http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global[_id]=30091

Kennedy Road: sharing the facts
29 Oct 2009

WITH reference to last week’s article by Willies Mchunu, (The Witness,
October 20).

MEC Mchunu makes several statements, to which we feel it is necessary to
respond. The first relates to the claim that his invitation to
stakeholders, dated October 8, received no response from churches. On
October 14, a letter was addressed to the MEC, and copied to the
provincial premier, Zweli Mkhize, and President Jacob Zuma, and was

Statement by Bishop Barry Wood, Auxiliary Bishop of Durban and Episcopal Chairperson of the Justice and Peace Department of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

I would like to add my voice and that of the Justice and Peace Department of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference to Bishop Rubin Phillip’s Statement on the Kennedy Road violence.

The Kennedy Road killings and violence are of great concern.

Reports of Militia being allowed to operate with impunity and a perceived partisan role by the South African Police Service in the area require immediate investigation.

Diakonia Council of Churches strongly condemns the violence in Kennedy Road

As an ecumenical organisation representing local churches in eThekwini,
Diakonia Council of Churches strongly condemns the recent attacks on the
property and lives of innocent and vulnerable people in the informal
settlement of Kennedy Road.

The settlement, home to some 7 000 residents most of whom are economic
refugees, has been fraught with tensions arising from, amongst other
things, poor service delivery for many years. The formation of the social
movement known as Abahlali baseMjondolo has been a concerted and