Editor
In response to the article entitled ‘Tourists impressed with Estcourt’s History’, (Estcourt News, November 14, page 7). I felt I would not be doing justice to my dad, the late Mr David Cecil Oxford Matiwane, if I do not respond to this article. He was a family man who was kicked out of an Estcourt town house that he was occupying with his wife and children, and was locked up.
Furniture and all his belongings were inside the house. It remains to be questioned what happened to his furniture and all other belongings. The reason for his expulsion was because he failed to conform to the rules of the apartheid system at the time and the worst turning point was resistance from Khwezi Township were to relocate to a said township (Wembezi), which was on the pipeline to be built.
He resisted the move with the understanding why should African people relocate far from resources in town and had to travel to work in Khwezi Township, it is a distance, which requires no bus fares. This can be recalled when looking at the establishment of most townships in South Africa like Umlazi and Kwa Mashu where African human displacement occurred and destroyed the African rituals and cultural system to a point where an African today is still bleeding with no healing expected to comply with rainbow nation/social cohesion themes.
History can recall of the Ikhwezi Advisory Board where Mr Matiwane was a board member representing the Africans whom had no access and privilege to engage the municipality on governance matters. Let the generation of our times be told the real history about Estcourt town and how the apartheid system destroyed self-esteem and one’s own intellectual capacity. It is amongst the same reasons that the Third Force was successful in implementing black on black violence and this has roots and has yielded positive and stable results.
If one looks at Estcourt black on black violence, it still dominates our political lifestyle, the manner in how we treat ourselves as blacks when it comes to socio-economic issues. Estcourt Municipality of that time managed to preserve the history of Fort Durnford for the generation of whites only, yet the history of Khwezi Township was never told, yet houses were demolished with one rondavel used by the SPCA as a symbol of history.
The same place at one time used to be an educational institution for children staying at Khwezi Township.
A second hand written manuscript (Strappado and Black Victimisation of Blacks) was recovered after the first one was unlawfully taken away by the HF Vervoerd regime. David Cecil Oxford Matiwane elaborates clearly about the suffering/victimisation of his family and Africans who stay in Estcourt.
His arguments that the Estcourt Town Council only recognises whites whom fought in the World Wards, whereas Africans took part also. Testimony of Mr Matiwane is a house museum at Willowfontein, Msunduzi Municipality where he unwillingly ended up living with his family. It is an effort to retain his legacy.
Thank you to Museums SA based in Cape Town who visited Estcourt town to research about this great man who was born of exempted parents who were exempted from all the by-laws of that time. What is historical about this is that David Cecil Oxford Matiwane sacrificed a livid lifestyle and focussed on ensuring that all citizens of South Africa were equal and should be treated as such (Group Areas Act, Job Reservation, Pass Laws, Bantu Education).
Thank you to my dad and my mother, Mrs Virginia Matiwane, who were very instrumental in organising defiance campaigns of the time in Estcourt in the 1960’s, such as milk boycotts, potato boycotts, beer halls demolitions and bus fares.
They protected us from engaging in politics as he used to tell us: “Politics is a dirty and corrupt game – people can even sell their soul and conscience for the greed of money.” Who can deny this man an honour of ‘Freedom of the City’ by Estcourt Local Municipality, the same honour given to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill?
Phumzile
