Dumpsite to sanctuary: The sacred mountain of Mamelodi restored

Before Ephraim Cebisa Mabenaembarked on his mission, the area had become an illegal dumpsite, a cesspool of murder and rape, a chop-shop for stolen cars and a hideaway for drug abusers

- Sheree Bega

When a desecrated portion of the ancient Magaliesberg that rises above the township of Mamelodi was weeping, Ephraim Cebisa Mabena heard its cries.

That was 24 years ago and the traditional health practitioner has spent his days since working to restore and heal the mountain, which had become a killing and dumping ground.

After all, it is the mountain that serves as the "shoulders of Mamelodi" where "you can see the tears of joy and of sorrow of Mamelodians", he said.

Guided by the instructions of his ancestral spirits, Mabena was directed to the notorious piece of land on the mountain, west of Mamelodi, "It was a criminal haven," he recalled.

"I saw the tears of the mountain for the first time in 2001," said the lean and wiry 66-year-old, his neck adorned with traditional beads, who was wearing pants ripped with holes, a testament to his laborious work.

"Out of thousands Mamelodians, I was the one who could see the tears of this mountain.

I'm the only person who wore his boots and came to the mountain and said: 'I am sorry."" of During the 1970s and 1980s, the mountain had served as a hideout for political activists such as Mabena, a former operative of the ANC's military wing uMkhonto weSizwe, who were on the run from the apartheid authorities.

It later turned into a place of torture when the security police started to use it as an interrogation site for captured activists.

The panoramic view of Mamelodi that it provided became an observation point for security forces to monitor activists and events in the township.