Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

They were once among the most feared soldiers in southern Africa. Now they have been reduced to living a hand-to-mouth existence in the dusty streets of a forgotten mining town in the North West province.

The former 32 Battalion soldiers were moved to Pomfret when the former government had no more use for them.

South African Defence Force (SADF) generals promised to look after them, but the new government is set on relocating them from the only home they have known for more than a decade.

While some have “voluntarily” left the town, the bulk are refusing to go.

But the government is reportedly making their lives miserable by cutting them off from all basic services, and demolishing the homes of those who have already left.

Pretoria lawyer Adriaan Vorster is set on fighting for their rights.

Although the Pretoria high court earlier issued an interim interdict prohibiting the SADF from forcefully relocating these people, the order was lifted a week later and the matter was removed from the roll on a technical point.

Vorster has given notice to 21 government bodies, including various ministers – of his intention to approach the Mafikeng high court for an order to protect the rights of the people of Pomfret.

The case will be placed on the normal court roll, but Vorster said he would file an urgent application if government persisted in “driving” the people out of Pomfret.

Vorster will ask that government be ordered to stop the “unlawful” relocation of the civilian population of Pomfret.

He will also ask that government be ordered to reinstate the water supply to the households, repair the sewerage network, and restore basic health care service to the little town.

Other orders will include that government restore basic welfare services, effective policing and security services and normalise the administration of the town.

Vorster will also ask that government submit a report to court within a month of the order being issued regarding the functioning of these services.

Comprised mostly of Angolans, 32 Battalion built up a formidable reputation and the SADF came to rely on them. They were mainly deployed in southern Angola, acting as a buffer between the SADF’s regular forces and its enemies.

The unit was used to assist the Angolan anti-communist movement, Unita. When Namibia gained independence in 1989 the SA army withdrew and the 32 Battalion had to move.

They were given SA citizenship by the SADF and settled in Pomfret – an old asbestos mine. The SADF had the mine rehabilitated and built a base and houses.

They had just settled in when they were called to duty to quell faction fights between the ANC and IFP in the early 90s.

Local school principal Domingos Sebastiao, said in a statement filed in the latest application that working in the townships on the orders of their National Party bosses sounded the death knell for 32 Battalion.

“They were soon to be part of what became known as apartheid’s destabilising Third Force,” he said.

Sebastiao said not surprisingly the incoming ANC government wanted the unit disbanded, as it was in March 1993.

Soon after this the defence force withdrew from Pomfret, leaving a community of ill-adjusted, isolated civilians to fend for themselves. For more than a decade the veterans and their families have been relying on each other and social grants.

In January 2005 General Bobo Moerane from the then SANDF arrived in Pomfret and told the residents they would be moved and the town demolished.

The reason given was asbestos contamination.

Sebastiao said Moerane would not answer questions and insisted that the decision had been taken by cabinet, and he had the backing of the police and the military.

“Moerane said it was time for the community of Pomfret to go out and experience the suffering of their fellow South African people. He reportedly said they would leave Pomfret and ‘go out and find their coffins’.”

The community has refused to budge, arguing that they would leave their members – especially the old and disabled – vulnerable. Many lost their families between 1961 to 2002 when Angola was in a state of civil war. Pomfret is a close-knit community where the people look out for each other.

Sebastiao said things deteriorated from 2005 as service delivery was scaled down, even the police station and local clinic closed and the water deteriorated.

The community appealed to the Human Rights Commission, the Red Cross and the SA Council of Churches for help. So far they have received nothing.

The former soldiers believe their “forced” relocation has nothing to do with asbestos contamination, but a political decision following the “unpopular work they did in the townships in the early 90s and because government perceived Pomfret as a cesspool of mercenary activity”, Sebastiao said.

Meanwhile, armed forces have moved into the town and the community says it feels under siege. Sebastiao said government was terrorising the community, to prompt more people to leave.

Sebastiao said as soon as someone left, government agencies moved in and broke down their homes.

“For government to make such a mockery of the rule of law is a travesty which should be remedied without delay,” he said.