30/05/2012
In a chilling echo of apartheid-style governance, the City Council of Johannesburg through the Johannesburg Zoo announced that Nyanga the White Lioness was moved to a Free State Sanctuary called Four Paws on Monday.
Johannesburg City Council , who technically ‘own’ the White Lioness, were required to follow due process in placing her in the best sanctuary circumstances, after they finally agreed to spare her life.
However, despite numerous appeals from local community members of the Acornhoek area in the greater Timbavati region, the Johannesburg City Council’s team failed to address a valuable opportunity to reclaim enriching cultural heritage that has been decimated since apartheid years in this area, declared a Presidential Poverty Node.
Numerous appeals in support of the community-conservation organisation Global White Lion Protection Trust (WLT) and requests to bring her home to her ancestral homelands at the instruction of Sangomas and Ancestors, were sent to the Johannesburg City Council, informing them of Nyanga’s cultural, spiritual and familial status in Tsonga and Sepedi culture.
Harmony Khosa, author of the ignored letter and youtube clip to the Johannesburg City Council, said: ”I am saddened and confused about the Mayor not coming back to me – the community are still waiting for a response. I would have liked the Council to inform us of every move they made about where she goes, and to respond to our letters - and not to hide the reasons for what they are doing.
“The white lions are special and sacred animals to our culture, and we treat them as our brothers and sisters. For them to be removed from their original region, it’s like taking our belief and spiritual powers away from us. With this situation that’s going on, it’s taking our strength out of us. We were hoping that she would come and give us the power and knowledge back to our culture and people in the community. My aunt, Maria Khosa, Lion Queen of Timbavati, gave Linda Tucker the title of “Keeper of the White Lions” and we are working with her to bring Nyanga home.”
The Global White Lion Protection Trust is the only organisation world-wide that has re-introduced White Lions of high genetic pedigree back into their natural ancestral homelands of the Greater Timbavati region, north of Acornhoek. Now this opportunity has been denied Nyanga.
The controversial move happened whilst Johannesburg City Council was in conversation with Linda Tucker, whose Global White Lion Protection Trust has been campaigning for the protection of South Africa’s White Lions since 2002. The WLT registered a Formal Complaint on 21 May 2012, regarding the absence of due process in selecting an appropriate sanctuary for Nyanga, and calling for a judicial review.
Over a period of several months, Johannesburg City Councillor Vondo’s and Mayor Parks Tau’s offices repeatedly failed to respond to letters, phone calls and offers to engage in the panel convened to make the decision. It even refused to provide an address for more than 15 000 letters and petitions demanding her safe-return to her ancestral and spiritual homelands, and the prohibition of South Africa’s abhorred captive lion trophy hunting practices, otherwise known as “Captive Animal Slaughter”.
Linda Tucker said: “We are incredibly disappointed that once again, our administration has failed to play a leadership role in the reclamation of conservation and cultural heritage that has all but been destroyed by South Africa’s trophy and canned hunting industries, captive breeding programs and mercantile trade in wildlife held sacred by African communities. Jo’burg City Council has squandered a valuable opportunity to act on behalf of the disadvantaged, disenfranchised communities of Limpopo/Mpumulanga Provinces, by making high-handed deals behind closed doors. The lack of transparency and blatant cover-ups are a sad testament to corruption and vested interests that are becoming deeply entrenched in governance and have been allowed to relentlessly benefit by raiding our precious national resources. It’s a sad day for animal and human rights. ”
