Kristy Siegfried

Not much has changed in Andriesvale in the five years since the Khomani San won the land claim that awarded them 36 000ha of the surrounding Kalahari, plus a further 25 000ha inside the park. Initial hopes that the land would be used for ecotourism and to support the San’s return to their traditional hunter-gatherer existence have disappeared along with the game.

The Human Rights Commission inquiry into abuses against a Northern Cape community of Khomani San heard testimony this week from two community members who alleged they had been assaulted by members of the local police department. A third testified he had been with master tracker Optel Rooi on the night Rooi was fatally shot by police — the case that drew the commission to the small town of Andriesvale.