Also see:
- Freedom of Expression Institute Letter to City Manager Mike Sutcliffe
- Daily News article
- Mercury article
-
Steph Lane s Blogg (Scroll down for pictures and more links)
A Memorandum of Demands
Monday, 27 February, 2006We the shackdwellers of Durban, democrats and loyal citizens of the Republic
of South Africa, note that this country is rich because of the theft of our
land and because of our work in the farms, mines, factories, kitchens and
laundries of the rich. We can not and will not continue to suffer the way
that we do. Our voices cannot be stifled. Today, like every day, we braved
heat, hunger, thirst, exhaustion and police repression. Today, we had our
day in court. Today, we won a recognition of our right to speak. Today we
march on the city because today we stand up for our right not only to speak,
but to live, to breathe, to eat, to sleep and to work in dignity and safety.Today, we demand adequate land and housing to live in safety, health and
dignity.Today, we demand the creation of well-paying and dignified jobs.
Today, we demand the writing-off of all rental arrears.
Today, we demand participation in genuinely democratic processes of
consultation and citizenship.Today, we demand safe and secure environments in which we can work, play and
live.Today, we fight HIV/AIDS and today we demand well-resourced and staffed
health facilities.Today our children are in danger, and today we demand attention to the needs
of our communities youth.Today we cannot afford electricity, and today demand that these services be
made free for the poor.Today we suffer without toilets or water, and today we demand our rights.
Today, people from around the city and the country are uniting in support of
our struggle we express our support for our comrades elsewhere. We have
stood with, and will continue to stand with our comrades in Chatsworth,
Crossmoor, Marianridge, Merebank , Shallcross, Emandeni, Clarewood, and
Wentworth in their fight against the eThekwini Municipality s attempts to
evict them from their municipal flats. We will also continue to stand with
the people of South Durban in their struggle against environmental racism;
with poor students facing exclusion from technikons and universities and
with comrades all over the country fighting for land, housing, work,
education, healthcare, safety and democratic development. We affirm that
their struggle to resist eviction from their homes and to win basic services
is just. We stand with them against the repression of their legitimate
struggle.Today, we demand answers. We have approached the municipality on many
occasions, and have been promised the earth. Yet still we have no land. The
municipality says it will house us. We demand to know when. We demand to
know where. We demand to know how many houses. We demand to know who will be
resettled. We demand all this today.Today, we have fought and won. Today we beat Mike Sutcliffe. Today Obed
Mlaba tried to silence us and we would not go quietly. Today the police tied
us up, and we broke free. Today, and every day, until the government acts,
we will raise our voices for the poor, and we will fight for justice.Handed over by:______________________ on __________________ at
____________
Signature:_________________________
Received by:________________________
Signature:___________________________
TO FOLLOW UP PLEASE CONTACT: Mr. S bu Zikode on 0835470474; Philani Zungu
0729629312; Fikile Nkosi 0842501446; Mnikelo Ndanbankulu 0735656241; Thandi
Khambule 0720979136; Moses Mncwango 0762250260, Chazumuzi Ngcobo 0722796588,
M du Hlongwa 0723358966, Mnu Lungisani Jama 0737634967***************************************
Excerpt from Thought On the Ground, Running – Available at the archive of academic work on this site.
On 13 January 2006 the National Intelligence Agency phoned S’bu Zikode to inform him that S’bu Ndebele, the provincial premier would be hosting a rally at Kennedy Road and warning him that he would be held personally responsible if things went wrong. The next morning riot police, under the command of Glen Nayagar and accompanied by Yakoob Baig, occupied the settlement. Shack dwellers in ANC t-shirts were then bussed in from settlements elsewhere in the city. They had not been told where the rally would be and many were angry when they arrived in Kennedy Road and realised that they were being used to stage a faked media spectacle of ANC support. Nayagar demanded that the Abahlali unlock the hall or face arrest. They refused. There was a tense stand off between the police and Abahlali with increasingly fruitful conversations between Kennedy Road residents and many of the people bused in to simulate them for the cameras. Eventually the police gave up and left. Ndebele, who had been waiting in nearby Sydenham to make the appearance of a triumphant entrance, kept away.
A month later Abahlali baseMjondolo was invited, in writing, to send one panellist and 60 supporters to take part in a debate on the popular TV talk show Asikhulume to be filmed live in Cato Manor. The same invitation had been extended to the ANC, IFP and NADECO. The Abahlali arrived to find the police stationed at the doors to the hall. People wearing black and white political party t-shirts, all emblazoned with the faces of the various party leaders, were waved through while the Abahlali, conspicuous in their red shirts demanding land and housing and refusing to vote were, to a person, denied entrance to the hall. When S’bu Zikode showed the police his written invitation to appear as a panellist they singled him out for assault before tear gassing everyone else. Through the glass doors Obed Mlaba could be seen sitting smugly on the stage. After vigorous protest the Abahlali were able to get close enough to the doors to start banging. The noise was disruptive and someone opened a door from the inside. Xolani Shange from the Socialist Students’ Movement quickly put his body in front of officer Ndlovu’s fists and baton so that Zikode could slip in and confront Mlaba from the floor. Mlaba’s smugness twisted into silent rage as he was held to account by a man who lives in a shack. Zikode was able to speak for 5 minutes before a massive cloudburst cut the broadcast out.
Abahlali were eventually able to garner the connections to begin to challenge their de facto banning on Monday 27th February 2006. Sutcliffe had, again, illegally banned a planned march into the city. This time the movement had grown to the point where 20 000 people were expected. The day before the march an attempt by Baig and Mlaba to win people in Jadhu Place over with breyani was laughed off and failed dismally. As dawn broke on the day of the march the police occupied the three largest settlements – Foreman Road, Jadhu Place and Kennedy Road – in a military style operation using armoured vehicles and helicopters. All exits were blocked off and key people were arrested, sometimes while still asleep, and later assaulted in Sydenham police station. There were major stand offs at all three settlements and in the city where people from smaller settlements and Wentworth and Chatsworth were gathering. But this time Abahlali were able to go to the High Court and, in a day of high drama watched closely by the national media, won a court order interdicting the City and the police from interfering with their right to protest. With the interdict in their hands the shack dwellers were able to leave the settlements and march into the city in triumph. The provincial minister for Safety and Security, Bheki Cele, stood on the steps of the City Hall staring menacingly at people he recognised and drawing his finger across his throat. Sutcliffe loaded his furious press statement with words like ‘criminal’ and ‘anarchy’ and promised to challenge the court. In fact he issued no challenge to the court and said nothing when the court ordered the city to pay punitive costs a week later.
See also FXI Press Release