Evil spirits torment security guards

THEY rise from the surrounding bushes and barren earth like fragments of hope, pieces of dreams unfulfilled in their past generations.

These are the ghosts from Fumani gold mine at Mtititi village in Giyani, a once bustling and thriving mine established in the 1930s under the Giyani Development Corporative.

At this mine, sunset always brings misery to the security guards who guard the mine. To them, it is time to face evil and conquer their fears stirred up by the restless souls of people that have worked and died at the mine. “This place is a no go area at night…a lot of scary things happen here that can scare the h*** out of you once it becomes dark,” explained one of the security guards who spoke to CV on condition of anonymity, to protect his job.

According to him, the security guards work in groups of three during their night shifts as compared to day shifts where they work in pairs.

“However, even then, it is very scary because every single night we will either have people knocking at our door, or stones thrown on the roof,” added another guard, who also explained that they did not go out at night as they feared for their lives.

According to Edward Shibambu, one of the residents in the area whose father used to work at the mine before it was closed in the late 90’s, the ghosts are those of the people who worked, lived and died there. “We had people from as far as Mozambique, Botswana and other African countries who used to work there,” explained Shibambu, who is also a presenter for Giyani Community Radio.

“Some of these people died and were buried in the vicinity of the mine because at the time it was difficult to transport their bodies home due to limited communication channels and transportation…and this is why today we have to deal with angry spirits,” he said.

The mine however, is said to be in the process of being reopened, after it was apparently taken over by Corridor Mining Resources Company, which is wholly owned by the Limpopo Economic Development Agency.

The company is said to have already done the assessment and now waits for the conclusion from the community’s interim committee. This committee was set up last year to investigate the previous committee’s conduct. The previous committee was allegedly not representing the interests of the community.

Ronald Shivuri, village spokesperson and member of the interim committee, said the committee was also tasked with a renegotiation of the community’s shares in the mine from 5%, which was negotiated by the previous committee to 10%.

“As we speak, the process has been completed…we’re now waiting for a date on which to present our findings to the royal family, then the community, before we can decide on how to move forward,” he said.