Nyoni (M 11)

Name: Nyoni

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Other outdoor activities in the Gingindlovu area canoeing on the Amatikulu Estuary and Nyoni River, and boating though crafts with engines larger than 15 hp ...
www.accommodationsa.co.za/town/gingindlovu

Will the elections be free and fair?April 13, 2004 @ 12:04 pm · Filed under Reports

With less than 48 hours to go before voting commences on 14 April 2004, it is clear that the elections in many parts of this province cannot be totally free and fair in the sense in which the term is understood in mature democracies, where people do not live in constant fear of their lives. However, provided (a)sufficient numbers of security force members from outside of those areas are deployed over the election period, (b) there is rigorous monitoring of the voting process and the conduct of electoral officers, including by representatives of political parties with a vested interest in the results (c)the results are accurately entered into the system and, if necessary, subject to independent audit, these elections will be far more representative of the will of the people than those of 1994 and 1999.While the death toll (in terms of the murders of known political party supporters) since campaigning started in January 2004 has been minimal, relative to the mayhem of the 1990s, levels of threat and intimidation, accompanied by periodic murders, in many areas – especially the North Coast of KZN, and inland areas around Msinga and Maphumulo – have been highly effective in stifling freedom of political activity. The vast majority of rural people are very poor, and, given the feudal nature of rural living, the mere threat by powerful local potentates of being driven off their main resource, land, and having their houses burnt and cattle taken, is sufficient to induce political compliance (especially if people are not convinced that their vote is secret). This message is reinforced by the selective targeting for attack of known political activists.

An extreme example of the ruthless repression to which many rural people are still subject is found in areas around Amatikhulu, Nyoni and Gingindlovu, which fall under the influence of local chief, Mathaba, and his Macambini tribal authority. The case of Macambini – detailed below – encapsulates all that is wrong with this province, involving as it does

•brutal repression, apparently tolerated by political parties and government alike
•the impunity with which the law, including that relating to illegal land invasions, is broken, and the resulting anarchy
•ineffectual and complicit policing
•the failure of the reconciliation process set in motion by the TRC

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