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Two-Year Sit-In at Constitutional Court: Elderly Protesters Say G20 Overlooked Their Call for Reparations

02:35 AM, 11/25/2025
Two-Year Sit-In at Constitutional Court: Elderly Protesters Say G20 Overlooked Their Call for Reparations

The Khulumani Galela Reparation Movement has camped outside South Africa's Constitutional Court since November 2023 to demand reparations for apartheid-era abuses. Despite the Nov. 22-23 G20 meeting nearby, organisers say no official engaged with the protesters; eight original members have died and clashes in March 2024 injured elderly women. The group highlights persistent racial inequality—where the top 20% hold over 68% of income—and calls for formal redress.

Dozens of elderly campaigners from the Khulumani Galela Reparation Movement have camped at the main entrance of South Africa's Constitutional Court since November 2023, demanding reparations and recognition for abuses suffered under apartheid. They had hoped that the Nov. 22-23 G20 leaders' meeting and a concurrent "People's Summit" at Constitutional Hill would amplify their cause, but organisers say no official met them.

The group's improvised shelters—plastic sheeting, tarpaulin and cardboard—have remained on the court steps through months of protest. Organiser Nomarussia Bonase, 59, reports that eight original members have died since the sit-in began; clashes with court staff in March 2024 also left elderly women injured.

“Leaders talk about justice, climate, peace. But here at the doorstep of our Constitutional home, justice seems far to reach us,” said Bongani Nxumalo, 55, a former anti-apartheid guerrilla who says he suffers from post-conflict trauma.

Other protesters include 76-year-old Yvonne Makanya, who recounts repeated raids by apartheid security forces when she was accused of sheltering her son, and 63-year-olds Phumla Mpolweni and Danisile Mabanga, who seek repatriation of a brother's remains from Uganda and restitution after forcible removals from farmland.

Calls for Redress amid Persistent Inequality

The movement argues that the promise of full democracy after the 1994 all-race election remains unfulfilled. According to IMF figures cited by the protesters, the top 20 percent of South Africans control more than 68 percent of the country's income, while national unemployment hovers around 32 percent—far higher than the under-10 percent rate reported for white South Africans.

Protesters say court officials and political leaders have avoided engaging with them directly. “No leader has faced us,” Makanya said. “They sneak into the Constitutional Court using a back door because they cannot face us at the main entrance.”

The Khulumani Galela movement continues to press for formal reparations, official acknowledgement of past abuses and concrete steps toward economic and social redress for apartheid-era victims.

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Two-Year Sit-In at Constitutional Court: Elderly Protesters Say G20 Overlooked Their Call for Reparations - CRBC News