Update from Kennedy Road

Friends and comrades

The movement is still under attack in Kennedy Road and the police are still failing to protect us. The settlement is now run by the chairperson of the local ANC branch, Jackson Gumede, and his armed mob. Gumede is asking people to show ANC cards. Senior people in the ANC and the police continue to offer open and public support for the attacks. None of the people that attacked us and destroyed our homes have been arrested. Many of us are still sleeping in the bush and in the streets. There has been another death in hospital.

Our members from across 34 settlements in Durban, and some from other settlements as far away as Cape Town, will soon meet in a secret location. We will formulate a plan of action and draft and issue a full and official press statement.

Right now, in this emergency statement, some things must be cleared up:

1. Willies Mchunu and Hamiliton Ngidi are claiming that Safety Committee set up in Kennedy Road is some sort of illegitmate and sinister ‘forum’. In fact it was set up in partnership with the local police – they were at the launch and attended its meetings. We have the minutes of all these meetings.
2. Willies Mchunu and Hamiliton Ngidi are claiming that the Safety Committee implemented a curfew in the settlement and are implying that this justifies the violence against us, the destruction of our homes and the banning of our movement from the settlement on the pain of death. In fact the Committee decided, together with the local police, to set closing times on the shebeens. They had previously been open 24 hours a day. A decision was taken that they must close at 10 in the evening. There were a number of reasons for this decision – problems with noise, requests from the women’s movement within our movement to reduce shebeen hours due to the link with violence against women, the danger of fires when people are drunk etc. But the main reason was that since Jacob Zuma’s campaign ethnic tensions have been rising in the settlements. There have been fights, even murders. These fights are usually linked to alcohol therefore it was neccessary, in order for the safety of the community, to reduce alcohol abuse. This decision was taken by a sub-committee of an elected body and the police were at the meeting were it was taken. This decision was not a rights violation. Those people who didn’t like it (i.e. the shebeen owners) could have nominated their own candidates with their own mandate for election to the KRDC in November (when the next election was scheduled)
3. The ANC is telling people in the settlement that Abahlali is Cope. This is another lie. We took a No Vote position in the election because all the parties are for the rich and against the poor. Our politics has always been a non-party politics. This is all a matter of public record. But the point is that even if we were COPE (which we arecertainly not) in a democracy you have the right to choose what ever politics you want – irrespective of whether you live in a shack or a house.

We thank everyone for the solidarity rushing to us, and in support for democracy, from around the world.