RU Seminar: Democracy at the Brink of Catastrophe

The Faculty of Humanities together with the Women’s Academic Solidarity Association at Rhodes University in Grahamstown invite you to attend the following lunch time seminar:

Topic: Democracy at the Brink of Catastrophe

Speakers: Shamita Naidoo & S’bu Zikode

Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) is a shack-dwellers’ movement that grew out of a road blockade in the Kennedy Road settlement in Durban in early 2005. It now has more than 10 000 paid up members in 54 settlements across KwaZulu-Natal and, also, in Cape Town. The movement campaigns for land and housing in the cities and to democratise society from below. It has actively organised against xenophobia and has recently succeeded in having the KwaZulu-Natal Slums Act declared unconstitutional in the Constitutional Court.

In the last month more than 30 of the movement’s elected leaders have had their homes destroyed, 21 of its members have been arrested and many of its leaders are living in hiding. Public death threats continue to be issued against the movement’s leaders. The movement insists that the attacks are backed by senior people in the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal. The ANC has denied this.

Shamita Naidoo and S’bu Zikode will speak on recent events and their significance for democracy in South Africa.

For more information
www.abahlali.org

Venue: Faculty of Humanities
Date: Friday 30th October 2009
Time: 1 – 2pm

ALL WELCOME!