Two weeks ago, Jeff Bezos took a joyride into outer space. The richest man in the world thinks nothing of blowing millions on his personal fetish – ‘best day ever’, indeed. Like other billionaires, he has no hesitation in dressing up a colossal waste of money and scientifically useless project as his gift to the planet.

But while he was fooling around with the cosmos, his company Amazon was ploughing ahead with its commitment to destroying the Liesbeek River Valley.  To quote from Tauriq Jenkins' affidavit in our court papers for an interdict to halt the construction at the River Club, "This [land] is a nexus of our heritage, our relationship with the stars, the river, and sacred animals. It is where colonial conquest began - and where it was defeated..."

"...This is the place where the South African Astronomical Observatory, previously known as the Royal Observatory, was built on top of a mound where the early indigenous people would analyse the stars for themselves. It has a very unique genus loci. It has an uninterrupted view of that particular side of Table Mountain; Devil's Peak, and importantly, it is the only place where from the confluence of the river on the during the equinox (when days and nights are equal in length), you can see the sun sitting right on top of the lion's head. This place is known as Igamirodi !khaes, which means the place where the stars gather."

So, it’s a travesty that Jeff Bezos could commune with the stars from the edge of outer space while on earth, his company is ensuring that the stars will never be seen in the same context from the Liesbeek River Valley.

Shameful, actually.

On the OCA website, you will find a range of affidavits outlining why the stars are not Bezos’ playthings but are of critical significance in Khoi cosmology. You will also find a number of letters of support from a range of organisations, activists, professionals and scientists – all horrified to see the destruction of a sensitive environmental site that should be a heritage and environmental precinct.

We will keep you updated on progress on the legal challenge.

Please help us win this court battle.

This is the time to Make the Liesbeek Matter!

Please support us at our fundraising site .

Please follow the Liesbeek Action Campaign on twitter: @LiesbeekAction 

For more details contact info@obs.org.za