On the record with Hugh Eiser and Brendan Boyle

This research paper presents an interview between Brendan Boyle and attorney Hugh Eiser regarding the Bapo-ba-Mogale community's struggle over platinum royalties and land rights in the North West province of South Africa. The discussion focuses on the alleged misappropriation of community funds by the North West government, the failure of the provincial government to formally recognize the community's Traditional Council, and the exploitative relationship between the community and the mining company Lonmin Plc.

• The North West government is accused of failing to account for the Bapo-ba-Mogale community's funds, which were held in a trust account known as the 'D Account'. A private audit in March 2009 showed R393 million in the account, but by 2012, virtually none of that money remained. The government allegedly failed to open separate accounts for different communities, instead pooling funds into one account, and has blocked forensic auditors appointed by the Public Protector from accessing finance department records.
• The Bapo-ba-Mogale community exists in an 'administrative vacuum' because the North West premier has refused to gazette the names of the Traditional Council members elected in January 2014. Without this official proclamation, the Council cannot legally exercise its powers. This has allowed a small group—including the Rangwane (Radikobonyana Emius Mogale), his son Vladimir, and advisor Lehlohonolo Nthontho—to seize control of community assets with the knowledge and consent of the provincial government.
• Lonmin Plc is alleged to have engaged in several fraudulent or exploitative practices regarding royalties. This includes secretly mining under the Wonderkop farm for over three years without payment until forced to admit it, and changing the royalty calculation for Eastern Platinum in October 2003, which resulted in short payments of R20 million to R30 million.
• The Bapo community was systematically marginalized in Lonmin's black economic empowerment (BEE) initiatives. Despite being promised cornerstone investor status in 2003, the community was only allowed to purchase a 2.85% stake in Incwala Resources (Pty) Ltd for R70 million. Later, Lonmin used a trust it controlled to waive the community's pre-emption rights, facilitating the acquisition of control of Incwala by Cyril Ramaphosa's Shanduka Resources in May 2010.
• Lonmin has allegedly practiced labor discrimination against the Bapo community, despite the community being the host of the Eastern Platinum Limited (EPL) and Western Platinum Limited (WPL) mines. The company is accused of recruiting labor primarily from Lesotho and the Eastern Cape while ignoring the local community.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2014). On the record with Hugh Eiser and Brendan Boyle. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SACQ49_OnTheRecord.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. On the record with Hugh Eiser and Brendan Boyle. 2014. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SACQ49_OnTheRecord.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=On the record with Hugh Eiser and Brendan Boyle |date=September 2014 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SACQ49_OnTheRecord.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2014record, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{On the record with Hugh Eiser and Brendan Boyle}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2014}, month = sep, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SACQ49_OnTheRecord.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }