Cape Town - Eight Khoisan members were arrested on Tuesday after damaging a concrete bench on the corner of Castle Street and St George’s Mall in Cape Town.
The bench was erected in honour of Khoisan Princess Krotoa. A group of about 12 Khoisan people claimed the City of Cape Town disrespected the princess by allowing people to sit on the bench, instead of erecting a formal statue of her.
Krotoa lived and worked in Jan van Riebeeck’s homestead and later acted as an interpreter between the Dutch colonies and the indigenous inhabitants of the Cape in the 17th century.
On Tuesday morning, the group marched through St George’s Mall to the Western Cape provincial legislature.
Western Cape Legislation Khoisan Group Secretary Tania Kleinhans-Cedras said the march was significant for them.
“We are going to rectify the ILO (International Labour Organisation) Convention 169. We are bringing life to it and our process of self destination is under way.”
She said there was much inequality in the province.
“We represent the largest Khoisan clan in the Western Cape, yet we remain the most unidentified.”
She claimed breaking the bench was not a violation and was supported by ILO Convention 169 concerning the rights of indigenous people worldwide.
“Those rights are the rights we are going to affirm with the most integrity.”
A member of the group, Phillda Moses, said all she wanted was for her people to be recognised and Krotoa acknowledged as their “queen and icon”.
“They put Nelson Mandela everywhere in this city but failed to do the same for our queen. “Khoisan people are the first people in the history of Western Cape but now they disrespect us.”
Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel André Traut confirmed that eight protesters were arrested in Wale street “for malicious damage to property and illegal gatherings”.
They will appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court soon.
Cape Argus