An Eastern Cape land activist and her boyfriend were shot dead at her home at the weekend.
Nombeko Maxhwele, 55, who was the secretary of the Zimbane Land Claim Committee and later the Zimbane Communal Property Association (ZCPA), and her unnamed friend were found shot dead in a Tyumbu village home near Mthatha on Friday morning.
Police spokesperson Captain Dineo Koena said the motive for the double killing was unknown, but family spokesperson Nokwanda Madikaza and ZCPA chairperson Oscar Mnqotho believed it might be connected to the Zimbane land claim and the legal move to chase away land-grabbers and demolish all illegally built houses in the area.
Maxhwele’s niece, Lelethu Matshefu, 18, who was sleeping in the adjacent room, made the gruesome discovery at about 6am on Friday.
“There was blood all over the place and he was not breathing,” said Matshefu with tears pouring down her cheeks when the Dispatch visited her.
Koena said no arrests had been made and appealed to anyone with information to alert the police.
She said two 9mm cartridges had been found at the scene.
Mnqotho and Madikaza believe their court action to have illegally built houses demolished and land-grabbers evicted was the main reason for the slayings.
“They [alleged land grabbers] see us as enemies and stumbling blocks to land-grabbing. We had a court order to have these houses demolished and land-grabbers removed in Tyumbu. The land-grabbers vowed to fight back,” said Mnqotho.
The Daily Dispatch could not trace those accused of land-grabbing or their lawyers at the time of writing on Sunday.
The land claim – which encompasses the whole of Mthatha and is worth about R1bn – was for years delayed by the bitter feud between two factions, both claiming to be the legitimate representatives of the 18 villages under Zimbane.
Mnqotho said the land claims court in Randburg ruled in their favour that they were the legitimate representatives of land claimants in July last year.
However the group, led by Ntandazo Mda, has since filed a notice to appeal the judgment. Mda condemned Maxhwele’s killing. He said the demolitions were being legally challenged...