Geoforum 133 (2022) 128–139

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Geoforum
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/geoforum

Struggle for the sands of Xolobeni – From post-colonial environmental

A B S T R A C T

In resource-rich South Africa, natural resource extraction has been fundamental to processes of primitive accumulation, forming the bedrock of the national economy.
Accordingly, struggles for control over land and resources have been constant throughout this nation’s history. The coastal sands of Xolobeni on South Africa’s Wild
Coast, where Australia’s Mineral Commodities (MRC) and its South African subsidiary Transworld Energy and Minerals (TEM) Ltd. has set its sights on a wealth of
titanium and other minerals, is home to one such struggle. Taking an approach of narrative enquiry, this article applies an analytic lens of post-colonial environ­
mental injustice to show how the State has colluded with corporate powers to sacrifice marginal black South African communities upon an altar of development
defined by extractivism and dominated by global capitalism. Its analysis reveals the captured South African state as the leading agent of “slow violence”, and argues
that this conflict is indicative of a larger crisis of democracy. It also questions how communities who oppose mining and favour alternative forms of development, can
successfully defend land and livelihoods. Reflecting on an ongoing court battle with Shell over seismic testing off the Wild Coast, the article concludes that the State
cannot be depended upon to protect the interests of rural communities, or to deliver societal transformation, let alone decolonisation. The onus instead lies with the
strength of civil society, backed up by the protective powers of an independent South African judiciary.

1. Introduction nearly 30% of which are endemic (Smithwick, 2019). The coastal sands
of this environmentally significant region are hold a major minerals
In South Africa, natural resource extraction has long been the deposit, estimated by Australian firm Mineral Commodities Ltd (MRC)
foundation of processes of primitive accumulation (Harvey, 2003), to contain over 346 million tonnes of minerals such as ilmenite, rutile
forming the bedrock of economic activity. Accordingly, struggles for (titanium), and zircon (Mineral Commodities, n.d.a.). MRC is a major
control over land and resources have been a constant feature of this international producer of minerals, with significant exports to Asia, the
country’s history, from the first European contact by the Portuguese, USA and Europe through its 50% owned South African subsidiary,
throughout British and Dutch colonisation, apartheid and Afrikaner Mineral Sands Resources (MSR) Ltd, which operates the Tormin mine in
Nationalism, the dawn of democracy, to the post-apartheid present. The the Western Cape. MRC, together with another South African subsidiary,
area around Xolobeni 1in the Kingdom of Mpondoland on South Africa’s Transworld Energy and Minerals (TEM) Ltd. owns the prospecting rights
Wild Coast, a 300 km stretch of Indian Ocean in the Eastern Cape, is for the proposed Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project. According to the MRC,
today home to a protracted struggle over land and mineral resources. Xolobeni has a project life expectancy of 22 years, and constitutes “one
Mpondoland is bounded by the Mtamvuna River to the north (the of the largest undeveloped, high-grade mineral sands deposits in the
provincial border between the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu Natal),and to world” (Mineral Commodities, 2007:2). The project has however been
the south by the Mthatha River (Fig. 1). The Mzimvubu River further stalled due to sustained resistance by communities who maintain they
divides the region into West and East Mpondoland, the latter of which have been excluded from consultations, and have not consented for
extends to the coastline. A bio-diversity hotspot, the coast was recog­ mining to proceed, as is legally required.
nised as a Marine Protected Area in June 2004 (Mann et al., 2006). It is Only a minority of residents, most of them living inland, along with
an important habitat for over 1500 vascular plant and 138 fish species, representatives of mining companies and politicians support the

1
The site of this struggle comprises six coastal villages including Sigidi, Mtentu (or Nyavini), Mtolani (or ‘Xolobeni’), Mdatya, Bekela and Mpindweni. These
villages (four of which are shown in Fig. 1, along with 2 inland villages, Baleni and Nkondwana) sit in an area called Umgungundlovu, one of two Headmanships
within the Chieftainship of Amadiba, itself one of over 20 Chieftainships in the Kingdom of Mpondoland. ‘Xolobeni” according to ACC activists was adopted as a term
of reference by Australian mining company, MRC, to create the impression that the proposed project would only impact one village, rather than the longer stretch of
coastline that the company has set its sights on. Over time, ‘Xolobeni’ has become interchangeable in the media and academic literature with Umgungundlovu. This
paper uses ‘Xolobeni’ in this way.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.05.002
Received 3 November 2020; Received in revised form 4 March 2022; Accepted 2 May 2022
Available online 31 May 2022
0016-7185/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
H. Healy Geoforum 133 (2022) 128–139

proposed project. They argue development is needed in this area and Table 1
will create much needed employment (Bennie, 2010; Gqada, 2011; List of interviewees.
Tessaro and Kepe, 2014). The vast majority of the population, many of Location/Dates Name/Status
them coastal residents, supported by local environmental NGOs and (2021)
allies from mining-affected communities around the globe, oppose it. Sigidi / Apr. 02, Nonhle Mbuthuma / ACC Chair
They maintain the potential benefits of mining are negligible compared 2021
to the likely social, environmental and livelihood costs (Gqada, 2011; Sigidi / Apr. 04, Sulamntwana Dlamini / ACC Member, Elder and Headman
Zamchiya, 2019). These contrasting perspectives, grounded in distinct 2021
Sigidi / Apr.05, Mdumseni / ACC Member, Elder and Subheadman
visions of development, have been the source of ongoing (sometimes 2021
violent) community clashes, and increasingly, court battles. Sigidi / Apr. 09, Dick Forslund / ACC Member and husband of Nonhle
Recognising the importance of stories as tools for understanding and 2021 Mbuthuma
sharing our experience of the world (Berry, 2016), this article provides a Mdatya / Apr. 09, Lolo Mhlenghana Dlamini / ACC member & Assistant to
2021 Subheadwoman Cynthia Lunga Baleni
thorough and up to date account of an epic struggle against the impo­
Mdatya / April 09, Azola Dlamini / ACC member & daughter of Lolo Dlamini
sition of mining as “development”. In constructing this account, the 2021
author adopts a narrative approach, weaving together multiple stories Sigidi / June 15, Thombazana Mbuthuma / ACC member
around the discovery of minerals, tactics used by politicians and mining 2021
companies to gain access to them, and residents’ efforts to prevent an Sigidi / June 15, Zanele Mbuthuma / ACC member
2021
unwanted form of development. These stories come from a wide variety Sigidi / June 15, Sizwe Dlamini / ACC Member
of written and spoken sources. Secondary sources include theses, peer- 2021
reviewed articles, local and international news outlets, legal and gov­ Sigidi / June 16, Lonwabo Dlamini / ACC member
ernment policy documents, NGO and mining-industry publications. 2021
Online
First-hand narratives were also gathered during fieldwork in Umgun­
Sept.11, 2021 Elisha Kunene / Lawyer, Richard Spoor Attorneys Inc.
gundlovu in April and June 2021, and online interviews from September Dec.27, 2021 Johan Lorenzen / Lawyer, Richard Spoor Attorneys Inc.
2021 to February 2022. Semi-structured interviews were held with ACC Dec.28, 2021 Nonhle Mbuthuma / ACC Chairperson
leadership and members (including male and female, elders, adults and
youth) as well as ACC legal counsel (Table 1). Participant observation
generated further valuable insights, as the researcher took part in village Czarniawska (2009), are the construction of characters, the attribution
life, attending meetings, and facilitating a community workshop where a of functions to particular events, and the application of an interpretive
cross section of some 40 residents gathered to articulate a collective, theme. The end-product is an “ideal narrative” (Czarniawska, 2009), a
ideal vision of development. In this way it was possible to investigate the archetypical story of how the post-colonial State in South Africa has
experience of individuals, as well as “the social, cultural, and institu­ conspired with international and domestic mining companies, local
tional narratives within which individuals’ experiences are constituted, businessmen, co-opted local leadership and the police, to displace and
shaped, expressed, and enacted” (Clandinin and Rosiek, 2007: 42–43). dispossess a community that is unequivocally opposed to mining.
Narrative also forms the basis of analysis, as the significance of In constructing this narrative, this article aims to contribute to a
different stories is unravelled, the versions set against each other and deeper understanding of struggles for land and resources in contempo­
deconstructed, to create an alternative, meaningful account of events rary South Africa. It does so by applying a post-colonial lens to the
(Czarniawska, 2009). The value of the narrative lies not in its chronol­ analysis of events in Xolobeni, recognised as emblematic of “mining-
ogy of events, but in the use of “emplotment” to depict links between induced social conflict and economic and environmental injustice”
events in a meaningful way. Key to the creation of meaningfulness writes (Clarke, 2014:143). Through this framing, the article draws from well-
documented concerns over mining governance and collusive state/

Fig. 1. Map of area of Xolobeni Dunes in Eastern Cape (Adapted from SemanticScholar.com).

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H. Healy Geoforum 133 (2022) 128–139

industrial relations (Sharife and Bond, 2011, Harvey, 2014; South Af­ this study of Xolobeni illustrates, these processes are deeply systemic
rican Human Rights Commission, 2016; Leonard, 2018, 2019; Tlale, (Martin and Solomon, 2016), embedded in a network of powerful and
2020). This substantial body of work is enriched with a novel focus on corrupt international and domestic actors who “cluster[ed] around
the enabling context of legal pluralism in South Africa, and within it, the certain state organs and functions“ (Fazekas and Tóth, 2014:3 in Martin
increasing importance of the role of an independent judiciary. In and Solomon, 2016) and work to “influence policies, laws and the
expanding the post-colonial aperture in this way, the article highlights economy to benefit their private interests” (De Klerk and Solomon,
how the State has accelerated the pace of slow violence experienced by 2019: 66). Nowhere is the political influence of such networks more
rural Black South Africans, at first under colonialism, then under evident than within South Africa’s minerals energy complex, or MEC
apartheid, and now at the hands of black political and economic elites (Fine and Rustomjee, 1996; Freund, 2010), the set of highly integrated
keen to expand mining operations on land, and more recently, at sea. In industries and institutions related to mining, energy and finance that
making its analysis, the article points to a wider crisis of democracy, have developed around South Africa’s mineral resource wealth. The
raising the question of how communities can successfully defend their governance structures of the MEC are notorious for their ties with
lands and livelihoods against dispossession, when the chief aggressor is leading politicians and bureaucrats, having been described as a
none other than the State itself. ”revolving door between state and capital“ (Sharife and Bond, 2011:
Post-colonial Environmental Injustice in South Africa. 295).
The story of Xolobeni illustrates how “behind every story of envi­ These interconnected state/mining interests benefit tremendously
ronmental crisis…. is a narrative of political and social control” (Peet from the contemporary context of legal pluralism, in which various
et al., 2010: 37). In laying out its narrative, this article adopts an analytic normative orders co-exist and interact, producing governance based on
framing of post-colonial environmental injustice. Acknowledging an “dynamic, hybrid and ambivalent forms of law” (Kemerink et al., 2011:
absence of scholarly consensus on the precise meaning of ‘postcolonial’ 586). In an environment of ambivalence, elites can effectively subvert
(McEwan, 2008), the importance of distinctions between the functions goals of reform/redistribution, define conditions of access to resources,
of colonialism and settler colonialism (Veracini, 2014), and even doubt influence the content and interpretation of legislation, set standards for
over the validity of the term ‘postcolonial’ in the African context participatory decision-making processes, and frame discourses around
(Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2013), a postcolonial framing is justified on the policy and its implementation (Zwarteveen, et al. in Kemerink et al.,
grounds that colonialism and apartheid are similarly “represent[ative] 2011). In post-colonial South Africa, where international principles of
… of political and economic domination … based on racial hierarchies governance intermingle with common law and overlapping national
which favour white minorities over black majority populations” regulations, as well as customary and municipal law, public and private
(Decker, 2010:2). Colonialism and apartheid, this author maintains, sector mining protagonists have easily come to dominate development
belong to the same historic continuum that laid the foundations for decision making. The influence of common law - a legacy of British
contemporary patterns of economic production in modern, “democratic” colonialism - and the power of the judiciary, is not to be underestimated
South Africa, cementing the nation’s role as a source of mineral wealth in this conflict. In the words of Hudson (2018:1), “Law is not an acci­
for Northern global markets, in a global political economy characterised dental by-product of capitalism, nor is it a distinct social system oper­
by continued unequal North-South relations. ating in parallel to capitalist economics”. Rather, the law - and common
From this perspective, Williams and Mawdsley’s (2006:662) con­ law specifically, which relies on precedent (Barrat and Snyman, 2018) -
ceptualisation of post-colonial environmental injustice is useful, point­ is central to capitalism. It is “the means by which capitalism gets its work
ing to how much like their colonial (and in the case of South Africa, done” (Hudson, 2018:1), enabling capital to “take control of everything
apartheid-era) precursors, post-colonial states privilege “the ‘national’ it can control, …take ownership of everything that it can possibly own,
over the ‘local’, the ‘urban’ over the ‘rural’, and the ‘modern’ over the and …evolve beyond the nation state into international markets”
‘traditional’”. While these leanings are not affected without some sort of (Hudson, 2018:20).
programmatic/political “commitment to the poor and marginalized”, This point serves to highlight the truly multi-scalar (Robbins, 2004;
postcolonial states remain “consistently willing to sacrifice both the Neumann, 2009) nature of the conflict of Xolobeni as one that extends
environment and the poor to a longer-term vision of commercial growth across space and time. For just as this is narrative traces the unfolding of
and industrial modernity” (Williams and Mawdsley, 2006:662). While the power of global capital across international minerals markets, na­
these ideas are expressed in relation to post-colonial India, there are tional institutions, and local communities, it is also an instantiation of
strong parallels with the reality of today’s South Africa. The develop­ resistance to state-imposed development projects, resistance that pre-
ment paradigm established in colonial times and nurtured throughout dates apartheid, with origins in colonial times. In this regard, the con­
apartheid remains firmly intact in democratic South Africa, anchored to flict is illustrative of the workings of “slow violence“ (Carminero-San­
an economy built on natural resource extraction and augmented by tangelo, 2014:33), and how violence that is so ”dispersed across time
policy instruments such as the Mining Charter, designed to achieve so­ and space”, becomes unrecognisable as violence at all (Nixon, 2011 in
cietal transformation by “facilitate[ing] the meaningful participation of Carminero, 2014:33).
Historically Disadvantaged South Africans (HDSAs) in the mining and
minerals industry” (Department of Mineral Resources, 2010:3). In this 2. Historical, economic and institutional context
context, Bedford et al.’s (2020:486) observation, that “despite the
overlay of democratic political institutions, many of the systems and Xolobeni sits within a territory known as Mpondoland, settled in the
structures that facilitated historical exploitation of African land and 16th century by the Mpondo people, an ethnically Xhosa group (Guyot
people remain in place through state-facilitated corporate power and and Dellier, 2009). Resistance to the Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project, is
ongoing accumulation by dispossession”, is apt. in fact part of a long history of opposition to imposed development
The primary mechanism of post-colonial accumulation in South Af­ projects seen to exclude communities from decision making and
rica is arguably the enduring “integral partnership” (Fine, 2008:1) be­ threaten local livelihoods (De Wet, 2013). Beinart (1982) traces this
tween the State and international and domestic mining interests, which opposition to the 1880s when a Chief Mhlangaso opened trading re­
grants the mining sector almost unlimited influence across all levels of lations with whites. A better known example, however, lies in the
government (Leonard, 2018). Underpinning this partnership have been Mpondoland Revolts (1950–1961), a series of uprisings against the
processes of state capture, entailing a “repurposing of the country’s in­ apartheid government and its highly contested “betterment” policies (De
stitutions towards private individual interests…[whereby] public in­ Wet, 1987). A key instrument in the apartheid state’s ‘social engineer­
terest is jettisoned in favour of private material gain for select connected ing’ (Beinart, 2012) toolkit, betterment entailed the forced removal of
individuals in the private and public sector (Madonsela, 2019:113). As black families in the ‘homelands’ - the regions to which the majority of

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H. Healy Geoforum 133 (2022) 128–139

black South Africans were relocated in the 1940s to separate the races environmental protection (Tessaro and Kepe, 2014).
into centralised residential areas – along with the partitioning of resi­ For example, under the MPRDA, the Department of Mineral Re­
dential, arable and grazing land, and the culling of livestock. Crucial to sources (DMR) has custodial rights to all mineral and petroleum re­
the implementation of betterment was the state’s co-optation of tribal sources “for the benefit of all South Africans”. These rights are
authorities. This was achieved by expanding the administrative powers accompanied by obligations to promote economic growth and devel­
of chiefs and their headmen under a programme of “stabilisation’ opment, social equity and environmental sustainability. At the same
(Ntsebza, 2011). In transforming traditional leaders into agents of time, the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR)
colonial power, the regime extended its control, and thus its ability to is responsible for implementing the Interim Protection of Informal Land
suppress potential opposition (Khunou, 2009). Accordingly, the Mpon­ Rights Act of 1996 (IPILRA). IPILRA, as the name suggests, was designed
doland revolts are viewed not just as historic acts of resistance against as a temporary act at the end of apartheid to protect the tenure rights of
apartheid, but against chiefs who collaborated to deliver the develop­ black South Africans living under customary law in former ‘homeland’
ment aims of an oppressive regime (Ntsebeza, 2011). areas, on what are now referred to as communal lands. In addition, the
Episodes of opposition to state-led development projects are also Department of Water and Environmental Affairs (DWEA) has a mandate
features of a more recent past. Mpondoland residents have mounted of environmental conservation and the promotion of sustainable devel­
opposition to sugar (1985–86) and after the fall of apartheid, gumtree opment for present and future generations.
plantations (1999), both of which threatened community access to land In any context in which responsibilities overlap, and the content/
and water (De Wet, 2011; De Wet, 2013). In 1996 the Department of meaning of key regulations are left open to interpretation, decision-
Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) also faced resistance to its making processes are susceptible to domination by powerful actors.
Wild Coast National Park (Bennie, 2010). These projects were rejected This has certainly been the case with regard to mining governance, and
by communities, suspicious of the motives of the traditional leaders especially with dynamics between the DMR and the DRDLR. For
championing them (De Kadt and Larreguy, 2018), and wary of having example, under the MPDRA, the DMR is obliged to ensure that prior to
access restricted to vital natural resources upon which livelihoods the granting of mining rights, applicants notify and consult affected
depended (Guyot and Dellier, 2009). parties. Concurrently, under IPILRA, the DRDLR is bound to protect the
The importance of land and sea-based livelihoods has long been a tenure rights of peoples living on customary land. Specifically, IPILRA
focus of scholars interested in Mpondoland (Hajdu, 2009; Bennie, 2010; (1996) holds that “no person may be deprived of any informal right to
Gqada, 2011; Mahlatsi, 2018; Huizenga, 2019; Van Schalkwyk, 2019; land without his or her consent”, and any decision to deprive anyone of
Zamchiya, 2019). Yet the region has long been characterised as an area occupation and usage rights of communal land can only be taken “in
of chronic poverty and unemployment, a narrative the State promotes to accordance with the custom and usage of that community”. In principle,
justify the imposition of mining as vital to development (Department of the DMR, as custodian of the nation’s mineral resources, is required to
Mineral Resources, 2018a/b, 2020). Instrumental in this narrative are cooperate with the DRDLR, ensuring adequate processes of consultation
state-published statistics. According to the most current available data, take place (as per the MPRDA), and that consent is gained (as per
in 2016, as much as 83.6% of the population of Mbizana municipality (in IPILRA) before the granting of any mining rights.
which Xolobeni sits) lived below the poverty line, with unemployment The reality, however, is far from this ideal. As Tlale (2020:1) ob­
at 35.8 % (Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council, 2017). In serves, the DMR and mineral rights applicants, “habitually contravene”
mid-2021, official unemployment figures in the Eastern Cape sat at requirements for consultation and consent. The DMR according to
47.1% (Statistics South Africa, 2021). critics, frequently bypasses consultation processes with IPILRA benefi­
Poverty is commonly attributed by authorities to a lack of economic ciaries, instead invoking its custodial authority to grant rights. Mining
productivity and high rates of unemployment (Statistics South Africa, applicants have also been known to circumvent community consent
2017; Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council, 2021). requirements by gaining permission directly from the DRDLR, or to gain
However, research on livelihoods in the region has shown economic consent by discreetly organising meetings with traditional leaders and
productivity to be varied and even thriving, especially when informal carefully selected representatives of communities who favour mining
activities - unaccounted for in official statistics - are included. A foren­ (SAHRC, 2016; Leonard, 2018), thus creating the illusion of community
sically detailed study by Hajdu (2009:143) for example, estimated that consent while masking significant levels of community opposition.
nearly 15% of livelihood income came from informal businesses (local Although such practices violate regulatory requirements, they have
transport services and groceries), with a similar proportion from become standard in the absence of agreed norms for fair, inclusive
resource-based livelihood activities including agriculture and livestock means of obtaining community consent and carrying out consultation
rearing, marine and forest harvesting, and firewood collection. More (SAHRC, 2016).
recently, Zamchiya (2019:7) confirmed the continued significance of Outright corruption in processes for granting licenses is another area
“alternative self-sustaining land-based livelihoods”, finding they made a of concern (Creamer, 2016; Mahlangu, 2020; Masutha, 2021). A key
substantial contribution across a continuum of subsistence, market, mechanism in this regard is the Mining Charter of 2004 (amended in
wage and sale-oriented households. This diverse mix of livelihoods 2010 and 2018), and related legislation around Black Economic
means that communities in the Xolobeni area enjoy a relatively high Empowerment (BEE, since 2018, Broad-Based Socio-Economic
standard of living, contradicting State propagated myths suggesting de- Empowerment, or BBSEE). BEE was first introduced in 2003 as a strategy
agrarianisation, a lack of productivity and chronic poverty. to redress the marginal role of black South Africans in the economy. In
Set against this background of historic resistance to imposed devel­ the mining sector, these policies are intended to transform racial im­
opment and defence of subsistence livelihoods, is an institutional balances in the mine ownership, and to the socio-economic and sus­
context characterised by ambiguity, a lack of accountability/trans­ tainable development of affected communities. Accordingly, any
parency, and tension. At the national level, policy commitments to granting of a mining right depends on the inclusion of a designated BEE
economic growth, environmental protection and sustainable develop­ partner. These partners are granted a minimum percentage of shares in
ment are ambitious, embodied in the Constitution of 1996, as well as key mining projects (as of 2018, 30%), and are obliged to create employ­
pieces of legislation. These include the National Environmental Man­ ment, improve housing and services, and provide opportunities for skills
agement Act (NEMA) of 1998; the Mineral Petroleum Resources training and socio-economic advancement (Fauconnier and Mathur-
Development Act (MPRDA) of 2002; the Mining Charter (2002); and the Helm, 2008). Substantial evidence has emerged, however, showing
Protected Areas Act of 2003. In reality, this policy environment is that BEE initiatives have failed spectacularly to achieve redistributive
plagued by unclear designations of ministerial responsibility and over­ aims. Instead they have become a key mechanism of state capture, with
lapping mandates that pit economic interests against those of BEE contracts awarded overwhelmingly to firms with political

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H. Healy Geoforum 133 (2022) 128–139

connections, firms that invariably fail to channel promised benefits to CEO, Nazir Alli denied at the time that the new route was connected to
communities (Yudelowitz, 2017; Mantell, 2019). plans for mining in Xolobeni, arguing the coastal route would bring
Connected to state-corporate collusion are suspicions around law much-needed economic development to the area (Alli 2005 in Clarke
enforcement institutions. The National Prosecuting Authority has been 2014). However, opponents were not convinced, and in 2004, they
accused of being politically compromised, its officials “torn between succeed in pressuring the Minister of Environmental Affairs to overturn
[their] constitutional mandate[s] and the political imperative to deliver the project’s environmental authorisation (Clarke, 2014). Key to the
appropriate findings that could stay prosecutions” in line with wider decision was a conflict of interest, as environmental impact assessment
political objectives (Cilliers and Aucoin, 2016:17). Similar allegations (EIA) consultant Rufus Maruma, turned out to be a director of Stewart
(McKune, 2013; Citizen Reporter, 2018), have been made against the Scott International, one of the N2WCC consortium members. Upon this
South African Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (or DPCI, also revelation, the embarrassed N2WCC receded into obscurity, leaving
known as the ‘Hawks’), a special national unit set up to investigate Sanral to find a way to push the N2 and its new preferred coastal route
organised crime and high-level corruption. Further down the chain of forward (Clarke, 2014).
command, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has long been viewed In the meantime, plans to begin mining forged ahead. In March 2007,
as one of the most corrupt institutions in South Africa (Vorster, 2012), MRC’s South African subsidiary Transworld Energy and Minerals Re­
raising serious questions over police independence (Cilliers and Aucoin, sources (TEM) submitted a mining right application to the DME’s
2016). regional office in Port Elizabeth. Officially a South African company,
Exacerbating these problems are other tensions that play out closer TEM was actually 56% owned by MRC, and was first incorporated in the
to the ground. As is the case with so many former homelands, the ter­ UK in 1993 under the name Barleyway PLC, with Mark Caruso and a
ritory of Mpondoland is administered by a municipal authority, the handful of his relatives sharing directorship (Companies House, n.d.).
Mbizana Municipality, an African National Congress (ANC) stronghold Upon learning of the mining right application, the Amadiba tribal au­
since 1994, in conjunction with a system of traditional leadership made thority called a meeting, where it was decided to formally organise in
up of kings, chiefs and headmen/women. This power sharing arrange­ opposition to mining. By November 2007, the Amadiba Crisis Com­
ment is a product of South Africa’s Traditional Leadership and Gover­ mittee (ACC) had grown to 900 members (Bennie, 2010). The ACC
nance Framework Act of 2003, designed in the wake of apartheid, to opposed the application on the grounds that communities that would be
reinstate the authority of traditional leaders, integrating their powers directly affected had not been consulted. They also argued the proposed
with those of democratically elected municipal officials. Instead of site was part of a marine protected area, and therefore fell under the
restoring the authority of tribal leaders and customary law, however, National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act 57 of 2003
evidence has pointed to an eruption of local level conflict, owing to (Bennie, 2010).
unclear divisions of power and responsibilities between customary and ACC members were further animated by the fact that BEE partner,
municipal leaders (Tshehla, 2005 in Kyed and Burr, 2006). the recently established Xolobeni Empowerment Company (XolCo), had
These institutional complexities, combined with other historical and been co-founded by Patrick Caruso – Mark’s younger brother, and
economic factors, form an important backdrop to understanding the Zamile Qunya (Washinyira, 2016; Clarke, 2016b). Qunya was an ANC
story of Xolobeni today. Having set out some of the more pertinent member and former councillor in the Mbizana municipal government in
contextual details, the next section of this paper begins to weave the early 2000s. At the time XolCo was founded, Qunya had been serving
together some of the many narratives that make up this story, linking as CEO of Amadiba Adventures, a European Commission funded com­
characters and plot, and ascribing meaning to interconnected events, munity eco-tourism enterprise that had grown to thrive, winning the
thus setting the stage for their analysis through a lens of post-colonial Presidential Award for best community tourism enterprise in 2004
environmental injustice. (Bennie, 2019). By 2007 when the mining right application was sub­
mitted, it was alleged by employees of Amadiba Adventures that Qunya
3. Conflict: The struggle for the titanium sands of Xolobeni, Wild had deliberately run the company into the ground, with the aim of
Coast, Eastern Cape destroying viable economic and employment alternatives to mining
(Sole, 2019).
In 2000, Mineral Commodities Ltd. (MRC) was launched on the The 2007 mining right application was approved within a matter of
Australian Securities Exchange by entrepreneur Mark Caruso. At the months, granted by Sandile Nogxina, then Director General of the DME,
time, it was rumoured that Caruso had been promised mining rights in who also happened to own substantial tracts of land in the area (Clarke,
Xolobeni by the Department of Minerals and Energy (Clarke, 2014), and 2014). This was in spite of official objections by the Department of
provided with seed funding of around R18 million by the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs (DWEA) on grounds that MRC had
Trade and Industry (DTI) to attract further investment (Clarke 2015a). failed to address environmental concerns (Gqada, 2011). The DME,
In 2002, the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) granted pro­ however, and with no legislative basis, simply overruled this opposition,
specting rights (De Greef, 2016a,b) and by 2003, the Australian mining surreptitiously approving the application on July 14th, 2008, a fact that
house had confirmed the presence of valuable minerals such as Ilmenite, was only publicly revealed in August when TEM was listed on the South
rutile (titanium), zircon and leucoxene. (MRC, 2007). African Stock Exchange (Bennie, 2010). During the same period, Sanral,
At the same time, a parallel story was unfolding upon which the operating under the Department of Transport, quietly commissioned and
success of mining ambitions hinged. Since the 1980s, the South African submitted a new EIA, one that according to critics, was not substantially
National Roads Agency (Sanral - a state owned enterprise under the different from the previous report (CCA Environmental, 2009). In
control of the Department of Transport) had been planning a highway August 2008, with the revised EIA pending approval, the DME sent its
project to shorten the distance between Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, and then minister, Buyelwa Sonjica, with Zamile Qunya and other ANC ex­
East London in the Eastern Cape (Ellis, 2020a). By 1997, a route some ecutives to Xolobeni, to officially announce that the mining project
10 km inland from the coast, labelled the “red route”, was proposed by would proceed (Bennie, 2010; Sole, 2019). The event was described by
engineers (Lorenzen, 2020). However, in 2001, just prior to the granting Fred Kockott, a Sunday Tribune journalist in attendance as “the strangest
of prospecting rights for Xolobeni, an unsolicited bid was submitted to of meetings, and a blatant demonstration of the buying power of gov­
the DoT by a group of engineers calling themselves the N2 Wild Coast ernment, the mining industry and politicians” where “free food and a
Consortium, or N2WCC (Clarke, 2014). Under this bid, the previously full day’s entertainment, identity book registration and social welfare
proposed red route was replaced by an alternative greenfields route grants” were offered to invitees, many of whom were bussed in from
running just 3 km from the coastline, one that intersected precisely with unaffected inland communities, and some of whom were unaware that a
access roads for the proposed Xolobeni mine (Clarke, 2014). Sanral’s mining announcement was about to be made (Kockott, 2008 in Clarke,

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2014:147). Resources (MSR), the company with a 50% stake in the Tormin mine in
Also in attendance were members of the community opposed to the Western Cape.
mining. Thus despite its careful staging, the event did not run smoothly. Then in January 2015, Qunya appointed Amadiba Chief Lunga
Community members disputed Sonjica’s positive framing of the benefits Baleni as director of XolCo, an appointment the chief initially denied
mining would bring, arguing that the project would cause displacement, (Sosibo, 2015). From this point, pressure to commence the project
traffic, noise and other forms of pollution that would threaten their increased markedly. In March 2015, forged affidavits signed and stam­
subsistence livelihoods. They also rejected the Minister’s characterisa­ ped by local SAPS officers were found, claiming to show Xolobeni resi­
tion of the community as ‘poor’. By the end of the meeting Sonjica was dents’ support for the N2 (Carnie, 2015). The same month, TEM
forced to apologise to the protestors, claiming that she had been un­ submitted a new mining right application to the DMR. The application
aware of community concerns. She vowed to return to enable residents was submitted (again), without prior community consultation or con­
to express their views (Bennie, 2010). She also warned that further sent, but validated by Chief Baleni on behalf of the community
discussions would not alter the government’s position, proclaiming “I (O’Conner and Altmuner, 2021). This was followed by attempts to
will give you a chance to ask questions but, one thing is for sure, we are conduct a swift EIA. On April 6th, 2015, a group of consultants con­
going to mine” (Sunday Tribune 2008, in Bennie, 2010). tracted by MRC’s Mark Caruso, and led by Pieter Badenhorst, arrived at
In September 2008 the ACC, together with the Legal Resources the Komkhulu (translated as Great Place, the seat of power of the
Centre (LRC), launched an appeal against the EIA submitted in support Umgungundlovu tribal council) to try to conduct a ‘public participation’
of the 2007 mining right application, compulsory under NEMA for the exercise with coastal residents. The visit ended quickly, with consultants
project to proceed. The appeal argued the EIA had been a “sham” (Legal being subjected to a “hail of guavas” by community members, who
Resources Centre, 2008:12) designed to create an illusion of popular asserted that no EIA would be conducted, and that the consultants were
consent (Hallowes and Munnik, 2007). For example, of the nearly 40 not to return (Dick Forslund, April 09, 2021). Intent on gathering data
community meetings held, only two took place in or near affected for the requisite EIA, the consultants appeared again on April 29th, this
communities, and these were poorly publicised, with notices posted only time with Chief Baleni and Zamile Qunya. As soon as the group entered
in English, and in remote locations. The other meetings were held the area however, their passage was blocked by community members
inland, up to three hours away by car, where residents were known to with a hastily constructed but effective barricade (Clarke, 2015b).
support mining. (Legal Resources Centre, 2008; Bennie, 2010). The Unable to obtain the requisite EIA, the frustration of TEM and XolCo
appeal also highlighted contradictions and concerns around the role of leadership was becoming palpable. In May 2015 Zamile Qunya, his
XolCo, the project’s BEE partner. XolCo for example, was described in brother Zamokwakhe ‘Basheen’ Qunya, Chief Baleni, along with the
the EIA as a community organisation representing the people of Ama­ commander of a local police station and two other accomplices,
diba, when it was in fact a private company, and therefore not repre­ embarked on a campaign of intimidation. They visited the homes of
sentative of the community (Legal Resources Centre, 2008:40). In mining opponents, brandishing and discharging weapons. Basheen, it
addition, XolCo’s governance structures and its financial relationship to was reported, violently assaulted a 61 year-old pensioner that day,
TEM/MRC had not been disclosed. Nor had XolCo provided evidence of causing her serious injuries (De Greef, 2016a,b). Despite witness ac­
its plans for how communities would benefit from mining (Legal Re­ counts and evidence being handed over to police, no charges were laid.
sources Centre, 2008:41). There were also serious allegations of fraud However, an interdict against further violence was granted against the
circulating around XolCo, related to their use of petitions to show Qunya brothers and Chief Baleni (De Greef, 2016a,b).
community support for mining. XolCo has reported obtained signatures In September 2015, Chief Baleni was appointed co-director of TEM
by asking people to sign if they wanted electricity, and had included (Windeed, 2018). By December 2015, Duduzile Cynthia Lunga Baleni,
signatures people known to be deceased, with at least one of them a Headwoman of Mdatya village in Umgungundlovu (a relative of Chief
known anti-mining activist (Bennie, 2010; Gqada, 2011). Lunga Baleni), had become a target. An ACC member and vocal oppo­
With resistance to the project gathering momentum, MRC/TEM’s nent of mining, she was forced into hiding in the bush with her children
ambitions for Xolobeni hit a roadblock in May 2011, when Minister of after repeated threats from unknown men (De Greef, 2016a,b; Wash­
Mineral Resources Susan Shabangu reversed the mining rights that had inyira, 2016). In response, community meetings were organised to
been granted in July 2007. The reversal had nothing to do with the discuss ongoing acts of intimidation. Chief Baleni was specifically
ACC’s well-documented concerns about the legitimacy of EIA processes, invited to attend, to explain how he would protect the Headwoman, and
or deceptive practices employed by XolCo. Shabangu was in fact satis­ to give assurances of his non-involvement in these incidents, given his
fied that TEM had taken “all reasonable steps to consult with interested executive roles in XolCo and TEM. The chief did not appear however,
parties“ (Salgado, 2011). Rather, the license reversal was based on TEM and after a subsequent meeting a group of ACC members subject to a
falling to fulfil environmental regulations. She thus granted the South violent attack by a group of five men, armed with knobkerries, bush
African subsidiary 90-days to address these environmental concerns knives and a gun (South African Police Service, 2015). Of the attackers,
(Mail & Guardian, 2011). TEM failed to do so however, meaning the four were believed to have come from outside of the area, but the fifth,
mining right was not granted. Xolile Dimane was identified as an employee of the MRC’s Tormin mine,
2011 would turn out to be a better year for Sanral. In July, despite and an associate of Zamile Qunya (Washinyira, 2016). A few months
continued community opposition, the N2 Wild Coast toll highway was later, Chief Baleni announced that consultants would returning on
approved by Edna Molewa, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs February 22nd, promising that they would “enter by force” if needed,
(Bigala, 2011). Citing a decade of “consideration through government this time “to drill for water”. Suspecting another attempt to collect data
processes and public participation”, she dismissed numerous “socio- for the much-needed EIA, the community mobilised to block their entry
economic” concerns as the responsibility of the DoT, and thus irrelevant (Clarke, 2016a). However, the convoy never arrived - it was rumoured-
to the DWEA (Wildcoast, 2011). Anti-mining activists rejected the because Badenhorst had refused to comply with MRC’s “aggressive
Minister’s decision, and in 2012, the ACC together with allied organi­ methods” for gaining access to the area. This unwillingness, writes
sations filed a case to prevent the construction of the contested N2, Clarke (2016a), cost Badenhorst his contract.
marking the commencement of a lengthy legal battle and putting the The frustration of pro-mining elements soon came to a head,
project on hold (Van Schalkwyk, 2019). A relative lull in activity fol­ culminating in violence in March 2016, when ACC Chairman, Sikhosiphi
lowed, during which time MRC redoubled its efforts to access the area, ‘Bazooka’ Rhadebe, was assassinated, shot eight times outside his home
through the “sly selection and appointment of various community by killers, reportedly dressed as policemen (Washinyira, 2016). Keen to
proxies” (Ashton, 2015). In 2014, none other than Zamile Qunya was distance itself from the controversy surrounding Bazooka’s death, in
appointed Director of MRC’s South African subsidiary Mineral Sands July 2016 MRC announced it would divest from the project, and sell its

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shares to Keysha investments, a XolCo owned subsidiary (Bennie, 2019; podium, he promised that thanks to BEE legislation, the community
Clarke 2016b). Then in September 2016, the ACC opened a crucial case would be entitled to 25% of the mining deal (Bloom, 2019). At one
asking the court to prevent Minister Mantashe from granting a mining point, one of Mantashe’s ACC-disguised supporters declared “We have
right, arguing that prior community consent had not been given. As an agreed that we want mining, but a white person came and told us to
apparent concession, the same month, Minister of Mineral Resources at disagree”. The subsequent uproar saw Minister Mantashe flee as activists
the time, Mosebenzi Zwane, announced the imposition of a moratorium were treated to a hail of stun grenades discharged by uniformed police
on mining, to take effect in June 2017 (DMR, 2017). The moratorium officers (Mngadi, 2019). Shortly afterward the DMR published a media
was to last for 18 months, or until the minister”was satisfied that the statement announcing an imminent “independent survey” to establish if
community conflict and unrest had been resolved” (Davis, 2017). As the mining would proceed (Republic of South Africa, 2019a).
case against Mantashe made its way through the courts, the moratorium The DMR did not appeal the 2018 ruling in favour of the ACC’s right
was extended in August 2018 for a further two years (Bennie, 2019). The to refuse mining. Nor was the promised “independent” community
extension was regarded with suspicion by anti-mining activists however, survey conducted. Instead, the DMR appeared to step back to allow
concerned that its real objective was to allow the State and mining political developments closer to the ground to unfold, particularly in
companies to regroup, to strategise effectively over “how best to lay the relation to the N2 project. In April 2019, the courts ruled against the
ground for the titanium mining to proceed” (The WoMin Collective, ACC’s 2012 case against the highway, clearing the way for construction
2017:426). to begin (Etheridge 2019). Opponents of the highway rejected this
Then on 22 November 2018, there was a surge of hope when the ruling, insisting the SoE comply with customary law and gain commu­
ruling on the ACC’s case lodged against Mantashe in September 2016 nity consent. This consent they warned, would furthermore only be
was handed down. Judge Annali Basson affirmed the right of Amadiba granted for the construction along the original red route, 10 km inland
community members to refuse mining in the Pretoria High Court from the coast (Ellis, 2020b). Facing continued opposition, Sanral
(Fig. 2), based on the principle of free, prior and informed consent resorted to arguably underhanded tactics. In August 2019, uninvited
(FPIC) as set out under IPILRA (Watts, 2018). The ruling in favour of contractors were found installing survey pegs along the contested route
anti-mining activists was historic, not only in recognising community (Ngcukana, 2019). Residents were also aware that of an unpublicised
rights to refuse mining, but in asserting the DMR’s obligation to obtain meeting in held Mdatya village in November 202) with a small group of
full and formal community consent before the granting of mining rights pro-mining residents (Headman Sulamntwana Dlamini of Sigidi village,
on customary land. April 04, 2021). This meeting produced an illegitimate land access
Hope-inspiring as this ruling was, it did not signal the end of the agreement that was presented to, and accepted by Sanral officials
conflict in Xolobeni. In December 2018, Mantashe announced he would (Richard Spoor Attorneys, 2021), and that was subsequently challenged
appeal the November ruling, warning that the situation threatened the by ACC legal representatives (Johan Lorenzen, December 27, 2021).
government’s authority, and would have “chaotic” consequences Then in June 2021, a police-escorted convoy including N2 project
(Magubane, 2019). Lamenting “missed opportunities” to the tune of manager Craig McLachlan, the Mayor of Mbizana, and Chief Baleni
R15-18 billion, Mantashe vowed to return to the community to persuade (XolCo Director), arrived at Sigidi, attempting to convene a meeting to
members to accept mining (Bennie, 2019). The ACC and The Southern discuss impending construction plans through the village (fieldnotes,
African Faith Communities Environment Institute (SAFCEI) united to April 02, 2021). Community members however mobilised quickly
publicly declare Mantashe unwelcome, effectively banning him from the blocking the road and sending the delegates away with the message
area (Dludla, 2019). Mantashe was undeterred, issuing a press statement (again) that no discussions would be unless they were at the Komkhulu
on January 14, 2019 claiming that the community had “requested the with all concerned residents attending, in line with customary law
Minister to come back and meet with the broader community”, a claim (Nonhle Mbuthuma, April 02, 2021).
that activists refuted (Bloom, 2019). Two days later Mantashe arrived Persistent community opposition has led to ongoing threats and in­
with a coachload of mining supporters wearing ACC shirts. Taking the cidences of violence, the majority of which go unreported out of fear of

Fig. 2. Victory in 2018 for ACC at Pretoria High Court (Source: ACC).

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H. Healy Geoforum 133 (2022) 128–139

reprisals (Lonwabo Dlamini, June 16, 2021). In November 2020 Nonhle communities of Umgungundlovu, given the record of illegality, irregu­
Mbuthuma, ACC spokesperson received a death threat by text: “You are larity and conflict surrounding MRC’s Tormin operations on the Western
the next, 1. bazooka 2. sbu 3. nonhle.” “Sbu” referred to Sibusiso Mqadi, Cape (Yeld, 2019), operations that Qunya is responsible for as Director
ACC chairperson, who died earlier that month after experiencing sudden of MSR.
and severe abdominal pain (Ellis, 2020c; Thiodet, 2020). In April 2021, Also of concern is the State’s implementation of the Traditional and
Lolo Dlamini, assistant to anti-mining Headwoman Cynthia Baleni, was Khoi-San Leadership Act of 2019 (Republic of South Africa, 2019b),
attacked when she confronted a group of mining supporters over having which came into force on April 2021. Under this act, requirements for
secretly signed illegitimate access agreements for the N2. She and her community consent under IPILRA (currently the strongest tool for
daughter, a young mother, Azola Dlamini were beaten with a knobkerry tcommunities’ seeking to defend land rights) can essentially be cir­
while her children looked on. Both were left with bleeding head wounds cumvented. This is because the act empowers chiefs and their councils to
and bodily bruising by their attackers, relatives from inland in favour of make agreements with companies (state-owned or otherwise) directly,
mining (Lolo Dlamini and Azola Dlamini, April 09, 2021). provided traditional leaders deem such agreements “beneficial to the
Municipal officials have also acted in violation of customary law, community”, and hold “a prior consultation with the relevant commu­
reflecting a view of the mine, the N2 coastal highway, and other de­ nity” (Republic of South Africa, 2019b:66).
velopments as a fait accompli. As part of the town’s Integrated Devel­ Meanwhile another threat has appeared on the horizon, this one,
opment Planning (IDP) processes, a draft Local Spatial Development directed at the Wild Coast seabed. The perpetrators are Shell South Af­
Plan (LSDP) for Mzamba was prepared by officials (Mbizana Munici­ rica, and its BEE partner Thebe investments, which is 51% owned by the
pality, n.d.a). It was discovered in June 2021 by ACC lawyers to contain ANC’s very own Batho-Batho Trust (Avery, 2021). On October 29, 2021,
implicit reference to the coastal N2 route, and plans for the construction Shell announced plans to begin seismic testing off the Wild Coast from
of a conference centre, tourism resorts, and open cast mining, all on December 01, 2021, leading to widespread civil society mobilisation
customary land. The Draft Integrated Development Plan for Mbizana across the continent, and globally. Two urgent applications for interdicts
2021–2022 refers to the new N2 highway as well, but also points to were sent to the Eastern Cape High Court to stop the seismic testing. The
unpublicised plans to develop a so-called “smart city” declaring an first of these was submitted on November 29th, 2021, by a coalition of
“intension [sic] of promulgating a town along the coast” (Mbizana organisations including Natural Justice, Greenpeace Africa, the Deep
Municipality, n.d.b: 140). Communities are entitled to participate in Sea Angling Association, and Kei Mouth Ski Boat Club. Key to their
these processes as a means of “identifying their most important needs” position were arguments that seismic testing would negatively impact
(Education and Training Unit, n.d.), yet coastal residents opposed to the marine life, and that proposed mitigation measures were inadequate
proposed N2 and mining projects insist they were not made aware of (Natural Justice, 2021). On December 03, 2021, Judge Govinjee rejected
LSDP meetings held by the municipality (Subheadman Mdumseni, April this application. In delivering his decision he stated the applicants’
05, 2021; Sizwe Dlamini, June 15, 2021; Thankokazi Dlamini, June 14, claims around the detrimental impacts of seismic testing were “specu­
2021; Zanele Mbuthuma, June 15, 2021). As Thombazana Mbuthuma, lative at best” in comparison to the millions of dollars that Shell was
Sigidi resident offered, “No one in government asks us what we want or likely to lose if an interdict were granted (Govinjee, 2021: 15–16). Citing
need. We need development. We need water. We need electricity. We the precedent of Webster v Mitchell, 1948, he declared “if there is greater
need help with farming equipment and local access roads to get to town. possible prejudice to the respondent, an interim interdict will be
We don’t need or want mining or the N2” (June 15, 2021). Having refused” (Govinjee, 2021:7).
scrutinised the draft LSDP, the ACC is now challenging its legality The second interdict application was filed on December 02, 2021 by
through their lawyers, asserting it was produced under flawed processes mainly small scale, customary fishing communities including the Ama­
without broad community consultation, in violation of the Municipal diba, Dwesa-Cwebe, Port St Johns and Kei Mouth. This application
Systems Act (Amadiba Crisis Committee, 2021a). focused on Shell’s failure to engage with local communities (Sustaining
Despite ongoing protestations, State officials continue to create an the Wild Coast et al. vs Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy et al.,
illusion of consent. In September 2021 Babalo Madikizela, Member of 2021), arguing consultative processes from the outset were exclusionary
the Executive Council for Public Works in the Eastern Cape, came to and dismissive of customary beliefs and practices, thus Shell’s
Sigidi to hold a “community vote” on whether the N2 coastal route commencement of seismic testing was in violation of the MPRDA. There
should go ahead. Flanked by XolCo Director Chief Baleni, and Sanral N2 were also detailed affidavits by at least 10 reputable marine scientists,
project manager Craig McLachlan, and surrounded by armed police and testifying to the likelihood of irreparable harm from seismic testing. This
ambulances, Madikizela began proceedings by repeating the frequently application succeeded where the first had not, and on December 28th,
heard denial that the N2 had nothing to do with mining. The atmosphere Judge Gerald Bloem handed down an historic ruling in favour of
was reminiscent of Minister Sonjica’s visit in 2008. Buses had brought in customary rights (Crouth and Sgqolana, 2021), ordering the cessation of
large numbers of residents from inland communities who were provided seismic testing until the courts could determine whether Shell required
with food and alcohol. Some were unaware of why they had been further environment authorisation. The ruling (Bloem, 2021) was not
invited, while others were told they had been brought to a celebration only a damning indictment of Shell’s consultative/consent-gaining
welcoming the road. When organisers tried to commence ‘voting’, ACC processes, but of the regulatory failures of the DMR, and of Minister
members were prevented from taking part, blocked by a police barricade Gwede Mantashe’s bias in particular. The ruling also set important
(Elisha Kunene, September 11, 2021). Tensions mounted, until the precedents, invoking the importance of the precautionary principle
voting exercise was abandoned. According to witnesses, Madikizela under NEMA, and crucially, privileging the constitutional rights of
simply pointed to his business and political supporters, declaring “We communities over those of Shell. In Judge Bloem’s opinion, Shell’s
have the majority”, adding that at any rate, “the government has already dismissal of communities’ cultural and spiritual views constituted an
decided to build the N2 through the coastal villages” (Amadiba Crisis attack on constitutional rights, the breach of which “threaten[ed] the
Committee, 2021b). livelihoods and well-being of the applicant communities as well as their
MRC since then has gone relatively quiet. The Australian mining firm cultural practices and spiritual beliefs” (Bloem, 2021:36). Their prac­
has ceased in its attempts to conduct an EIA. Nor however, has it fol­ tices and beliefs, he declared, “must be respected and where conduct
lowed through on its 2016 pledge to divest its shares in the Xolobeni offends those practices and beliefs and impacts negatively on the envi­
project (Mineral Commodities, n.d.). Such an eventuality seems highly ronment, the courts have a duty to step in and protect those who are
unlikely, given the amount of money invested so far, and its appoint­ offended, and the environment” (Bloem, 2021: 17–18).
ment in May 2021 of Zamile Qunya as a non-executive director of the This legal battle is far from over. On February 17, 2022, the High
MRC (MRC 2021). This is a decision that does not bode well for the Court denied Shell the opportunity to appeal the interim interdict

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H. Healy Geoforum 133 (2022) 128–139

(Thaw, 2022). The second part of the application, requesting that retrospective, and wherever one stands on the continent of Africa, the
exploration rights be taken away entirely on grounds that they were view is overwhelmingly one of (post)colonialism and continued pro­
unlawfully granted, as of March 2022. had yet to be heard. If the com­ cesses of accumulation and dispossession. The extent to which the
munity loses, the community will be unable to stop seismic testing from judiciary can be relied upon to uphold constitutionally enshrined rights
recommencing. Should this scenario materialise the community and its is moreover threatened by a trend of declining remuneration and ben­
vast network of allies will mobilise to ensure exploration does not lead to efits paid to judges, which have seen a net decrease since 2020 (Maki­
extraction. Conversely, if the community wins its final interdict, Shell nana, 2020; Naidoo and Mafora, 2021). This situation has opened
will likely appeal. A win for Shell in this case would open the way for prospects for “financial enticement” and the seeking of opportunities
seismic testing as described above. If Shell were to lose an appeal that ultimately expose judges to “conflicts of interest and partiality in
however, there is nothing to stop the company from submitting a new adjudication” (Naidoo and Mafora, 2021), putting judicial indepen­
mining right application, this time accompanied by an EIA. If this hap­ dence at risk.
pens, a challenge for activists will be one of closely scrutinising, and Should the courts continue to favour the rights of communities,
possibly contesting EIA processes, the results of which, in the continued concerns about the independence of the South African judiciary could
absence of agreed standards for ‘meaningful’ consultation, would likely dissipate. More importantly, the courts could play a major role in efforts
be rubberstamped by the DMR. The number of potential legal twists and to decolonise development in South Africa. In the shorter term however,
turns going forward are almost limitless, and difficult to predict. For the onus seems to lie with the formidable power of organised civil so­
now however, Wild Coast residents are celebrating their recent court ciety. If the Amadiba Crisis Committee and their vast network of sup­
victories, and the implications for future efforts to protect Xolobeni. porters can build and amplify a case against extractivism, one based on
principles of social justice and backed up with evidence of the feasibility
4. Discussion and conclusions of greener options for economic productivity such as small-scale agri­
culture, ecotourism, and green energy production, they stand a strong
The story of Xolobeni illustrates how “behind every story of envi­ chance of convincing the court of public opinion that an alternative
ronmental crisis…. is a narrative of political and social control” (Peet, development paradigm is not only possible, but ultimately more desir­
Robbins, and Watts, 2010: 37). The narrative laid out here depicts how able. With the backing of the majority of South African citizens, it may
the South African State, a willing captor of domestic and global mining then become possible to push the State onto a more transformative,
interests, has evolved into a major perpetrator of post-colonial envi­ equitable and environmentally sustainable development path.
ronmental injustice. Facilitated by a context of legal pluralism and What is clear, is that nearly thirty years after the fall of apartheid,
ambiguous policy, government officials have colluded with interna­ “real development“, built on ”processes that create opportunities that
tional and domestic mining companies to try to gain access to mineral enable ordinary rural people to influence development decisions that
wealth on customary land, in violation of constitutional commitments to affect their lives“ (De Wet, 2013:15) remains elusive. Since the transi­
rural black South Africans. Fundamental to this collusion have been tion to democracy, the South African state has demonstrated an over­
illegitimate actions taken by the DMR as custodian of the country’s whelming lack of political will to shift to a more progressive, sustainable
mineral wealth; a persistent narrow framing by politicians and industry and just development paradigm, preferring instead to remain on a post-
leaders of ‘development’ as dependent on mining; joint efforts by public colonial trajectory of urbanisation, industrial growth and mineral
and private sector actors to either ignore, selectively interpret, or in­ extraction by international corporations for global markets. Seen in this
fluence legislation governing the granting of mining rights; an absence light, it is highly unlikely that the current South African government has
of accepted standards of participation / community engagement in the capacity for genuine transformation. If development is to be
decision-making; and just as under colonial/apartheid times, the co- decolonised in South Africa, it will be in spite of, rather than a result of,
optation of traditional leaders as a means of pushing through con­ State efforts.
tested ‘development’ initiatives. The cumulative effect of these machi­
nations has been to keep the State firmly on its inherited extractivist CRediT authorship contribution statement
development trajectory, at the expense of local, rural, traditional, and
ultimately more sustainable ways of living. Hali Healy: Data curation, Investigation, Writing – original draft.
Equally disconcerting is the State’s preparedness to violate citizens’
constitutionally guaranteed rights to pursue sustainable development Declaration of Competing Interest
and to access natural resources. That anti-mining activism in South Af­
rica is coming under increasing pressure, has been widely documented, The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
illustrating how incidents of harassment, intimidation and violence, interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
often at the hands of the national police, are on the rise (GroundWork the work reported in this paper.
et al., 2019). Since the murder of ACC Chairman Sikhosiphi Bazooka
Rhadebe, not a single arrest has been made, with numerous allegations
Acknowledgements
made of police involvement in the killing, and of deliberate efforts by the
Hawks to sabotage the investigation (Ntongana, 2018; Mhkonza, 2018).
The author wishes to acknowledge funding assistance from the
In ignoring and even orchestrating violations of the rights of environ­
University of Johannesburg’s University Research Committee. Thanks
mental defenders, the State has become the leading agent of “slow
also to the communities of Xolobeni, everyone in the Mbuthuma
violence” (Carminero-Santangelo, 2014), and has ultimately accelerated
homestead, and to Lonwabo Dlamini, for his invaluable assistance as
its pace.
interpreter and guide. I also wish to express my gratitude to Dick For­
Seen in this light, this struggle for the sands of Xolobeni is repre­
slund from the Alternative Information & Development Centre, Elisha
sentative of a larger crisis of democracy that afflicts contemporary South
Kunene, Zolile Shude and Johan Lorenzen of Richard Spoor Inc., and
Africa (Brooks, Ngwane, and Runciman, 2020). Such a reality raises the
Prof. Peter Falvey, for their repeated and helpful reviews of, and com­
question of how, and even whether, communities determined to pursue
ments on this article.
genuinely sustainable development alternatives, can defend land and
livelihoods against powerful, colluding interests. In this context, the
References
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rights and principles of environmental justice is increasingly vital. The Amadiba Crisis Committee, 2021a. Submission on Draft SDF 2021 Mbizana. Winnie
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H. Healy Geoforum 133 (2022) 128–139

Amadiba Crisis Committee, 2021b. Facebook page, 11 September. Available at https Decker, S., 2010. Postcolonial transitions in Africa: decolonization in West Africa and
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