Dear Honourable members
On Sunday 28 June 2026, my feet landed in the Nkambule homestead in Wakkerstroom. From the moment I opened the gate and began the noisy drive towards the house, my spirit could sense the tension of Black pain. I held back tears. When Mlungisi Nkambule offered his hand for a handshake, I went in for a long hug. We were there to screen Mathonga Elizwe, a 2024 documentary that tells the story of labour tenants with land claims.
I know you were there in October 2024. The family had set up a tent for your visit. You listened intently and promised to send invitations to Mlungisi Nkambule and Johan Landman (the man who controls the Zandspruit Trust, whose name appears on the title deed for Portion 7, Farm no 53 IS, Wydgeleden, Wakkerstroom) to engage with the Committee in parliament within 7-21 days.
Members of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development pictured during their visit to the Nkambule homestead in Wakkerstroom. Pictured are Professor Richard Levin, Nthako Sam Matiase, Mlungisi Patrick Nkambule, Belina Zwane, Andile Mngxitama, Dr Lehlohonolo Wonderboy Mahlatsi and Mthobisi L. Nkambule (seated).
Mr Nkambule is still committed to fighting for his father’s land. He looks much older; his appearance definitely belies his 48 years. He has aged 10 more years since members of your committee left his ancestral home. He still speaks about your visit as if it happened yesterday. He asked the four people in the room (myself, Dr Mnqobi Ngubane, Yvonne Phyllis and Philela Singama), besides his wife, Jabulile Fakude, for two things: this letter and a book that would tell the story of his family to the youth of Wakkerstroom. I agreed to write to you. It felt like a waste to just send an email through your secretariat, as it would suffer the same fate as the WhatsApp messages that he had been sending to another member of your committee. I felt that if ever a moment required an open letter, it would have to be this one.
Dr Mnqobi Ngubane, Nomzamo Zondo and Yvonne Phyllis together with Mr Nkambule and his wife, Jabulile Fakude, in their homestead
Just in case you have forgotten who Mlungisi Nkambule is, his older brother, now late, had filed a land claim for his family, who had been labour tenants on that land. His father and mother worked for the Rabe family. Mr Peter Heinrich Wilhelm Rabe was the first person to be registered as the owner of that farm after it was subdivided from another farm in 1959. The Rabe’s had died, and their children had continued their lives in Wakkerstroom and Tshwane. They continued to work the land, then out of the blue in 1993, Mr Landman came with news that he owned the farm. The Deeds Registry Office records confirm that the land was transferred from Mr Rabe to Zandspruit Trust in January 1994 for a payment of R425 000, broken down to R679.00 per hectare. There were other families working and living on the land, but as of today, only two families remain and are pursuing their claims as labour tenants.
Mr Nkambule’s family continued to work for them; his brother worked as Landman’s foreman and drove his son Jappie Landman to primary school. The same Jappie can be seen in footage interrupting the burial of Mlungisi’s brother. This burial was the second one disputed, as Mr Landman had refused for another brother to be buried
on that land, so he was buried in the public cemetery in Wakkerstroom. Mathonga Elizwe also documents another standoff as Mr Landman confronts the Special Master on Labour Tenants appointed by the Constitutional Court, screaming that he should have obtained his consent to visit the Nkambule homestead.
These indignities are only made worse by the miraculous burning down of Mlungisi’s bakkie a few days after he drove it towards the fence to confront Mr Johan Landman for digging deep holes in his family’s homestead. The car was parked as Nkambule went in for the evening, and it caught fire a few days after while the family slept. The case that he opened to investigate how this happened is still under investigation, many years later. You know that the next miraculous fire would burn the biggest house in the yard, kunye nomsamu. It was this fire that must have prompted you to include the Nkambule homestead in your oversight visits.
Mr Nkambule next to the remains of his home after it was destroyed by fire.
Even as we visited, Mr Landman’s insistence that he reigns over the Nkambule homestead could be felt. Mr Nkambule kept going back and forth on whether we could come, so that even the morning before, we expected him to call off our visit. Dr Ngubane had even pleaded with him, saying “AboNkambule abasivumele size”. We could not understand why, and in fact most interactions with Mr Nkambule present him as someone intemperate. When we arrived that day, he told us that we would see the entrance to the homestead as he had arranged for it to be graded, but the grader had stopped outside the gate as its owner communicated fear of Mr Landman and would not execute Mr Nkambule’s instruction to proceed from the gate to the house so that our car would be able to drive in. As he explained this, the penny dropped for me; what we experienced as intemperance and prevarication was a man fighting to have full say over his home and his life. Our experience of Mr Nkambule reminded me of three quotes that I had shared the day before at The Forge:
The 1903 Intercolonial Conference described the “Native question”as “embracing the present and future status of all Aboriginal Natives of South Africa, and the relation in which they stand towards the European population.”
And how
The Zululand Land Delimitation Commission, which was set between 1902 and 1904, “developed a vision of a future South African Federation based on territorial segregation of black and white as a permanent mandatory feature of public life.”
Worse still,
“the unrestrained squatting of Africans as tenants and otherwise was seen as evil and against the best interests of the country.”
Our experience of Mr Nkambule was shaped by events that occurred even before the Union of South Africa in 1910. The reservation of lands for whites in all four colonies from the 1800s to the early 1900s had a practical impact on how the Nkambule’s lived and how they engaged with their neighbours in 2026. The Zululand Land Delimitation Committee had recommended the reservation of 40% of the best and fertile land for white occupation by January 1906 (less than 15 months from the recommendation). I know that none of this is lost on you, as Mr Landman’s imposing presence could be felt by his calls to one of the people providing security detail for your visit.
Having never met Mr Landman, having seen the film, and having been told of things he had done, I can only surmise that, if it were up to him, the Nkambules would have to seek his permission before taking their next breath.
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Left: Picture taken in Wakkerstroom on 28 June 2026, stones marking the centennial of The Great Trek and the defeat of King Dingane at the Battle of Blood River. The period speaks to the migration of Voortrekkers from the Cape Colony to the interior of South Africa. Wikipedia describes 1838 as the year that Voortrekkers faced many difficulties and much bloodshed before they found freedom and a safe homeland in their Republic of Natalia.
Right: Even as Africans are still seeking belonging in South Africa.
Why now
When you met the Nkambules, Mr Vusimuzi Mthimunye had recently been appointed through the judicare programme of Legal Aid South Africa (LASA) to represent them. They were happy with the progress he was making. In 2026, they were informed that his mandate had been terminated as part of LASA's cost containment measures. Their file was allocated internally to a legal practitioner at LASA. They were not happy with this, as it would surely result in another delay for the 2017 case, which was close to finalisation by the Land Claims Court. Mr Nkambule informed me that the Special Master had engaged LASA about these challenges. The letter to LASA also stated that this matter was on the agenda for the session you convened on 3 June 2026.
The simple request is that you send invitations to the parties to this land claim to engage with you in parliament, as Mr Nkambule remembers you promising, within 21 days. While doing that, engagement with LASA would also be appreciated.
Our team had learned of Mathonga Elizwe and felt that our team, which mainly works on urban land, would benefit from watching it. Unsurprisingly, SERI knew the documentary's producers. Anita Khanna and Rehad Desai had worked with SERI on the Marikana Justice Campaign and were responsible for SERI being approached to represent AMCU and the Marikana Families before the Marikana Commission of Inquiry in 2012. Of course, Uhuru Productions would later produce Miners Shot Down, which has been an important vehicle for disseminating the story and legacy of Marikana.
The third producer was Dr Mnqobi Ngubane, and he also served as a narrator in the documentary. SERI worked with Dr Ngubane in two matters involving residents of rural KwaZulu-Natal who were waging battles for their land. He first approached SERI to represent two young men, Mchazelwa Ngobese and Lungisani Ndlovu, who had been charged with intimidation for leading the Hillerman Farm claimants on a protest outside the farm owner's home. I would drive to Muden and later Greytown with Nkosinathi Sithole, SERI’s Director of Litigation (then a candidate attorney). The consultation with our clients at the Lodge in Muden was unwelcome by our hosts. In the end they understood that we were urban Natives, and our only concern was consulting with our clients ahead of their court appearance. We would avoid future conflicts by obtaining accommodation in Greytown, where the matter was being heard. We would challenge the National Prosecuting Authority for
enrolling this matter. Our submissions, seeking the withdrawal of the case, would be refused at the Greytown Magistrate's Court and even at the KZN DPP’s office. The matter was only withdrawn by the prosecutors when the Constitutional Court declared section 1(1)(b) of the Intimidation Act unconstitutional in Moyo & Sonti v Minister of Justice, a case that we litigated together with the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (the place where SERI’s founders met and plotted for the establishment of the organisation).
Dr Ngubane would approach SERI in 2019 to intervene in a case where 12 women from Colenso had been detained for over 60 days and had been advised to plead guilty, as they would be able to secure their freedom after they were charged with public violence for causing a truck to jack-knife as they protested on the main road into Colenso. My colleagues Amanda Duma, Khuselwa Dyantyi and Thulani Nkosi would work on that case briefing Advocate Irene de Vos to represent the 12 women. Even though we could not overturn the convictions on appeal, we are currently reviewing their convictions. These two interactions with Dr Ngubane are evidence of SERI’s 16 years of advocating for the agency, dignity, and dreams of African people.
It is hard to accept that Mr Nkambule and his family must continue to live in Wakkerstroom as if apartheid never ended and South Africa’s 30-year-old Constitution did not bind each of us to address the injustices of our past. This open letter will be published widely so that people living in South Africa can hold the Portfolio Committee accountable.
You (members of the portfolio committee) must do better, and we (people who live in South Africa) must do better.
Phila, Nkambule. Remain unbowed!!!!!!!
Nomzamo Zondo
Executive Director - SERI
[ENDS]
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Why did you get this letter? SERI will commemorate 16 years of advocating for African agency, dignity and dreams on 24 July 2026. We have a gift register, as we would like this commemoration to manifest our intention for the inherent dignity of the African person. We have approached partners who will distribute meals at specific communities in and around Johannesburg, Durban, Robertson and Cape Town from 16:00 to 19:00 on that day. 1. We are asking for anyone willing to provide assistance to the Nkambule family. Maybe you own a grader that won’t stop at the gate/ have a tractor that can work that fertile land, or are able to share seeds for the family's farming. 2. We are also asking each willing individual to contribute R16 or more to purchase the equipment, tools, and food the communities will need to prepare these meals. 3. We have asked our past and present donors for R16 000 and any amount above that, starting with R16 for the same purpose. 4. We are asking people to drop off plastic containers with lids at the sites so we can package food for individuals, families of four, and families of six or more. (Rama/peanut butter/Atchar/Ice Cream containers - we need as many as possible). 5. We are also asking for donations of pots or utensils. I finalise this gift registry while sitting in the court room as Regional Court Magistrate Mvuselelo Malindi is delivering the inquest judgment on the deaths of 21 young people at the Enyobeni tavern between 25 & 26 June 2022. He reminded us that the inquest commenced on 24 July 2024. It is therefore fitting that these gifts are delivered exactly two years after the start of this important work, affirming the value of those 21 young lives. That evening, artists have called us together in Braamfontein to take the Sankara Oath: Africa for Africans.From individuals, establishments and society at large, we are making the following call: 6. We ask everyone to wear white tops in honour of the lives stolen from us at the Enyobeni Tavern on 25-26 June 2022. 7. We are asking that, beginning 24th of July 2026, we abstain from drinking, selling and purchasing alcohol on the dates listed below. We ask establishments that engage in the sale of alcohol to close their establishments or not sell alcohol on the same dates and use the time in reflective practice on building safety in our communities on the following commemorative days:
This commemorative action seeks to honour the youth of 76 who have called upon all of us to fight to end hunger and alcohol abuse. It is also a seed for a project envisioned by the Siyafana Sonke Gauteng Coordination on Saturday, 4 July 2026, which calls upon all of us to empower South Africans and protect migrants. |
>> Download a pdf version of this letter here.