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Rural residents in KwaZulu-Natal have scored another legal victory against the Johannesburg-based Tendele coal mining company, winning an interim court interdict that compels the company to cease bulldozing community land with immediate effect.
Residents allege Tendele is acting unlawfully and appears to be breaching the spirit of previous undertakings to hold off on any ‘mining or related activities’ until a court case has been resolved.
The Tendele coal mining company has failed to comply with the legal requirements for relocating nearly 200 families while opening new coal mines in KZN.
Arguing that it may be forced to close down, Tendele Coal Mining has denied that traditional leaders were intimidating the local community in an effort to bulldoze an easy mining path for the company.
‘Tendele acts as if it can do anything it wants in our community … It is as if our lives do not matter. We are merely dots on a map to be told, and not asked.’ — Israel Nkosi, resident of the Emalahleni area in rural KwaZulu-Natal.