The chairperson of SANCO at Makonde village, Mr Boshoto Ravhura, who is also a member of the Makonde Royal family, narrowly escaped an attempted assassination at his business last Wednesday evening (12 April).
Ravhura said he was standing next to the pool table when a suspicious vehicle stopped at his business premises. "We were surprised because it was [allegedly] the same car used by a certain vigilante group that has been terrorising Makonde villagers for the past three years. After some confrontations with members of the community, the local police intervened and the group was told to disband, but they continue to harass the community," he said.
Ravhura claimed that, after a few minutes of sitting in the car, a man, whom they all know as one of the leaders of the notorious group of criminals, got out of the car, entered the business and walked past him, asking patrons who the owner of the business was. "They all said I was not around. He turned, walked past me again and went outside. Then he came back in with a firearm and started shooting randomly before driving away. He went to my house, parked the car at the gate, fired a few shots into the air and drove away. My kids had to run for cover and locked themselves in the house," he said.
In an interview with Limpopo Mirror, Ravhura said that he knew the suspect. "He doesn't know me, but I know him very well, down to his full names. He is not even a resident of Makonde village."
According to Ravhura, the incident occurred at about 18:00. He notified the police but said that they had only arrived after midnight that night and told him to open a case at the Thohoyandou Police Station, which Ravhura had done the following day (13 April). "After two days, a police van drove up at my business premises and the police officer gave me a letter that said I must report to the police station. The letter did not even have a police stamp on and the phone number on the letter is not working," he said.
On Monday (17 April), the community leaders of Makonde accompanied Ravhura to the police station to inquire about the case. "A day after we complained at the police station (18 April), a police officer finally came to investigate the matter - a week after I was nearly killed," he said.
Ravhura believes that the latest attack has its origin in the feud between the local SANCO members and the acting traditional leader at Makonde, Nyadzeni Ravhura. SANCO members previously accused the traditional leader of employing a vigilante group to help protect him. In February this year, the acting chief's shop was burnt down by angry residents. Three members of SANCO were arrested afterwards and charged with assault to cause grievous bodily harm.
Responding to the allegations levelled against him, Mr Nyadzeni Ravhura said he was no longer a "deposed" traditional leader of Makonde. He said that after members of the Ravhura Royal House had asked the rightful owner of the throne to take over, they, along with members of SANCO Makonde, had all been summoned to the Tshivhase Royal House. "They were told that I will remain the acting traditional leader until the young traditional leader turns 25 years of age as he is still regarded as a minor. As we speak, I am not a deposed traditional leader anymore. I am the acting traditional leader of Makonde village," he said.
He also rubbished allegations that he had influenced the police not to investigate the alleged attack on a SANCO member. "I opened a case against them [SANCO members] on 20 February, and they were arrested on 20 March - after a month."
He said that the police's investigating officer had visited him on Tuesday (18 April), looking for the telephone number of the suspect in connection with Boshoto Ravhura's case. "I told him to look it up on the security company's flyer, as I have no business with him (the suspect). I no longer have people guarding me because I fear nothing," he said.
When asked why the staff of the security company, Tshiswole a tshi thabi, were often seen at his premises at Makonde, he said that the people seen there were members of a security company guarding his businesses. "I have many businesses, and there is a security company that is guarding all of them," he said.
"To prove that I am still on the throne at the moment, I have been invited to attend a meeting for all traditional leaders under the Tshivhase Dynasty on Friday (21 April), and I will be there," he said.