Mpumalanga Families to Leave Ancestral Lands as Coal Mine Expands in South Africa

On a hot Wednesday afternoon in April, 59-year-old Emily Nkosi stood next to the ruins of her mud home in Kromkrans, Mpumalanga in South Africa. Her family is one of seven to be relocated in terms of a court order, that will allow blasting to continue at the nearby Motshaotshile Colliery.

For the past six years, she has endured deafening noise and shaking from blasting from the nearby coal mine. But despite being warned about the danger, she has been hesitant to leave her ancestors' land. The warnings became a reality when the whole one side of her late grandmother’s hut collapsed during blasting in April. 

“My grandmother’s hut was destroyed just like that,” she said.

Four families who lived even closer to the mine have already been moved. Police were sent to move the families when they resisted because most have the graves of their ancestors on their homesteads. “My family arrived on this land in 1973, and I grew up here,” says Nkosi. “My late parents used to work on a farm here, but as the years went by, the mine took over. If there was another choice, I would never move from my home, leaving the graves of my ancestors,” she said.

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This story was produced with support from Internews' Earth Journalism Network. It was first published in Ground Up on May 3, 2024. It has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Banner Image: Emily Nkosi’s home was destroyed by blasting at the nearby mine / Credit: Kimberly Mutandiro.