DURBAN – Shack dwellers’ movement Abahlali baseMjondolo will hold a lecture on Tuesday to commemorate its fallen heroes, it said on Monday evening.
The annual Thuli Ndlovu Memorial Lecture will take place at the Surat Hindu Hall in Durban.
An Abahlali activist, KwaNdengezi branch chairperson and member of Abahlali’s national council, Ndlovu was killed in September 2014 by a hitman, on the instructions of ANC councillors Mduduzi Ngcobo and Luvelile Lutsheku. The men were sentenced to life in prison.
In the same month and year, 17-year-old student and Abahlali member Nqobile Nzuza was shot dead by police in Cato Crest.
Abahlali said families of the movement’s “fallen heroes” were invited to attend the event, which would be given by Abahlali secretary general, Nomsa Sizani. Sizani’s nephew, Samuel Hloele, was shot and killed while being evicted from his shack in June 2017.
“Nomsa will be raising difficult questions, like how Thuli Ndlovu and Nkululeko Gwala, an Abahlali leader who was assassinated in Cato Crest in 2013, would reflect on the current socio-economic situation in our country, given the level of state violence and other social ills. The lecture is aimed at honouring these heroes and their families.
“We will start the day by placing flowers on the grave of Thuli Ndlovu to honour her. This will be followed by the lecture by Nomsa. We will then celebrate our diverse cultures and strengthen our unity and solidarity.
“We will use this day to denounce all forms of violence against migrant communities and violence against women and children. It is time to build unity amongst the poor and working classes. Our unity as oppressed people is our strongest weapon against oppression. All those who try to divide us are our enemies,” said Abahlali.