“There was a gravesite on the farm, but it was never a secret; everyone knew where it was. As children, the place was off-limits to us and I am not sure if it was where the prisoners were buried or just people who lived nearby. It is not some gruesome trove of bodies; everyone there knew about it.
Lindsay told the publication the farm was not a prison camp and many of the prisoners who worked on the farm were petty criminals, not political prisoners.
“My father once told me that he and my grandfather would pick up the prisoners in a truck and some of them were hell-bent on escaping. The moment the truck would stop at an intersection, some of the men would leap off the back and make a run for it. They were never shackled or chained,” he said.
“All I can say is what was relayed to me by my father. Sadly, the only ones who can really recount any proper details about what the situation was on the farm are not with us anymore.”
Lindsay also spoke fondly of the contribution his grandfather made to the community.
“My grandfather was a giving man and he was well respected in the community. Even after I had taken over the farm during the heaviest of faction fighting in the eighties, he would feed and house people who were displaced by the political violence. When these families fled the fighting, they would come to us. My grandfather would even go and fetch them in a truck,” he said.
The grave site was discovered at a sugar cane farm near Dududu, on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal last year. Provincial government has since urged for restraint when reporting on the issue.
“It was concluded that this was an extremely sensitive matter, given the unfortunate history of our country. In this regard, all due care and consideration of any potential publicity this matter would attract, was considered,” said Provincial government spokesperson Thamsanqa Ngwenya.
Image from facebook.
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