12 May 2022

Abahlali baseMjondolo Solidarity Statement

The murder of Cde Nokuthula Mabaso, on the 5th of May confirms finally that Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) is the target of vicious and deliberate attacks meant to shatter the organization. Cde Nokuthula’s murder follows scantly two months after the murder of another AbM activist Cde Ayanda Ngila. Routinely, the authorities display no urgency to arrest those responsible – proving that the poor are always last in line for everything; even for justice.

The setting of Cde Nokuthla’s life and the scene of her murder was the community of eKhanana. eKhanana is a product of the brutality, barbarity and injustice of life lived under capitalism. It is a product of the misery suffered by our people. Whoever wants evidence of the promise of “ä New South Africa” betrayed can find it in eKhanana. But eKhanana is also the site of the resistance, defiance and struggle against the suffering our people endure. Whoever wants to witness the construction of a socialist project aimed at improving the lives of our people should visit eKhanana. We owe the establishment and growth of eKhanana to the service and sacrifice of comrades Nokuthula, Ayanda Ngila, Thuli Ndlovu and others.

We cannot accept the murders of our comrades quietly. We commit to act with purpose and intention, to broadcast our anger and disgust at the killing of AbM activists and to demand that the South African authorities bring those responsible to justice.
We hold Cde Nokuthula’s family close in our thoughts. We hope they find solace and comfort in the knowledge that she contributed invaluably to the struggle for land, housing and dignity. Cde Nokuthula lived a life that we should all emulate – one in service to our people.

“[We] will always be on the side of those you have nothing and are not even allowed to enjoy the nothing they have in peace.”- Federico Garcia Lorca

Socialist Party (Zambia