Volkswacht Bodensee - Two-year S.African sit-in for reparations says still ignored

The group, many aged in their 70s, were among activists at a "People's Summit" at Johannesburg's Constitutional Hill that coincided with the November 22-23 meeting of leaders of the world's top economies.

But, as dozens of international delegations packed up and left, members of the Khulumani Galela Reparation Movement said they had not been visited by one official and remained overlooked.

"Leaders talk about justice, climate, peace," said 55-year-old Bongani Nxumalo, a former anti-apartheid guerrilla who said he is suffering from post-conflict trauma.

"But here at the doorstep of our Constitutional home, justice seems far to reach us," he told AFP, as the community braced for another night on the cold concrete.

Their makeshift tents made from plastic, tarpaulin and cardboard boxes have been at the site since November 2023.

Eight members of the original group have died since the campaign started, said organiser Nomarussia Bonase, 59. In March 2024, clashes with court officials left elderly women injured, she added.

"We are here because promises were broken," said 76-year-old Yvonne Makanya, who recounted that her home was raided several times by apartheid security forces on claims that she was hiding her son, an anti-apartheid activist.

Other members include Phumla Mpolweni, 63, whose brother died in exile in Uganda and wants his remains repatriated.

Danisile Mabanga, 63, said her family was forcibly removed from their farm by apartheid security forces.

The movement says that, even after the first all-race election in 1994 ended white-minority rule, true democracy remains incomplete with equality between the races still stark.

South Africa is ranked as the most unequal country in the world with the top 20 percent of the population holding over 68 percent of income, according to the IMF. The unemployment rate of around 32 percent only touches under 10 percent of whites, according to official statistics.

"No leader has faced us," said Makanya. "No minister, no official, not one leader has come to address us. They sneak into the Constitutional Court using a back door because they cannot face us at the main entrance."

G.Haefliger--VB