Each of the 118 families received an amount of R299 093 – 68 as financial compensation for lost rights in land.
The compensation comes as a result of the commission having finalized the land claim lodged by Kgosigadi Nancy Mamaila on behalf of the community authorised through a resolution that was signed by the tribe.
According to the spokesperson of the Office of the RLCC, Avhashoni Magada, research conducted by their office established that the Mamaila Bolobedu Tribe was removed from the claimed properties in 1968 after the Apartheid Government enacted the Black Resettlement Act of 1954. The tribe was ordered to vacate the land. It was relocated to an area which was allocated on the basis of ethnic affiliation
“The claimed properties are described as farms Verschfontein 233LT (R/E and Portion 1), Elandsfontein 235 LT and Sterkfontein 203 LT in Greater Letaba Local Municipal area,” said Magada.
He said the commission conducted an options workshop at Mamaila Bolobedu Tribal Hall with the claimants and they agreed that they need alternative compensation because the claimed properties are not feasible to restore.
During their stay the Mamaila Bolobedu Tribe had bigger portions of land and sufficient space to farm. They were farming with mangoes, maize, cattle and goats. During the removal, they left mangoe trees, graves and houses. They started building new houses at the place they were given. The place was so small and it was difficult for them to continue farming as they did on the previous farm.
“There is no amount of money that can wipe away the pain suffered when they were forcefully taken away from their ancestral land, similarly there is no amount of money that can restore the dignity lost during such dispossession. The compensation will assist the affected families to find closure,” said Magada.
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