Property set on fire in ongoing feud between leaders

The chieftainship feud between traditional leaders in the Vuwani area recently took an ugly turn when alleged supporters of a senior traditional leader went on the rampage, burning three houses, three cars and a caravan belonging to Chief Nevu, Chief Calson Nemaridili Tshitavha and Chief Nevu’s sister, Joyce Matamela, who resides at Vyeboom.

The incident that took place in broad daylight on Tuesday just before Christmas, has sent shockwaves through the local community.

The feud has been ongoing with the two traditional leaders alleging that the other was occupying the area illegally.

In the first incident, a big house belonging to Chief Nelson Ramathithi or Nevu, two vehicles and a hut were burnt to ashes, when a mob of more than 50 people, allegedly supporters of a senior traditional leader in the area, attacked the royal palace at Vu. Chief Nevu was not at home at the time of the attack.

A girl at the house, who preferred anonymity, said she and other family members were at home when the mob came and broke the gate in the presence of police. “They were shouting that they were going to destroy everything. Fearing for our lives as police were not doing anything to stop them, we fled to nearby bushes and watched from a distance as our belongings went up in smoke. We were not able to save anything and all what we are left with are the clothes we are wearing.”

Chief Nemaridili Tshitavha, whose home was also burnt to the ground, said that incidents preceding the attack were reported to the local police and that they had been warned about the impending attack, but nothing was done to stop the attack. Vuwani police spokesperson W/ O Elijah Malatjie, who visited the scenes of the attacks, said they have arrested seven people in connection with the incidents.

“They appeared in court on the 31st of December 2015 and their case was postponed to 7 January for a formal bail application. The suspects were remanded in custody,” he said.

Date:11 January 2016

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

Read: 4733