NOW THAT IT IS OVER, LET’S TALK ABOUT OUR HOSTAGE SITUATION ...
Let me fill you in on the background to help you understand how the situation came to be. I don’t have a photo of Awelani Lodge where we stay while working in our 5 Venda Villages. But this is the view we look out on from our Chalet. It is a preserve, so there are wild animals on the property.
Therefore, the whole huge area is fenced in with a steel entrance gate that is guarded at all times.
Every night the baboons gather on top of the cliffs to ritually bask in the African sunset. It is wild, open, free and precarious in the balance of safety verses the boldness and danger of the environment. For centuries humankind and wild animals have had a fragile relationship with each other. Each
seems to keep their own measured distance.
This lodge was built by the government for the Venda Tribe...Which meant that any profit after expenses would go to the Venda people. It is beautiful, but the Venda proved to be unable to run it effectively, so, the government reclaimed it and appealed to our friends of TransFrontier Parks Destination (TFPD), Hennie and Glynn, to take over management of the property. This was highly resented by a former contractor (I will call him an alias of Ndao, to keep the characters straight), who wanted to be in charge for his own selfish gain. Then at some point he and a co-hort, with other people they incited, invaded and took over Awelani just like pirates, even though it was illegal. They
practically ruined the whole complex with their vandalism and lack of management abilities.
Finally, a court action ordered them off the property with notification that they could never go
on the property again, TFPD began managing the property, cleaning it up, repairing and
improving the entire complex.
Now fast forward two years... After getting the property usable, cleaned up and adding
features like a swimming pool and outdoor dining capability, it was now at a peak ability to
open for business. The manager won a contract with road contractors who would be repairing and building roads in the area for 2 - 3 years. So it was filled to capacity including us in a lovely, large chalet so we could manage all our inventory for various projects. So, the prime time had come for the “pirates” to invade the property and try to reclaim it. There was sabotage where electrical lines were cut, fires to damage equipment, fences torn down and threatening actions to frighten people.
A large crowd of malcontents recruited by Ndao, gathered at the front gate. They said they
were on “strike,” and were determined to keep anyone from going in or out of the property.
Under the cover of darkness, they would invade the property chopping down trees, setting
fires and creating havoc. The crowd behaved more like a mob and took on its own negative
and threatening energy. If we or the contractors approached the gate, they started yelling and
charging the gates. Obviously “mob mentality” took over reason even though the manager
had met their demands to speak to the Chief and the Headmen. Ndao, kept them aroused to
rage. So, we were unable to leave the property because of their threatening behavior and
lack of control. Thus, it was a hostage situation. The contractors were driven away and not
allowed to come back in, but the manager had several unknown ways to get people on
property and got them in the back way.
Night was the most worrisome as they could get on the property undetected, so we kept our
doors bolted and outside lights on. Our friends Nelson and Frank crossed over the fence and
through the bush to make their way in the dark to our chalet to see if we were alright. They
said it was not safe because Ndao was unstable and could cause a lot of trouble and they
would keep watch for us. The next morning the contractors left before daylight and got out to
go to work. And we managed to get out too. All of us were falling behind schedule.
After checking on all our projects and distributing our mosquito nets, we came back to the
gate. They surrounded our vehicle and began yelling. I saw Ndao leaning back on a tree
stump and got out to talk to him. I asked him is he remembered me and he said “yes.” I
asked, “What were we doing when we were with you two years ago?” He replied, “You were
giving the schools supplies, shoes for the children and clothes.” “Do you not want us to help
your children? We are not part of this argument, would you please allow us to get back in?”
He started to speak to the angry crowd, but they yelled him down. One of the big men menacingly barged up to me and threatened to hit me. CJ nearly went berserk, and started to
get out... I climbed back in our Landy and we backed away quickly and left.
At a safe distance, we called the manager and she told us to go to Masisi and the police
would escort us back. The crowd was getting louder and more hostile. When we got to
Masisi, a policeman met us, nervously told us to follow him to the police station. The police had already been on the scene, but these were their family and neighbors, and they did not want to get involved. Before we got to the police station, the army pulled up and a smart young officer asked if we were the Helping Hands People. The manager had called in the armed troops to help. The officer told us to follow them and they escorted us back to the gate. (above photo) This “no nonsense” officer got out and the crowd shrunk back. There were six soldiers armed to the teeth. When we pulled up to the gate, the crowd realized the army was there in force and parted. After we got into Awelani, the soldiers got out strapped on their bullet proof vests, slung their AK47’s over their shoulders in the site of the rioters. This quietened the rioters down and the wind went right out of their sails. The manager made beds and food available to the soldiers who stayed for two more days to ensure our safety.
Just so you know the end of the story, the Chief called for Ndao to come to him, but Ndao
knew he was furious, so hid in his home. The Chief and Ndao’s Headman took the fight out
of him and reduced him to a shivering, frightened little boy! Very soon, Ndao contacted the
manager and apologized for the trouble he caused and said he would never do it again.
TFPD had to go to court and successfully got a restraining order to keep these hot heads
away. It was like the calvary charged in at the last minute and saved the day! The Chief took
severe actions on the perpetrators and all was calm on the “African Front.”
Now the question is, who pays for all the damage, the army and police time? The rioters
caused about R2,000, 000. worth of damage. I wonder if Ndao might get a little surprise here?
Life is sort of like that, if we live with bad intentions, somehow that turns on us. Sleep well
Ndao...
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