Mondli waka Makhanya
AN Eastern Transvaal National Party organiser has started an organisation for Mozambican refugees, sparking fears among non-governmental organisations in the area that the NP is providing identity documents to refugees as a way of boosting its performance in the October municipal elections.
Concerned Refugees and Immigrants of Mozambique (Coreimo) is ostensibly a relief organisation set up to fight the harassment of immigrants and refugees by the police. It helps Mozambicans obtain temporary and permanent ID.
While Coreimo says this is legal, treasurer general Lennox Hofgun admits they use a local chief to authenticate refugees’ South African origins at Home Affairs offices. The chief, Lucas Nkuna of the Mkhuhlu district, is a former member of the Gazankulu legislature and a close associate of Coreimo president and founder Doctor Sibuye.
Coreimo was formed in October last year and was officially launched last month, when Sibuye, an NP organiser, was elected president. The executive consists of NP activists as well as past and present leaders of the Ximoko Freedom Party, the former ruling party of Gazankulu. Coreimo is run from the NP office in Bushbuckridge.
The organisation plans to go national, with branches in all areas inhabited by Mozambican refugees. This weekend a branch is being opened in Pretoria. The next target area is Alexandra, home to a besieged Mozambican community that recently came under attack from local