Durban - An independent human rights activist who has blown the whistle on the killings at Glebelands Hostel, now fears that the assassins have her in their sights.
Vanessa Burger, a graphic designer who started working as an activist in 2008 with different communities and organisations, received a WhatsApp message two weeks ago, warning her to “shut up”.
She said she did not answer because she did not recognise the number. Despite advice from the police to open a case so the origin of the number could be traced, Burger has not done so. She said she did not trust the Umbilo police station she was advised to report to.
“I saved the number to my phone and at 10.21pm I took a screenshot of the WhatsApp profile, which was a zipped mouth.
“After midnight the next day, the image and status of the number was updated with a machine gun with the wording “Inhlala beyikhuluma beyihleba beyibhunga beyikhokhasa” (People are constantly talking, gossiping, caucusing).
Later, the status was updated to the zipped mouth again with the wording “Inhlala beyikhuluma beyihleba beyibhunga beyikhokhasa bona laba abanemilomemanzi n********** le kodwa bezibiza ngamadoda uzofa slimandini” (People who are constantly talking, gossiping, caucusing have wet mouths and long v****** yet they call themselves men. You will die you damn fool).
She said whoever had messaged her was threatening her for being vocal against the ongoing Glebelands killings.
Burger said she met Colonel PN Govender of the Umkomaas police last Tuesday to discuss the matter. She said the colonel was with another officer who spoke Zulu and, after the latter translated the messages, the Colonel said they were threats directed at her.
“What’s happening at Glebelands is so very wrong, it’s wrong for the community and it’s wrong for all of us. It’s everyone’s problem. And it’s not just happening at Glebelands, it’s our whole country. We must all do everything we can to make things better,” said Burger.
She approached a senior officer who heads up a task team set up to deal with the Glebelands crisis. “I did this via sms on August 18, and later the same day via WhatsApp and requested direction as to which of his team members I should report the matter to.
“About 24 hours later I received the following text message (from police): ‘Kindly report the matter to your nearest SAP station’.”
A Glebelands leader and resident said: “Most of all those who were killed after receiving threats are dead today. The police excuse for not making a breakthrough in the cases is that those who died after threats never reported the matter to the police so that the cell numbers can be traced and perpetrators arrested.”
Govender said: “Having looked at those messages I advised her to open a case at the Umbilo police station because we were not far from there. I advised her so because these were serious threats which could become a reality… With her sworn affidavit we could trace the origin of those cellphone numbers.”
* Burger is a former chairwoman of the Umbilo Action Group, whose activities focused on substance abuse and police accountability. It closed in May 2013 because of a lack of funds.
Daily News