We Welcome the Arrest of the Gangster Mayor of Durban for Corruption and Money Laundering

Wednesday, 15 May 2019

Abahlali baseMjondolo press statement

We Welcome the Arrest of the Gangster Mayor of Durban for Corruption and Money Laundering

We were not surprised by the arrest of Cllr Zandile Gumede, the mayor of eThekwini. The corruption in Durban had become so brazen, and supported with such brazen thuggery, that eventually the state had to act. The news broke yesterday morning when the mayor was due to appear in Durban Commercial Court. Like many gangster politicians when her arrest finally came it was hidden from the public and the media. It is reported that she and the other accused were able to hand themselves over to the police. It is also reported that she was able to use the back door to enter the court to escape media attention. A poor person arrested for insisting to be treated like a human being will never be treated with these courtesies.

For too long we have been saying our cities have now taken over by gangster politicians and mafias. For them the crisis of the impoverishment of the majority is just a way to enrich themselves. When we speak out about corruption and the looting of state resources we face death threats, arrests, assault, torture and assassination. The ANC make it clear that for as long as they are in power only their members will receive services and that no member of our movement should expect to receive access to services or housing.

The mayor was arrested on charges of corruption and money laundering amounting to R208 million. Some of this money was meant to provide water and sanitation to shack settlements. We have been struggling for access to services in our occupations and settlements for many years. When our struggles are successful, and money is allocated to the poor, the politicians shamelessly steal it for themselves. They profit from our suffering and our struggles. They eat for us, and on our behalf. The ANC in the province, and nationally, have repeatedly been made aware of this yet for years they were silent and defensive.

Gumede, Cllr Mondli Mthembu, who is the chairperson of Human Settlement and Infrastructure, and her whole administration have been very brutal to us. Gumede and Mthembu have instructed the entire administration not to entertain us.

We note that Gumede was released yesterday on R50 000 bail with strict conditions that she does not interfere with witnesses etc. We have heard that the hawks have been intimidated since the investigation. We know that the mayor is a very dangerous person and that she is surrounded by very dangerous people. The media has in the past reported that she is also implicated in murder cases. This did not surprise us. We are concerned about the safety of the witnesses.

When S’bu Zikode had to go underground again due to credible information from within the police and intelligence of an imminent assassination the police discovered that the suspect believed to be plotting the assassination was working in the office of the mayor. Gumede and Nelly Nyanisa, the ANC chief whip, have since refused to cooperate with the police investigations. The KwaZulu-Natal police have been scared of the mayor. Since October 2018 they have since failed to secure an appointment with her in order to obtain police statement with regard to the plan to assassinate Zikode.

It was under Gumede’s administration that the City and the ANC increased their violence and stopped negotiation with us. We were assassinated by the izinkabi, and murdered by the metro police. Illegal and violent evictions became a daily occurrence.

It was under her administration leadership that Samuel Hloule of eKukhanyeni was shot dead in a broad daylight, allegedly by Metro police, during their illegal and violent eviction in 2017. It was under her leadership that baby Jayden was killed by inhaling tear gas thrown by the police into the Foreman Road settlement after a protest on the street near the settlement. And, yes, it was under her leadership that Sifiso Ngcobo our chairperson in eKukhanyeni was assassinated in May 22, 2018. It was under her leadership that two comrades in eKhenana were shot and killed this year. In seven communities that were illegally and violently evicted under her leadership people now live with disabilities as a result of attacks by the police and other unknown gangsters.

It was under her leadership that casspirs (armoured vehicles) worth R28 million were purchased to oppress the poor while people remain homeless. It was under her leadership that R25 million was spent to rent 800 portable toilets for six months. It was under her leadership that the Public Protector found that each government shack in the Kennedy Road transit camps was built at a cost of R35 000 when the normal cost is R5 000.

We wish to congratulate the hawks on this arrest and we hope that she and her co-accused can have their turn in court and that the trial will be fair. We also hope that other cases opened against the mayor can also be investigated freely and fairly, and that the impunity with which the many other gangster councillors in the ANC in Durban, and other towns in the province, have operated for years will come to an end.

We repeated that we are are concerned for the safety of the whistleblowers and witnesses in this matter and call for them to be given every available form of protection and support.

We call on all progressive organisations and people in eThekwini to reject the ANC’s culture violence, corruption and intimidation and to build a counter-culture of justice, democracy and peace.

We also call on the ANC in the province to immediately fire Gumede from her position as mayor. There is more than enough evidence that that has become a disgrace in our city.

Mqapheli Bonono: 073 067 3274

Nomusa Sizani: 081 005 3686

S’bu Zikode: 083 547 0474