Category Archives: Bandile Mdlalose |

Abahlali baseMjondolo Responses to the Fraudulent Article Published in Politikon

July 06 2015

Abahlali baseMjondolo Responses to the Fraudulent Article Published in Politikon

In 2006 Abahlali baseMjondolo and the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign walked out of a NGO controlled meeting [The Social Movements Indaba – SMI] hosted by the Centre for Civil Society, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The two grassroots movements were excluded from planning and formulating the agenda of the meeting, something that had been very common among the NGOs for a long time. Instead we were just bussed in as nothing more than spectators to meetings organised in the name of our lives and struggles. We decided to walk out of the meeting because we wanted to be in control of our own struggles as autonomous movements. The response from the NGOs and academics linked to the SMI was very similar to how the state responds when poor people want to think and organize for ourselves. For instance Mondli Hlatshwayo, the boss of the SMI who was working at an NGO known as Khanya College at the time, publicly referred to us as criminals. In the nine years since our walk-out there has been ongoing defamation and slander against Abahlali baseMjondolo, and people who have supported our movement, from within and around the Centre for Civil Society. There have also been incidents of intimidation, harassment, and attempts at censorship. Continue reading →

Attachments

Politikon Draft 1

Politikon Draft 2

Politikon Draft 3

M&G: Journal publishes and is damned

Marie Huchzermeyer, Mail & Guardian

An academic row is unfolding around the editorial approach of the official journal of the South African Association of Political Studies, Politikon. On its board are renowned academics and public intellectuals including Adam Habib, Tom Lodge and Susan Booysen. Leading political analyst and public intellectual Steven Friedman has made it clear he will have nothing more to do with the journal. Those on his side include Xolela Mangcu, Jane Duncan and Raymond Suttner. How did it come to this? And why should it be of interest to the public at large? Continue reading →

How Bandile Mdlalose betrayed us in Mandela Complex until we were evicted from Newland West flats

Mandela Complex in Newland West Community press statement

Monday, 29 December 2014

How Bandile Mdlalose betrayed us in Mandela Complex until we were evicted from Newland West flats

We the community of Mandela Complex have come from different back grounds before occupying these flats in Castle Hill, Newland West. Some of us came from Parlock, after we were removed for the road reserved and relocated into Polokwane transit camps. Some of us came from Siyanda and we were also removed to make way for Dumisani Makhaye Road. Some of us came from the surrounding shack settlements in the area and were authorized by a local councillor Lubhede to occupy these flats. When we got into transit camps the councillor told us that the city does not have land for us but we were going to live temporarily on the transit camps. Immediately after that we saw the construction of flats taking place but we were surprised because we were told that there was no land. We went to ask the local councillor Mr Lubhede if the flats were being built for us but Lubhede did not want to answer us and chose to distance himself from us and from the questions we have asked. Continue reading →

An Old Snake in a New Skin – From Raymond Masondo to Heinrich Bohmke and Bandile Mdlalose

6 February 2015

Abahlali baseMjondolo Statement

An Old Snake in a New Skin – From Raymond Masondo to Heinrich Bohmke and Bandile Mdlalose

In 2006, when we made it clear that we would not give up our autonomy to the NGOs and walked out of a meeting at the Centre for Civil Society (CCS) at UKZN, some NGO workers, such as Mondli Hlatswayo, rushed to call us criminals on emails and in the press. At the time we could see no difference between how these NGOs responded to our insistence on our right to organise ourselves, to think for ourselves and to take our own positions and how the state responded. They both declared that we were criminals under the control of a white man.

As everyone who is familiar with the history of our movement knows since then we have been subject to constant defamation from a small group of people, all linked in different ways to CCS. These same people have never said a word when we have faced evictions, arrests, beatings, torture and murder. We continue to see very strong parallels between how the state responds to our movement and how some NGOs respond to our movement. Continue reading →

Settlement Agreement in the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA)

Settlement Agreement in the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA)

Bandile Mdlalose was expelled from our movement on the 6th of April. This followed the lodging of a set of formal complaints against her from members of our movement. Following the lodging of these complaints, which were serious, a disciplinary process was followed. This process was carefully documented, conformed to the movement’s rules and was transparent and fair.

Following her dismissal Bandile lodged an action against our movement with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) claiming that she had been unfairly dismissed. We were surprised that she took this action as she was expelled from a political organisation after being found to have violated a number of its rules and not dismissed from a job. We never considered her to be an employee and therefore did not understand why she was taking us to the CCMA. Continue reading →