
Nonhle Mbuthuma has lived all her life in Xolobeni in the Eastern Cape. She is a 40- year-old mother of one who farms at home and in the communal area.
For her, Xolobeni is not just a geographical area with mineral riches where an entire community can be uprooted for the sake of profit.
For her, Xolobeni is home; she was born there and has built her entire life in the area.
Xolobeni is where her heritage and identity are, it is where her family lives and where some of her loved ones are buried. For her it is where life begins and ends.
Recalling what her grandfather had said to her before he died, Mbuthuma said: "He told me that they fought for this land during the 1950s, they fought to protect the land for us, to make sure we are living in a healthy environment.
"So when I look at my grandfather's grave, it pains me to still be fighting the same fight he fought in the 1950s in 2018."
This week in the High Court in Pretoria the Amadiba Crisis Committee - a group of Xolobeni community members represented by Richard Spoor Inc Attorneys and the Legal Resources Centre - argued that the Department of Mineral Resources cannot allow Australian mining company Mineral Resources Commodities to mine titanium in Xolobeni...
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