Statement from this morning’s road blockade in Siyanda

Update 20:34: Police bail was refused. A pro bono lawyer was secured but the prosector on standby had her phone switched off and so a bail hearing was made impossible. The three comrades will have to spend the weekend in the holding cells.

Update 10:10: The three comrades arrested today are are Themba Msomi, Thembeka Sondaba & Fikiswa Mgoduka.

Yesterday there was a blockade in Clare Estate. This morning there are blockades in iSiyanda and uMlazi. Three comrades, including the chairperson are under arrest in uMlazi. She still has her phone with her and she is strong. A police car turned over in uMlazi. This was because the driver failed to control it. We did not attack it. However we were attacked with tear gas and rubber bullets – the same bullets that killed Andries Tatane – in both iSiyanda and uMlazi.

uTata Nelson Mandela said that if the ANC does to us what apartheid did to us then we must do to the ANC what we did to apartheid. We are living in apartheid under black management. Therefore we are back to the streets. In these actions we are honouring Madiba.

The demands that are being issued on these blockades are clear. The first one is the same demand as the one issued in Cato Crest on Monday, in Clare Estate yesterday and in Clare Estate, iSiphingo and Cato Crest last week. That demand is that we want a full and proper response to the memoranda that we handed over to the Municipality on our march on 16 September. We have a new demand too now: Free Bandile Mdlalose!

4 October 2013

Abahlali baseSiyanda Statement

Statement from the Siyanda blockade

During the early hours of this morning, aBahlali baseMjondolo in Isiyanda, have taken their anger to the Dumisani Makhaye and Malandela road intersection and blockaded the two roads. This is as a result of a frustration when the majority of the poor people, the marginalised, the forgotten, only count when it comes to the voting time, and immediately thereafter nothing happens for them.

This comes after a series of telephone calls, e-mails, letter writing protest marches, promises to meet at meetings with eThekwini Municipality that have never sat to discuss the needs of the poor people and lies after lies by politicians and government officials. After all the peaceful attempts to meet the responsible officials, by the poor people, these are only met by the arrogance of government officials, police brutality, constant arrest of the protesters and even murdering the leadership of the movement of which these murders are not investigated although the culprits are known to the public and the police. This is only seen by us in the movement, as an attempt to silent and dampen the spirits of the South African "LAW ABIDING CITIZENS".

Isiyanda shack dwellers are also part of the victims, who are now in the streets at this very moment to show to the world their anger and frustration. The eThekwini Municipality, Provincial and National Governments are to blame for this, since their silence while the voters suffer, is actually now making too much of noise. The police have now tried to disperse the people using teargas and rubber bullets. We do not know as the time progresses whether or not they will opt to using live ammunition as if they are shooting at the game as usual. One becomes very sad if the Government officials and the Police are the first in a row to violate the Constitution, when they are supposed to be the custodians of the it (Constitution).

Our humanity does not count to them.

Contact:

TJ Ngongoma: 084 613 9772

MaMkhize Nxumalo: 078 4332719