FURIOUS villagers set fire to their community leaders’ property on Sunday afternoon.
The residents of Seuwe Village outside Burgersfort in Limpopo were angry about sharing profits from a chrome mine the community partly owns.
During the chaos the chief’s kraal and his house, tribal offices and a headman’s house were torched. Two cars were also set alight.
After the incident, Chief Bethuel Mohlala and the other victims had to temporarily flee the village for their own safety.
A community member said: “The community owns 50% of the mine, but only a few are benefiting.”
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nneke Ledwaba condemned the public violence.
Johan Theron, spokesman for Impala Platinum, said the problem started six months ago when the price of chrome went down.
“The community owns 9% of the mine and a few years ago we created a separate company which is a chrome extraction facility. The community owns a 50% share in that company.”
He said community members elected their own representative and there had been complaints about the sharing of profits for the past six months.
“The Department of Minerals and Energy in the province is helping to resolve the matter.”