King Khoisan SA’s six-year fight for Khoisan recognition
King Khoisan SA, a man who led a group of Khoisan people, staged a protest and camped outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria over the last six years, has accused the National Khoi-San Council (NKC) of selling out the Khoisan people’s struggle, by taking the government’s side on the matter.
The group is demanding recognition as the First Nation and land rights, the scrapping of the name coloured as they prefer to be recognised as Khoisan, and the inclusion of their language as one of the official languages in the country. They left the Eastern Cape on November 17, 2018, and arrived at the Union Buildings on December 5, 2018, and camped in the garden.
“The National Khoi-San Council knows about the strike, yet are taking the government’s side,” King Khoisan SA said.
The government is still reluctant to meaningfully engage with them after six years of camping at the Union Buildings.
He said the NKC was established as a communication tool between the Khoisan people and the government. Initially, it fulfilled this role effectively, but later compromised its stance by accepting positions as councillors in the ANC.
“We have long declared the NKC null and void because they are not serving the interests of the people. As the Khoisan people, we want statutory recognition as the first nation and land. The government only introduced a national Khoi-San that only became an act – there was no kingship in that act, just senior leaders. It gives power to the government minister and the president to remove those senior leaders from positions as they see fit. This act was approved by the NKC,” said King Khoisan SA.
Cecil Fleur, chairperson of the National Khoi-San Council (NKC), said it is not true that they are embracing the government because they are fighting the government.
He described King Khoisan SA as a self-proclaimed king, who disregards the NKC – a body that represents the interests of Khoi-San people alongside other organisations.
“NKC members long ago went to him telling him that he must join forces with the NKC as the recognised body, which is something that will lead to better recognition, but he refused. He wanted the limelight to shine on him and not on us, the NKC. It’s all about him,” Fleur.
He added that there was no communication between the NKC and “that guy”.
“We don’t know about that eviction. My own opinion is that he should come and work with the NKC to reach the goals that we are fighting for. We are busy fighting for the same things that he is sitting in the Union Buildings garden for. We have even involved the United Nations in this matter,” Fleur said.
The NKC and other leaders will have to intensify efforts to get recognition and see real breakthrough, he said.
“What progress has he made in the six years he has been sitting outside?” asked Fleur.
On being labelled as a self-proclaimed king, Khoisan King SA said: “On 7 May 2019, I was made the king at the Union Building.”
There were also concerns among some that he was benefitting financially from tourists who came to the Union Buildings and paid to take pictures with him.
He said: “No king in South Africa would allow himself to stoop so low to live on donations just to fight the good cause. It is not about us collecting pictures for money, it is the only way to sustain ourselves; we humbly ask people to donate. Some give R10, and others give R3.
“A person who had many cars said that since we were walking, he would like us to use the vehicle to move around. The Union Buildings garden is not our home, we are there for a cause. No one has ever talked about the Khoisan people like they are now.”
Khoisan King SA claimed that some in the government offered him money and even land so that he would stop camping at the Union Buildings, but he declined all these because the struggle was not just about him, but all Khoisan people.
He added that a memorandum of demands by the Khoisan people was tabled in 2013, but there has not been a response.
He said only the late Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu reached out to them and said to King Khoisan SA: “This can’t be happening – let us resolve the issues.”
Unfortunately, he died in 2021 due to Covid-related complications and that left “us” hanging.
“When President Cyril Ramaphosa was still the deputy president, he accepted our memorandum and said if he was the president, he would have done more. Now, he is the president but has not done anything. So, this is the irony of the South African government leadership,” he said.
On the eviction which will be effected on Saturday, he said; “I will stay there until the issues are resolved. They are running to court instead of talking to us.”
Despite the standoff, he said they are committed to resolving the issues that have been put on the table.
“We are open to conversation – to engage with the government leaders. We have support, locally, nationally, in the continent and internationally. Everything can be resolved, but it was through negotiations. It would be said if the international community has to intervene,” concluded Khoisan King SA.
Dr Troy Meyer (honoris), a social and cultural activist who also serves on the KwaZulu-Natal Museum Board which preserves historical and cultural information for the Khoi-San people, said the state should leave him alone for now and evict him at the end of June 2025.
“In the next four to five months, there will be a conference where all amendments, his concerns, and Khoisan issues, in general, will be finalised. The Khoi-San were recognised but they don’t have the land. The Zulu nation is recognised and they have the land, the Xhosas as well are recognised and have land. So, the Khoi-San people want the same,” Meyer said.
“The state has never engaged him directly. I think that there might be a legal challenge to the order. It’s symbolic, the court action has brought him a lot of attention.“
According to a statement issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, on December 24, 2024, Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa convened two meetings on Khoi-San matters on December 23, 2024. The first meeting was with the National Khoi-San Council (NKSC), and the second meeting was with the Members of Parliament who have a vested interest in the matters of the Khoi-San.
“The two meetings were an important first step and an opportunity for more discussions and also provided an opportunity for an open discussion on issues relating to the Khoi-San and their recognition,” read the statement.
While all parties have concerns, they are still willing to go to the negotiation table to resolve the impasse.
gcwalisile.khanyile@inl.co.za