LIMPOPO – The community of Duvula in Rotterdam, outside Giyani, was left to bear the cost of organising a welcoming event after the premier allegedly failed to show up on Monday, despite a promise from her office that she would visit the Duvula Royal Family to gain clarity on their chieftaincy claim.

This follows a march by the community of Duvula village to the Office of the Premier on April 24, where they demanded that their chief be recognised as a senior traditional leader. The protest took place on the same day their court case on the matter was scheduled to be heard at the Polokwane High Court.

After the court case was postponed, community members who had travelled to attend the hearing reportedly went to the premier’s office to protest and demand an audience with the premier.

During the protest, the community was allegedly promised that the premier would visit them on May 12 to hear their side of the story.

Expecting the premier’s visit, the community slaughtered five cows at an average cost of R13 000 each and spent R25 000 on decorations, excluding the cost of food, drinks, and other services, bringing the total expenditure to over R100 000.

“In our preparations to welcome the premier, we spent a significant amount of money to ensure that the event was dignified,” explained Ntsako Justice Makhubela, spokesperson for the Duvula Royal Family.

“We slaughtered five cattle, hired tents, a catering company, expensive décor, and covered many other logistics needed to make the day pleasant, all at an estimated cost of close to R130 000. Yet, the premier did not show up or inform us when she would come to meet the community as promised,” he said.

“The response we received yesterday (Thursday) came from CoGHSTA. They asked us to meet them in Polokwane on May 23, something we were not expecting, because it was the Office of the Premier that made the promise to meet us. Therefore, we are not going to honour their invitation, because it is the premier we want to meet, not CoGHSTA,” he explained.

He continued saying the main reason they wanted to meet the premier “was to understand why she opposed the recognition of Duvula Royal Family, and why she only decided to oppose it two years after we had launched our court challenge to compel the government to recognise us.”

Background

The Duvula Royal Family went to the Polokwane High Court on April 24, believing that their court action, launched in 2023 to challenge the Land Claims Commission’s 2019 report, which denied the existence of the Duvula Royal Family’s chieftaincy, was not being opposed.

They were surprised when the Office of the Premier indicated that it was opposing the case. As a result, the matter could not be heard, since the lawyers first needed to exchange documents forming the basis of their arguments before a court date could be set. This infuriated the community of Duvula, who had come in five buses to witness the court proceeding in the High Court.

When this did not happen, they immediately descended on the premier’s office to protest, demanding to speak with her. The matter was later addressed when the Office of the Premier promised that the premier would meet with them on May 12. The premier’s spokesperson, Ndavhe Ramakuela, told the Herald that it is all due to a misunderstanding.

He said it was not the premier who was supposed to meet them, but rather CoGHSTA, as they committed to the meeting. “Indeed, the Limpopo Provincial Government had agreed to meet with the Duvula community on 12 May, following a commitment made on 24 April, when the community arrived at the gate of the Office of the Premier directly from court, where their matter was being heard.

“Since the Duvula matter involves court proceedings, the provincial government is trying to find ways to address the issue without prejudicing the ongoing legal process. On that basis, CoGHSTA was mandated to handle the matter. The premier was never scheduled to attend the meeting. This was clearly stated in the official communication, which indicated that representatives of the provincial government, not the premier, would be present. However, now that the meeting did not take place, the premier’s office is investigating what led to the absence of government representation and how such a situation can be addressed moving forward,” he said.