SAN leader Petrus Vaalbooi from Kgalagadi in Northern Cape visited King Khoisan SA, who’s been protesting at the Union Buildings in Tshwane since November 2018.
Khoisan SA is protesting as he wants the Khoisan to be recognised as the first people of Mzansi.
He is also demanding the Khoisan language be made an official language and for their ancestral land to be returned to them. He said they wanted the removal of the word “Coloured” from state documents and replaced with “Khoisan”.
Vaalbooi told Daily Sun he was at the Union Buildings to make a call on all Khoi and San leaders to unite at the protest.
“For us as Khoisan to come together, it’s our iniquity for people that call us whatever they call us, as others call us Coloured, Bushman, Hottentots and even South African citizens.”
He said they needed to be called according to their tribes like Nama, Griqua, San, Khoi and Korana, and needed to be treated like other indigenous languages.
“We are the original people of South Africa and we didn’t migrate from somewhere else. We were created here. This is our ancestors’ language. Our demand is simple, give us what we want, then we will move from the Union Buildings.”
King Khoisan SA said he missed home in Gqerberha, Eastern Cape and only visited to speak to the community about the protest.
“The community is supporting the initiative.” He said Vaalbooi’s visit was an honour and commitment from Northern Cape.
He said they would celebrate a fourth Christmas at the Union Buildings and it was sad that the government was not making any move to engage with them.
Acting presidential spokesman Tyrone Seale said: “Government has engaged with the grouping concerned with the fundamental proposal that this group participate in the National Khoi-San Council, which aims to unite Khoisan communities and create a platform through which they raise issues.”
He said the council embodied statutory recognition in terms of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act and inclusion of the Khoisan people in government.
