The leadership battle in Gogobole seems to be far from over, and in the latest skirmish, a part of the community turned against the acting traditional leader, accusing her of meddling with the funeral-contribution funds.
For the past few years, the Gogobole community has been divided as to who should rule. In 2020, the Limpopo High Court was asked to hear the dispute and subsequently interdicted Matodzi Annah Magwala from performing duties as the interim headwoman of Gogobole.
Magwala did not leave the matter there and took it on appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). In March this year, the SCA set aside the Limpopo High Court's interdict, effectively restoring Magwala to her position as interim leader at Gogobole.
The leadership dispute that made its way to the courts started shortly after 2008 when Magwala began to act as caretaker headwoman at Gogobole. She is the daughter of the late Vho-Matamela Ndwammbi Ramabulana, who was appointed as headwoman after the death of her brother, Nthatheni Petrus Ramabulana, in 1986.
When Ndwammbi Ramabulana died, her daughter assumed that she would be the successor, but apparently the royal family (or sections thereof) did not agree. During oral arguments in court, Magwala was allegedly not identified as the headwoman of Gogobole village because she was not a descendant of or born into the Ramabulana lineage but a Ramadzuwa by birth (Her mother was married to Mr Tshikumbu Ramadzuwa).
The SCA ruled in favour of Magwala but was not very sympathetic towards any of the parties and reckoned that the correct procedures were not followed when trying to resolve the dispute. "The High Court and the full court should not have dealt with the merits of the case. This is a matter that should have been referred to the Premier in terms of section 12 of the Limpopo Act for investigation purposes," the judgment reads.
But even though the courts may have expressed an opinion on the matter, the local residents were not in agreement. Gogobole is currently divided into two groups, with some supporting Magwala and some refusing to acknowledge her as the interim leader. During khoro (council) meetings, which are held every Sunday, one group meets at the old school premises, while the other gathers at Magwala's kraal.
On Sunday, 2 July, a meeting was held at Magwala's kraal, but she was not present. The people present voiced their dissatisfaction with Magwala's leadership. They formed an interim committee to lead the residents, and they decided to take over the community tent, chairs, the books in which the funeral contributions are noted, and the official stamp.
On Monday, 3 July, members of the group dissatisfied with Magwala's leadership went back to her kraal, took the funeral contribution books by force, and went to the Sinthumule Tribal Council at Tshiozwi to seek advice.
The controversy about the funeral contributions has been lingering for some time. One local resident explained that the initial agreement had been that each household would contribute R5 per month to help cover the funeral costs of fellow residents in Gogobole. The funeral contributions were meant to assist the residents who could not afford to bury their loved ones.
In 2020, angry residents torched five houses and two cars of suspected criminals. Five people involved in the arson were arrested. The community then decided to raise the contributions to R20 per resident per month and use some of the money to pay for a lawyer to represent the residents charged with the violence.
According to one of the villagers, who wants to remain anonymous, they are unable to work with Magwala because of several problems. He said their discontent with Magwala started when the residents asked to see the statement showing each household's R20 contribution. Magwala allegedly refused to show them the statements and demanded that they now pay R40 instead of just R20, which the residents felt was not fair. He said that more than 1,000 households in the village contributed money.
In the past, he said, the book in which the contributions were recorded, together with the community stamp, was taken to the homes of bereaved families. The family would then pay any outstanding contributions. Now, the book is being kept at Magwala's house, which means that when residents want to pay, they must go to her house. The source said the residents suspected that not all the money collected was given to the families when they buried their loved ones.
Those who do not support Magwala are cut off from this funeral fund and any services and have to go to the Sinthumule Tribal Council for help.
The source said the community was fed up with Magwala's leadership. "The royal family must finalise the issue of who is going to be the traditional leader. All residents at Gogobole deserve the same privileges," he said.
Magwala's daughter, Ms Shumani Magwala, who is also her spokesperson, said that in 2018, the community had agreed that if three funerals took place in one week, elderly residents would not be able to walk back and forth from each funeral to pay their contribution. A decision was therefore taken rather to pay at the royal kraal to avoid traveling long distances.