In South Africa there lies something of a relic from our less than favourable history. Its name is Orania, and premises itself as a white-only Afrikaans town known in the Northern Cape, located near the Orange River.
Orania has, for obvious reasons, been a point of contestation in SA since its establishment in 1991. Why? Well, in short, it pretty much goes against most of the common principles of the New South Africa by virtue of its existence.
It’s based on the concept of ‘self-determination’ for people like the Afrikaner people and is “one way of facilitating peaceful and orderly transformation,” Carel Boshoff IV who was the president of the Orania Movement, as per abc News.
It may not serve as a point of inspiration for most, but for some in the Western Cape, it has created a spark when it comes to a loophole opportunity.
In the Elgin Valley by Grabouw in Overberg, a few thousand people reside in an unfamiliar spot known as Knofloksraal, or the Khoi-munity as its entrance sign reads.
“Only seven people occupied land in 2020, with the desire to establish a self-sustaining “sovereign Khoisan community'” reports GroundUp.
According to a 2021 documentary by Suurgrond, a “legal land reclamation process based on historical indige neity” was opened for Khoi and San descendants.
Two years later and the community spawning roughly 1800 hectares is ready to take the future of the community into their own hands.
“If you can have Orania, then you can also have Knoflokskraal,” GroundUp quotes community leader Richard Isaacs as saying.
Knofloksraal essentially appears to want to take the reigns on their governance and believes this will improve the spot’s way of life economically and in terms of community, in what community members call land reclaiming, according to the publication who spoke to community members and leaders.
When those from urban areas come to the Knoflokskraal, they’re met with a few surprises, including no electricity or running water, just to name a few. But they meet these needs in other ways, even with solar power. This community is clear in that they are not looking to be dependent on the state. Their goals include possibly even having their own court.
The drive for self-sustainability came from the economic struggle of the people. Most come from the areas like the Cape Flats according to Isaac.
This week, things are moving to the high court for eviction orders, as the land is actually managed by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
As we are well aware in South Africa, land claims and reclamations are a huge point of contestation, especially when it comes to communities like the Khoisan.
As the Suurgrond documentary emphasised in 2021, “there is no legal and lawful reason for a negative retrogressive judgment,” in reference to the Department’s battle, citing an alleged press release from the department on Land distribution being an important move to alleviating apartheid’s legacy.
Most of the desires of the Kohi-munity echo sovereignty, which refers to being a self-governing state. There are a few requirements needed to be a sovereign state; a permanent population, defined territory and capacity to enter into relations with other states, all of which require votes in the international arena.
The most notable sovereign state is the Vatican City which is independent of Italy.
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Picture: Ashraf Hendricks/ GroundUp