Frank Maponya

A rural mayor has been living in fear of her life over the renaming of a town since threatening calls started in 2006.

"At one stage I woke up to find blood had been poured on my doorstep," Makhado mayor Gloria Mashaba said. "I reported the matter to the police. No one has been arrested."

On Thursday she was told her days were numbered.

"Before that call last week I woke up to find pamphlets scattered all over my yard threatening me and my family. I'm not taking this matter lightly," Mashaba said.

She said the threats started shortly after her appointment as mayor in March 2006, but she had not reported them to police.

"Last year I received a voice mail from a white woman who referred to me as a k****r and threatened me unless I stopped the process of renaming the town (Louis Trichardt) Makhado," she said.

She said she was also chased by two cars in two separate incidents but they could not be traced because they had false number plates.

The supreme court of appeal in Bloemfontein has ordered the municipality to further consult the towns' people before making a final decision.

Mashaba believes the threats have been instigated by whites and some officials in the municipality.