Bulhoek proposed as national heritage site

The provincial department of sport, recreation, arts & culture has applied for the Bulhoek massacre memorial in Ntabelanga, near Komani, to be declared a national heritage site as it celebrated its centenary on Monday.

The celebrations began with a symbolic planting of trees and a wreath-laying ceremony at the burial site in Ntabelanga, where there is a mass grave for some of the more than 200 Xhosa people who were killed by colonialists in 1921.

Sport, arts & culture minister Nathi Mthethwa, who addressed congregants of the Church of God and Saints of Christ and other dignitaries, said the people led by prophet Enoch Mgijima had been killed fighting for land and the freedom of religion enjoyed by everyone today.

“Their devotion to the cause they fought for is impeccable, because they were prepared to do anything to protect what they believed in, which reminds me of politicians during the Rivonia Trial who were prepared to die.

“The blood shed by the children of God watered the tree of freedom we enjoy today,” Mthethwa said.

“Their land was seen as belonging to the Crown and was taken away from them.

“They fought and died for their land.”

Mthethwa said the fight for land to worship on by the late congregants of the Church of God was synonymous with the conversation related to land nowadays.

He said the governing party had the duty to fast-track land redistribution to ensure the fallen of the Bulhoek massacre had not died in vain.

“Our plan is to accelerate what they started; it is to satisfy the land hunger for the majority of the people in the country.

“As the governing party we say there is no better time to accelerate land expropriation without compensation than now. We need to fight the struggle against forgetting; we must ensure that the weapon of memory does not leave us.

“If we lose it, we lose who we are and we have no connection to our roots,” Mthethwa said.

He said the events that led to the Bulhoek massacre needed to be documented accurately so that generations in Ntabelanga could learn about their history and the events that led to that fateful day of May 24 1921.

Premier Oscar Mabuyane said they would ensure the Bulhoek massacre memorial was declared a heritage site and that the area became a tourist attraction.

“We have a broad vision for this area; there will be chalets to accommodate tourists.

“We are doing this for development because we want to have progress in this area.

“There used to be no tar roads or electricity, but that has changed over the years. We want to have legacy projects for the people here to benefit from; government will champion this.”

A family member of one of those who died in the massacre, Thandisizwe Shenxane, said they believed in the prophet Mgijima because the events of 1921 had long been prophesied by him.

“Today, as the [next] generation of the people who died in the massacre, we have mixed emotions, as we did not think we would make it to the centenary celebration because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

'We are happy that our church reached the 100-year milestone and that we are here to witness it.”

DispatchLIVE