FF+ MEETS KING OVER SA LAND

LOZITHA – Is the land forming part of Mpumalanga Province, among others, in South Africa and alleged to be belonging to the Kingdom of Eswatini, finally going to be brought back to the country?

This is one question that is likely to cross one’s mind after learning that a delegation of six Afrikaners, including the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) was in the country on Thursday night to meet the King together with members of the Border Restoration Committee (BRC).

The meeting was held at Lozitha Palace. FF+ is a national South African political party formed in 1994 and it recently came into the spotlight after its Mpumalanga Provincial Leader, Werner Weber, told the South African Joint Constitutional Review Committee that the land in Mpumalanga belongs to Eswatini.
This took place last month during the ongoing hearings on changing the South African Constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation.

After the meeting with the King on Thursday night, the BRC and a six-member delegation, through their spokespersons; Bheka Mabuza and Werner Weber, issued a joint statement with four major agreements over the land issue and the South African party’s relationship with the Kingdom of Eswatini and its people.
In the joint statement, the parties agreed that the good long existing relations between the people of Eswatini and Afrikaners were revitalised and reaffirmed. The Afrikaners also acknowledged the Kingdom and the people of Eswatini as the original owners of the land around Mpumalanga Province, among other areas in the neighbouring country.

According to the statement, the parties agreed the Eswatini Monarch granted the Voortrekkers (Afrikaners who went ahead of the Dutch settlers) land to use through kukhonta (a customary method for accessing Eswatini Nation Land) by virtue of agreements concluded in the 1800s.

“Due to differences in cultures, when this land transaction was made, the Voortrekkers were of the mind that they were acquiring permanent land use rights. Therefore, the parties agree that the land was not stolen,” reads part of the statement.

Again, the two parties said they were in strong agreement that any efforts to change the land ownership pattern held by the current owners in and around the Mpumalanga Province should be preceded by settlement talks.
They said this should include an agreement with the Kingdom of Eswatini as per its long-standing request to successive South African governments.
Nonetheless, the parties also agreed to continue with discussion regarding the land issue and further pledged their commitment to working towards an amicable solution. It is worth noting that this historic meeting comes after the bold statement which was made by the FF+ Spokesperson and Mpumalanga Provincial Leader, Werner Weber, that the land in the province among other land in South Africa allegedly belongs to Eswatini.

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