Click here to read the article in Isolezwe on the march.

Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Release
Wednesday, 25 April 2012

Unfreedom Day March – 27 April 2012

Friday is freedom day. This means that the time for annual lies to our democracy has come. The time to pretend that democracy and freedom came to everyone in 1994 has come. The time to escort tender entrepreneurs, their families and friends to the big stadiums has come. The time for the rich and powerful to take their platforms in those stadiums to tell the shack dwellers and other poor people that we are all free has come.

But winter is also here and once again the poor are burning. Kennedy Road has burnt. Jadhu Place has burnt. There will be many more fires before winter has passed. What kind of government leaves people to burn year after year? What kind of government rushes to tell the media, year after year, that fires are caused by ‘illegal electricity connections’ when we all know that it is candles and paraffin stoves that cause most fires? What kind of government wants to blame the poor for their suffering? What kind of government tries to depoliticise poverty by treating the poor as ignorant and criminal when in fact our problem is that we are oppressed?

22 February 2012
Unemployed People's Society Press Statement

Shallcross March Called Off Due to Death Threats from the Local Councillor and ANC Members

Yesterday the Unemployed People's Society had to take the difficult decision to call off the march that we had planned against housing corruption in Shallcross. The night before the march was due to take place the Ward 17 Councillor and a number of local ANC members moved around the area with whistles. They issued clear threats stating that anyone who goes on this march will be killed.

The next morning Ms N.E. Shazi, the organisation's co-ordinator, woke to found that a large amount of blood had been poured on her gate.

20 February 2012
Unemployed People's Society Press Statement

March Against Housing Corruption in Shallcross

The Unemployed People's Society has, together with Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement S.A. and SANCO, been approached by the victims of the Savanna Park project and the Inkanyezi housing Project.

The Unemployed People’s Society will be marching to the Durban City Hall to demand an end to housing corruption in these housing projects such as Inkanyezi and Mawelewele, to demand road access and to oppose lazy and brutal police officials and the lack of services.

The march will start at King Dinuzulu Park (Botha Park) at 9:00am tomorrow - Tuesday, 21 February 2012. The memorandum will be handed over to the new eThekwini Municipal Manager Mr. Sibusiso Sithole, the Minister of Transport Mr. S’bu Ndebele and the Minister of Police Mr. Nathi Mthethwa. It will finished at 12 noon.

March to Demand that "Nigel Gumede Must Go" 24 November 2011

The permit for the march (a legal fiction in democratic South Africa that is a hangover from apartheid but something that the municipality illegally insists on) was denied but AbM marched anyway in defiance of this de facto ban on the march. With the COP 17 meeting coming up the police did not respond with violence and the march, of more than 3 000, proceeded peacefully in the pouring rain. The officials left the crowd standing in the rain and only came to accept the memorandum when there was a threat to occupy the City Hall.

Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement
23 November 2011

Abahlali baseMjondolo Youth League March to Demand the Resignation of Nigel Gumede – Thursday 24 November 2011

After years of broken promises and intimidation protesters march to demand an end to Housing Chairperson's reign of disrespect

We are human beings, not dogs. Nigel Gumede treats us like dogs but we will defend our humanity.

The Abahlali baseMjondolo Youth League has organised a march to demand the immediate removal of Nigel Gumede as the Chairperson of the Housing Portfolio Committee and Infrastructure for the eThekwini Municipality. People from more than 20 shack settlements in Durban as well as our comrades who are taxi workers, street traders, hostel dwellers, and others will march in solidarity with us on Thursday 24 November 2011. The march will leave Botha Park at 8. We will display the power of the people to show the weight of our demand that: Nigel Gumede must go!

PLEASE NOTE - OUR PROTEST WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THIS WEEK

TOMORROW THE 24TH WE WILL PROTEST IN FRONT OF PROVINCIAL INHUMAN SETTLEMENT DEPARTMENT AND FRIDAY IN FRONT OF PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE TIME WILL BE 12:30 TILL 13:30 AND OUR PROTEST WILL CONTINUE TILL WE GET WHAT WE WANT

Protest at the Cape Town civic centre - 23 November 2011

Today at 12:30 Abahlali baseMjondolo of Western Cape had a protest outside the Civic Centre offices of City of Cape Town, calling on Patricia De Lille to meet with our members without imposing any terms of engagement and demanding that such meeting should take place at Khayelitsha where our members are based and it should be open to everybody, and everybody should be allowed to voice out his/her views without any fear of favor or intimidation.

A CALL FOR MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT NOT STAGE MANAGED PR ENGAGEMENT

Abahlali baseMjondolo of the Western Cape tomorrow will have a protest outside Civic Centre at 12h00 till 13h00 and submit a memorandum to Patricia de Lille, the Mayor of City of Cape town.

Tomorrows protest follows number of attempts by Abahlali baseMjondolo to secure open bublic meeting with the mayor of City of Cape town.
We have done our best as organization, trying to secure a meeting with the mayor of City of Cape Town, we have submitted number of writtern request to the office of the mayor asking the mayor to address our public meetings about issues that affects us direct such as floods, shackfires, water cut-offs and the role of law enforcement within our communities because many of our communities have been victimised by law enforcement through illegal demolitions.

Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

Tuesday, 22 November 2011

Abahlali baseMjondolo Youth League to March to Demand the Immediate Removal of Nigel Gumede from Office

AbM Youth League to take to the streets and demand the removal of Nigel Gumede as Chairperson of the Housing Portfolio Committee and Infrastructure for eThekwini Municipality

WHAT: On Thursday, 24 November 2011, Abahlali baseMjondolo's Youth League will march to demand the immediate removal of Nigel Gumede as Chairperson of the Housing Portfolio Committee and Infrastructure for the eThekwini Municipality. This demand comes in the wake of threatening statements that have come from Gumede toward Abahlali baseMjondolo Chairperson, S'bu Zikode, and other members of Abahlali over the last two years. These statements by Gumede, especially in the context of the repression that AbM has faced, show that Gumede is a serious threat to democracy in Durban. Gumede's intimidation undermine our confidence in the official goodwill that will be needed to make the current negotiations

Memorandum from Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement South Africa

DATE: 5 November 2011
RE: Call for the immediate removal of Nigel Gumede as Chairperson of the Housing Portfolio Committee and Infrastructure for eThekwini Municipality

March to Demand the Resignation of Nigel Gumede & the Right to Know - 5 November 2011

Today, Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) is marching to urgently call for the immediate removal of Nigel Gumede as Chairperson of the Housing Portfolio Committee and Infrastructure for the eThekwini Municipality.