9/2/077/0014

The Bulhoek Massacre stands as the worst massacre by state security forces inone day on a single event in South Africa. A total number of 181 people were killed and100 were wounded. Therefore, the mass grave and the grave of Enoch Mgijima inNtabelanga are reminders of not just the people of Bulhoek’s struggle againstconsequences of systems imposed by the colonial government, but are an embodimentof the wider struggle of the people of South Africa against both colonialism andapartheid. The brutality of the state knew no boundaries as even those gathered in thename of religion were subjected to the same fate that befell those who politicallyopposed both systems. Mgijima’s role therefore highlights the contribution of religiousleaders in opposing social injustice.Land dispossession of Africans, taxes and natural disasters had overtime buildresentment against the colonial government. Therefore, Mgijima and the Israelites’settlement at Ntabelanga was in essence a search for a different social dispensationwhose authority rested not on the oppressive colonial government but a divine one.When ordered to vacate the place of their settlement by the government Charles Mgijima(Enoch’s brother) retorted, “God sent us to this place. We will let you know when it isnecessary for us to leave.” This open defiance was clearly perceived as threat by thestate which then used brutal force to dislodge the Israelites culminating in the massacre.