Messages of condolences have poured in for the passing of Queen Khoisan SA (Cynthia Triagaardt) - married to the leader of one of South Africa’s oldest inhabitant Khoi San communities - on Friday.
According to information, King Khoisan SA had been hospitalised with serious injuries after the vehicle in which they had been travelling had a tyre burst and overturned while the couple and two other passengers were on their way from Pretoria to their home in Port Elizabeth. The incident occurred near Colesburg.
The incident follows the eviction that was ordered against King Khoisan SA and the village which have camped outside the Union Buildings, living in makeshift palace, after the government was granted an eviction order earlier this week.
Samuel van Niekerk, eldest brother of Triagaardt, confirmed the passing of his sister and the injuries of his brother-in-law.
“We received information early on Friday morning that they couldn’t do anything for my sister after the accident occurred. Earlier this morning, they were still busy trying to resuscitate King Khoisan SA. It is heartbreaking but it is the unfortunate reality now,” said Van Niekerk.
From the Gorachouqua Tribe, Neville Felix said: “This untimely incident has already claimed the life of Chief Khoisan’s wife and Chief Khoisan is in a very serious state where doctors are trying to resuscitate King Khoisan himself, a mighty tree has fallen as the Nation is convinced that we get a very clear report from the powers that be.
“The Nation will pursue this matter as it seems our lives are expendable if we raise issues about our Inalienable Rights that this quasi government continues to ignore and refuse to acknowledge the empirical truth and facts about our 372 years of oppression, genocide and discrimination against humanity and the Descendants of the First Nations Peoples.”
Elder Shaun Green said: “This is a huge attack from evil to stop our advancement in its tracks. We don’t know if it’s planned but it’s sinister.”
During November 2017, King Khoisan SA and his family walked from the Eastern Cape to Pretoria to demand that the president recognise the Khoisan people as the country’s first nation, add the language as one of the official languages, return their ancestral land, and scrap the term “coloured” as the apartheid government imposed it to categorise the Khoisan people.
King Khoisan SA has been camping outside the Union Buildings for nearly seven years as a protest to get the president to recognise the Khoi and the San as the original people.
Earlier this week, King Khoisan SA made it clear that they intend to resist removal by authorities.
On December 11, 2024, the court granted the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure an eviction order, giving the Khoisan 30 days to vacate the premises.
Since 2018, the small group of Khoisan community members had been camping in tents just metres from the towering statue of former president Nelson Mandela.
According to the eviction order, in the event the respondents do not vacate the property, the department, as the main applicant, together with the sheriff or deputy of the court or SAPS members “are authorised to demolish or remove the temporary dwelling structure erected by the respondents and the greenhouse at the Union Buildings”.