Sechaba ka’Nkosi
For years the tiny townships of Ndaleni and Magoda in Richmond shared almost everything, from relatives and grazing lands to churches. But since April a simmering conflict has erupted into open enmity and now residents crossing the narrow road separating them do so at their own risk.
At the heart of the fear and mistrust is the issue of loyalty to former African National Congress leader Sifiso Nkabinde, expelled from the party and jailed weeks ago on murder charges, and self-defence unit (SDU) commander Sikhumbuzo ”Bob” Ndlovu.
Magoda locals see Nkabinde as a champion of their struggle against apartheid and marauding Inkatha Freedom Party impis in the early 1990s, an innocent victim of unsubstantiated ANC propaganda and the party’s abuse of the security apparatus and of the criminal justice system.
Ndaleni residents have a different interpretation of Nkabinde: that of a villain, a warlord and a ruthless killer who must rot in jail.
Richmond is a rural town about 30km south of KwaZulu-Natal’s capital city of Pietermaritzburg. In 1994 its population was estimated at more than 70 000. Today the figure hovers around 55 000, as many residents fled the area out of fear of the SDUs.
Among those who have moved away are prominent ANC leaders, most of whom fled after Nkabinde was expelled from the party in April this year.
An intelligence report from the police, released in October last year, describes the area as ”activated” with the potential to develop into a flashpoint or a high-risk area. ”Information at hand reveals that violence or conflict may occur. The present situation and climate may influence stability,” the report reads.
Local residents agree that the trouble began in March 1990, just after the IFP was driven out of the area. Youths aligned to the ANC had begun using advanced military- style tactics to defend the area and are said to have ambushed what observers describe as the biggest attacking IFP force ever seen in Richmond.
Unknown to the IFP, the youths had dug trenches and were ready for the IFP’s 300 men – armed with R-1, R-4, G-3, AK-47s and handguns. A heavy exchange of gunfire between the two sides lasted for only six minutes. The clash, later dubbed ”The Battle of the Forest” by the local media, ended with 23 IFP supporters dead and three injured.
Among the triumphant defence unit were close to 20 youths, trained by Captain Gracious Shoba of the Transkei Defence Force (TDF), and members of the ANC’s military wing, Umkhonto weSizwe.
Ironically, Shoba is now based at Richmond police station and is assisting director Bushy Engelbrecht’s special investigations task unit in its probe into the violence in Richmond.
The Magoda youths were rumoured to have established a command centre and arms cache at Nkabinde’s house. After the IFP had been driven out of the area and refugees restored
to their homes, Nkabinde and Ndlovu became heroes.
But when the two became a law unto themselves, Ndaleni residents – led by ANC Youth League Midlands deputy secretary, Mzwandile Mbongwa – began questioning their role and unlimited access to arms and ammunition.
It was then that the first allegations of Nkabinde as spy began to gain momentum – and, in return, Ndaleni residents were accused of spying for the police, which made them potential targets for elimination.
Mbongwa’s name comes up readily as one of the few people who stood up to Nkabinde’s reign of terror. In March 1994 he was lured to a death trap by SDUs on the pretext of a meeting to resolve differences.
An ”invitation” found in his possession after he was gunned down indicated that he was asked not to bring his bodyguards to the meeting.
Ndaleni residents allege Nkabinde and Ndlovu were responsible for Mbongwa’s death. The last person to see Mbongwa alive was Rodney van der Byl, who transported him to the meeting. Van der Byl, an ANC councillor in Richmond, was gunned down in May this year when he refused to resign from the party in solidarity with Nkabinde’s expulsion.
Richmond mayor Andrew Ragavaloo says Nkabinde’s name strikes terror in the hearts of most residents whenever it is mentioned.
”Sifiso [Nkabinde] is a very powerful person. Even when he is in prison, he still gives instructions on who should be eliminated,” claims Ragavaloo, once a close friend of Nkabinde , now his sworn enemy.
Engelbrecht says 18 members of the SDU command structure have been arrested and are suspected of having committed close to 50 murders in the area. The list includes Ndlovu, his brother Satch and members of the VIP protection unit. Engelbrecht does not want to say more in case this hampers his investigation.
It is the youth of Ndaleni and Magoda who have been most affected by the violence, abandoning their education to join armed gangs and protect their settlements against attacks from the other side. Just two months after Nkabinde was expelled from the ANC, education in both townships came to a standstill.
Hardest hit have been Magoda high school pupils. There is only one secondary school for both townships – Ndala High School in Ndaleni. Matriculants from Magoda have to sit exams in Ndaleni.
The road that separates the two townships has a single entrance/exit – in Ndaleni. Youths in Ndaleni say they do not have a problem with their counterparts in Magoda because ”if we wanted to kill them, we would wait for them at the road”.
Thando Ndlovu is one of five girls from Magoda allowed into Ndala for this year’s exams, albeit under heavy police protection from her home to class and back again.
Across the street in Ndaleni, matriculants study for exams. They attended their last class in June. Teachers have stopped coming to teach in Ndaleni as they are seen to be taking sides.
The only person who does not seem scared to speak his mind out is Pastor Ruben Memela of the Methodist church in Ndaleni.
He says he has seen it all. He was born here 61 years ago and has witnessed the town transforming from the most right-wing in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands in the late 1980s to a place where families have now been torn apart by rival gangs.