We reject reporting on mass grave
As the Office of the Premier we have noted reports in various media houses regarding an investigation that was conducted last year into allegations of mass graves on a South Coast farm. A traditional healer Bongekile Nkomo first made the allegation in March last year.
We reject any attempt that seeks to trivialize this matter. This shows insensitivity and disregard of the sufferings of many families who lost their loved ones during the dark days of apartheid. In this province there are many families who want answers about the whereabouts of their loved ones who disappeared under suspicious circumstances.
We wish to draw the attention of the media and the public at large to the fact that government receives complaints and tip-offs from anonymous sources including members of the public. We are obliged to launch an investigation because if we fail to do so we may be perceived as if we are abdicating our responsibility as government.
It should also be noted that this allegation of “mass graves” at Glenroy Farm was received by government and processed using all processes as dictated by government's prescripts. The decision to request national government to be involved was reached after a long discussion and consideration of issues by all members of the executive council.
Though we do not want to discuss the merits or demerits of the investigation we want to state that, it is public knowledge, as it has been widely reported by the National Prosecuting Authority’s Missing Persons Task Team, that the former Security Police had historically killed and buried or disposed of the bodies of missing activists on private farms. Throughout and after the TRC process, bodies of a number of activists and individuals were exhumed.
As the provincial government we are fully aware that the MPTT has numerous cases of missing persons from KZN and it is for this reason that they have been involved in this investigation. The MPTT has relevant expertise in investigation, site examination, archaeological and forensic anthropology experience particularly in dealing with clandestine burial sites.
As the provincial government we do not want to interfere with the work of the MPTT and we have always maintained that we will be guided by their findings. We request that this matter should not be turned into a joke by anybody and it for this reason that as the office of the premier we offer to show sensitivity when dealing with such issues.
Critically, Premier Senzo Mchunu is inviting the people of KwaZulu-Natal to pray for the families of the victims. We certainly know that these families will find closure once there is a discovery of the remains of their loved ones. We appreciate that the national government has allocated the resources to the MPTT to do its work and this gives us hope that one day families will indeed find closure.
Enquiries:
Ndabezinhle Sibiya
Spokesperson for the Premier
Cell: 082 375 4742
