Sunday, 4 February 2018
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement
First General Assembly for 2018
Today, the 4th of February, the movement of Abahlali baseMjondolo will hold our first General Assembly of the year at the Prince Edward Hall, also known as the Surat Hindoo Association Hall.
The first Assembly of the year will discuss and plan the way forward for year ahead. This last three months of 2017 were tough for the movement. In Solomon Mahlangu Sandile Biyela died while running away from the police. Two comrades were murdered: S’bonelo Mpeku, the chairperson of Sisonke Village and member of the Provincial Council of KwaZulu-Natal, and Soyiso Nkqayini, the Youth league organiser of the new land occupation in eNkanini in Cato Manor.
We are seeing the fruits of our struggle in eNkanini. The provincial Departments of Human Settlements is intervening in the matter in eNkanini. We are currently engaging the Department on the interim services to be put in place in the settlement. They now recognise the settlement as legal.
The murders of S’bonelo and Soyiso were not the only killings of our members in 2017. In the same year Samuel Hloele was brutally murdered by the Anti Land Invasion Unit’s security guards in the eKukhanyeni land occupation. In the Foreman Road Settlement a two week old baby Jayden Khoza died as a result of a vicious police on the community who were protesting for electricity. After more than ten years of struggle the electrification of the settlement has finally been won. But something is seriously wrong with a society in which the price for every advance for the impoverished must be paid in blood. We stand for life against the ANC’s politic of death.
The strength of our movement and our struggle is rooted in the unity, organisation, determination and courage of the oppressed. We continue to expand our movement across Durban, and across South Africa, and to build alliances with comrades around the world. We have an established relationship with the MST, the movement of the rural landless, in Brazil and are very happy to currently be hosting the MTST, the movement of the urban landless in Brazil. They are visiting our branches and we are discussing how we can join our struggles together, and organise and mobilise together.
Our struggle is rooted in the land occupations, the settlements and the streets. But we continue to explore all avenues for opposing oppression and keeping the space open to organise, occupy and resist. Last year the General Secretary of the movement attended the 30th anniversary of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights held in Banjul, Gambia. We were able to tell the world about how ANC led municipality in Durban continues to kill the impoverished with impunity. We can confirm that the Special Rapporteur on human rights has written to president Jacob Zuma to answer about the killing of Abahlali in Durban.
We will continue to confront those who continue to murder our member with impunity. We will continue to fight for the impoverished people of this country, to organise, occupy and resist. Land, wealth and power must be shared. Dignity must be respected. We will speak the truth where it is not told. We are prepared to lay our lives for this course.
Our movement has achieved a lot in the past year. We are looking forward to further progress in 2018.
Contact:
Thapelo Mohapi 062 892 5323
George Bonono 073 067 3274
Khunjuzwa 073 042 1479