Land is at the Heart of our Struggle

Yes I have to be bold and proud to be a South African. But I’m not proud because our lovely country belongs to the wrong hands. Our struggle began with the question of land and land remains at the centre of our struggle today.

In the old days the people in this country were so united. Even those who were not interested in politics they ended up in politics. This unity came from the fact that they were crying for the land of their forefathers that had been confiscated by those who thought the land was supposed to be under their authority. The people's land had been stolen, fenced and sold.

22 October 2012
Abahlali bakwaNdengezi Press statement

Road blockade and protests to restore democracy and end corruption in
KwaNdengezi and Shallcross

The struggle for land, housing and dignity continues in KwaNdengezi.

Mduduzi Ngcobo, the KwaNdengezi Ward 12 councillor has been terrorizing this
community for a long time. It must be remembered that this community had to
march on the 31 August 2012 demanding that the Speaker of eThekwini
Municipality Logie Naidoo intervene in what the community calls Ngcobo acting
as both a referee and a player in new housing project. But as always Logie is

22 October 2012
Rural Network Press Statement

Rural Network Protest in Pietermaritzburg on 23 October 2012

We, the Rural Network, together with our comrades in Abahlali baseMjondolo and other poor people’s organisations, will be having a public protest march on the 23rd of October, 2012, in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal. In light of the government’s failure to address the unlawful arrest of school children, illegal cattle impoundment, forced evictions and land distribution issues, we have been emboldened to march in order to keep the Department of Land Affairs (Department of Rural Development and Land Reform), and the Department of Justice accountable for their responsibilities. Moreover, violent actions by private farm security companies directed at farm tenants, dishonest officials changing their identities and equality violations continue as the government fails to arrest, question, and prosecute the initiators of illicit behaviour.

Lindela 'Mashumi' Figlan

Lindela Figlan was born on the 27th of December 1970 in J.B. Location in Flagstaff in Pondoland in what was then the Transkei bantustan.

His mother was from the Radebe family and she kept the home. His father was secretary of the congress that went into revolt on Ngquza Hill in 1960. More than 4 000 men occupied Ngquza Hill. They were determined to fight for their land and for their dignity. The apartheid state sent in the military and there was a massacre. The courage of the men on Ngquza Hill is always remembered in Pondoland today. The songs from that struggle, like 'Asiyifuni idompas', are still sung today. When Lindela was a young boy the police used to come to their home from time to time, kick in the door and kidnap his father. Sometimes they would take him to a place known as Betani where they would force him to dig potatoes with his hands saying that they did not want to risk damaging their tools. When he came home his fingernails would be red.

Issed by: Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI)
27 September 2012

KENNEDY ROAD SHACKDWELLERS SUE POLICE

Former residents of the Kennedy Road informal settlement in Durban are pursuing damages claims against the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, three years after the police failed to protect them from an armed gang that invaded the settlement in September 2009. This is an important case because it holds the police responsible to prevent violence perpetuated by others when it is in a position to do so.

On 25 September 2012, summons and particulars of claim were served and filed in the Durban High Court. Abahlali baseMjondolo (Abahlali), a national movement of shackdwellers, is also a plaintiff in the proceedings, along with the 52 individuals. This action comes after the residents gave notice of their intention to pursue a damages claim in terms of section 3 of the Institution of Legal Proceedings against Certain Organs of State Act 40 of 2002 on 24 March 2010.

27 September 2012
Abahlali baseMjondolo press statement

Three Years after the Attack on our Movement, the Kennedy Road Displacees Remain Homeless and in Exile

The attack on Abahlali baseMjondolo in 2009 set a tone for KwaZulu-Natal to become the province where warlordism and the assassination of leaders and activists has become the order of the day. It was also a warning to the poor that we should accept landlessness, homelessness and all forms of injustices and inequality as the order of the day if we want to survive this democracy.

It was on the night of the 26th, 27th and 28th of September 2009 that the whole political plot was concluded and carried out to assassinate the leadership of Abahlali. We know and we want the nation and the whole world to know that this plot was planned at a very high political level in our province. The plot was not just aimed at reigniting the politic of fear and assassination among those of us who refuse to accept fear. It was also aimed at tearing apart our movement - a movement that has brought us together, a movement that has made us realise how much power and value we have when we stand together. A movement that has shown us how we were made poor by colonial rule, by apartheid and by the post-apartheid state. A movement that has insisted that democracy means that everyone has the same right to participate in decision making and that the land, cities and wealth of our country must be shared and managed equally.

Address by Bishop Rubin Phillip, Anglican Bishop of Natal(KZN) - at St Philip’s Anglican Church, Fingo Village in Grahamstown, 19th September, 2012.

Remembering Steve Biko: a Bright & Guiding Light in Dark Times

As the Unemployed People's Movement have noted we gather here in Grahamstown to honour the memory of Steve Biko, a man who was indeed a bright and guiding light, at a moment when a dark night is settling over our country. As the light of our democratic dawn dims we all have to look inward and find our courage, individually and collectively, for the struggles ahead. Make no mistake - the massacre at Marikana was a turning point and the path ahead will be difficult and will require real courage.

22 September 2012
Abahlali baseMjondolo press statement

Abahlali to celebrate Heritage Day at Lindokuhle Community Crèche

On Monday 24 September Abahlali will be joining many South Africans who still see heritage month as significant in our time. We believe that our culture helps us not only to define our identify but also our humanity as well.

We will be celebrating this day with cultural entertainment that shows the diversity of our communities and our struggle. We continue to insist that everyone in the shacks is from the shacks and is therefore a person who has a valuable contribution to make to the struggle of the poor. We continue to refuse to let politicians and others misuse language and culture to divide and thereby weaken the poor.