Wetland park a ‘curse’

THE world-renowned Isimangaliso Wetland Park has become a “curse” to some in the native community of Nibela, Hluhluwe, in the far north of Kwazulu-natal.

This is how the community felt about the park and its employees, who they accused of harassing and killing locals who depended on fishing for a living.

Members of the community were angry as they counted yet another victim at the hands of the park’s field rangers. They want answers to the disappearance of Thulani Mdluli, 25, after he was shot in the park, allegedly by the field rangers, on November 12.

Mduli had gone fishing with his three friends in the Tewate Wilderness Area on the eastern shores of Lake St Lucia at isimangaliso Wetland Park.

According to the statement issued by Isimangaliso, the field rangers tried to apprehend Mdluli and his friends when they were found inside the park, but Mduli apparently drew a firearm and shot at the rangers while his friends ran away.

The rangers returned fire and later saw blood in the water, which made them suspect that one poacher – probably the one with a gun – had been shot.

“He might have attempted to avert arrest by jumping into the water,” a statement said.

However, the Mdluli family disputed Isimangaliso’s version that their son had carried a gun.

The incident came as the family was still seeking justice in the murder of Thulani’s older brother, Celimpilo. He was apparently shot and killed by rangers when he had had gone fishing on the lake in November last year.

Although the community had no fishing rights, fishing was common practice among the villagers, who made a living from it, using homemade boats to go out far on to the lake using fishing nets and rods to catch fish – which they sold to street vendors in Hluhluwe and along the N2 highway.

Home-made boats could be seen scattered along the shore of the protected area spanning 280km of KZN’S coastline.

While they had been using the lake for many years, fishing without a permit became illegal at Isimangaliso when it was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999.

Zablon Mdluli, the father of the siblings, was disheartened, saying he had lost hope that his son would be found alive, and pleaded with the authorities of Isimangaliso to come clean and tell the family about his son’s fate.

The Mdluli family and relatives had come together tomourning hoping that Thulani’s body would be found.

“In this area, there are no other opportunities other than fishing. I grew up here doing it. We raised kids and sent them to school through fishing, but since the new management of the park took over it has become a curse to us.

“There are over 30 people who have been killed in this area; they get attacked for trying to make a living. There is no manufacturing factory ... we all survive through the lake. Fishing is the only thing we can do here. My son would not just disappear. I just do not understand why his body can’t be found. They were in a shallow end where water is below the knee,” he said.

The incident has caused tension among locals, who were planning a protest demanding answers. Several victims who survived attacks by field rangers shared their ordeal with the Sunday Tribune. Senzo Ndlovu, 23, was shot on the leg by rangers and had to have an operation.

Elderly women who went to the lake to collect the long grass known as incema to make mats were allegedly also harassed by field rangers.

Over the past few weeks, officials from Isimangaliso had tried to meet with the chief and community of the

Nibela Traditional Authority, but the meeting ended in chaos as the community demanded answers.

Mdluli warned that should Isimangaliso fail to return his son, the situation would escalate.

“I would not like a situation where there is unrest as a result of my sons. I only want Isimangaliso to tell me what happened to my son. People are angry and there is tension. They (Isimangaliso) found us here.

“Even if they fail to live with us they can just go and bring management that will be able to work with us,” said Mduli’s father.

Nibela Village induna Philani Ndlovu pleaded with the government to intervene as the community was threatening to go fishing by force.

“The situation is getting worse. Fishing is the only hope for young people in these areas ... We need a solution from both parties because shooting people who have gone fishing cannot continue. People are getting harassed and killed in the lake.

“Our father grew up using the same place and it is the only place where people can make a living. The chief is planning to meet the authorities of the park to find a solution,” said Ndlovu.

Frankie Twosocks, a long-time businessman in Hluhluwe, said the issue of Isimanagaliso and the community was complex and involved many issues dating back years.

“They have done nothing to uplift the community of Nibela, who only have the lake to survive. To call them poachers is an insult, knowing that they survive through fishing.

“The is no farming or industry in this area – the previous management of the park had community programmes that helped maintain peace. Many people have been killed and many are going to die here unless the management does something about the issues raised by the community,” he said.

Bheki Manzini, a spokesperson for Isimangaliso Wetland Park, said the park engaged with adjacent communities through its stakeholders engagement unit and Ezemvelo District conservation officers on various issues including illegal fishing and poaching. However, he maintained that Mdluli’s incident was not fishing-related.

“Fishermen do not carry guns but poachers do. There has never been an incident where rangers have had to defend themselves against fishermen.

“Within the park there are designated fishing areas where the community is allowed to fish. Where the shooting incident happened is not a fishing area and not open to the public. It is a wilderness area with no human activities. No humans are expected to be found in that area unless they are trespassers,” he said.

Regarding Celimpilo’s murder, Manzini said the park had met the family and held a number of meetings with the community of Nibela.

“The park is managed under various prescripts of laws, such as the Protected Areas Act, World Heritage Site etc, which are the laws of the country. It would be unfair to use the term ’terrorised’ when describing the work done by the rangers when enforcing the laws of the country and the park.

The rangers never went into the community except when chasing a poacher or someone who had trespassed in a Protected Area, he said.

“The park has been working very closely with the community to address social ills like poverty and unemployment in the communities surrounding the park, including the Nibela community. Isimangaliso has already committed to Inkosi Mdluli to introduce business and employment opportunities to the community of Nibela through government programmes.

“There are areas where people are allowed to fish – fishing is, therefore, not banned as alleged but has to be practised in a legal manner. In addition, if we are culling in a particular Protected Area, we sell meat at a cheaper rate to the surrounding community,“Manzini said.