The Land Mafias are Preying on the Poor

20 February 2026
Abahlali baseMjondolo press statement

The Land Mafias are Preying on the Poor

Zweli Mkhize, known as Khabazela, was assassinated in the eNkanini Occupation in Allandale, near Midrand in Gauteng, at around 6:30 pm on Thursday, 12 February. He was the treasurer of the local Abahlali baseMjondolo council.

We held a memorial for Khabazela in the occupation yesterday, attended by leaders from our branches across Gauteng along with the President of Pudemo, Mlungisi Makhanya; the GS of SAFTU, Zwelinzima Vavi; the GS of GIWUSA, Mametlwe Sebei; the Executive Director of Seri, Nomzamo Zondi; and many other close comrades.

Khabazela will be laid to rest in Estcourt tomorrow. The funeral will begin at 10:00am.

Khabazela began reporting threats of assassination last year. On 20 January this year he phoned to say that he had received a call from an inkabi telling him to “stop what you are doing” or face death. The inkabi then told him that he had been promised R30 000 for the hit, and that if Khabazela could pay R40 000 his life would be spared. Khabazela responded by telling the inkabi that he should “do what you have been paid to do”. He did not stop what he was doing, which was, in accordance with the principles of our movement: to support the democratic organisation of the residents and to oppose the selling of land. At around 11:00 am on the morning of the assassination a call was made to our office in Durban threatening Khabazela and one of the other leaders in the branch council.

The eNkanini occupation and the land mafias

The eNkanini occupation was first formed on 23 August 2023 when the land known as Rabie Ridge was occupied. It is across the road from the Mayibuye settlement. It rapidly became a large occupation with around 4 500 households.

The residents tell us that five different mafias moved in to capture and sell land, each appointing their own local residents’ committee. They were selling plots of lands, each large enough to build one shack, for between R15 000 and R17 000. The leaders of these mafias were not living on the land.

The residents tell us that two of these mafias were more powerful than the others, and that both are still trying to control the land in order to sell it. One of these mafias is known as the ‘izinduna’. They have a base in the eHlazeni, Jeppe and Booysen hostels and are led by a man known as Sithole. He claims to be well known by amakhosi in KwaZulu-Natal, and there is an ethnic aspect to his claim to unelected authority. The other mafia is led by a very rich man known as Biza Shabalala who owns taxis and other businesses.

In the beginning of the occupation the ‘izinduna’ mafia and the taxi mafia were divided with each having their own section of the occupation, and their own office in the occupation. The occupation was attacked by the Red Ants who came heavily armed and started breaking down the shacks. The occupiers rebuilt but were then attacked by private security last year. Homes were destroyed again, and people lost belongings and furniture.

A razor wire fence was put up around the land and it was then said that anyone who crossed the fence was ‘trespassing’. Some people were arrested for trespassing and kept in jail for three to four months simply for trying to have a place to live. Residents collected money for bail and transport to court. This is the point at which the residents began to organise themselves rather than just being ruled by committees appointed by the land mafias.

At this point the residents and the land mafias had a common interest in stopping the evictions. The two most powerful land mafias both contracted lawyers to oppose the evictions, and hundreds of thousands of rands were collected by the mafias to pay the lawyers. Although there were two law firms all five mafias were charging for lawyers as they had shifting alliances.

The mafias started charging R100 each time that they said that they needed money for the lawyers but then the amount being charged went up to between R500 and R600. Our understanding is that much of this money was not paid to the lawyers.

People organised shelter and toilets outside the fence to be able to live with some dignity but still faced harassment and demolition. Instead of being supported to access land and housing they were repeatedly met with violence and forced to start over again and again. In November 2024 they were able to return to the land and they still remain there although they are now fewer in number. People were told that the whole community was responsible for huge debts to the lawyers and that they must keep paying but they started to refuse to pay this money, which they did not believe was all going to the lawyers. This is why the killing first started.

A new leadership is democratically elected

Our movement began to be approached by residents of eNkanini during 2024 at meetings in other branches in Gauteng, such as in Thembisa. We began discussions with them, at their invitation, and held the first presentation of the movement in the occupation on 22 February last year. We held the first political education workshop in the occupation on 13 April last year.

As always the discussions leading up to the decision to join our movement included the key principles of the movement – imigomo yabahlali – and building socialism from below. Democracy is a central principle of our movement. All leaders must be elected; there must be a 50 50 gender balance between leaders; leaders must conduct regular public meetings open to all residents; there must be regular elections and all leaders are subject to the right to recall at any time. Another central principle of our movement is that there can be no renting or selling of land or shacks. If any leader is found to be renting or selling land or shacks they are immediately removed from their position. If any branch council is found to be allowing this the membership of the branch is immediately suspended. We have always acted on these principles when necessary.

While the residents were considering joining the movement two of the people in the area who were very keen to join the movement were murdered. The first, known as Ntuli, was killed in eNkanini. The second, known as Freddy, was killed in Mayibuye. Another man from eNkanini, known as Phakathi, was killed in a car accident, which some people believe to have been a disguised murder. In October last year the court ordered that the City of Johannesburg must rebuild people’s homes in Mayibuye, and pay them R1 500 each. The man whose name was on the court order, Nakampe Seƒƒale, was also murdered.

When it was clear that the residents were going to join our movement the ‘izinduna’ and the taxi association started to work together against the movement, and against an end to the selling of land. They said no to elections but the majority of the residents said yes.

The launch of the branch was scheduled for 7 June last year. On the day of the launch Sithole arrived with six armed men. He said that he was an induna from Mnambithi, that he was well known by the amakhosi, and that this area was controlled by the ‘izinduna’. He was clear that in his view the fact that he is an induna at home in KwaZulu-Natal also gives him the right to control land and exert authority in Johannesburg. He also said that he had appointed a committee to run the area and that there was no need for a new leadership to be elected. He gave us their names and told us that we must just swear them in as leaders of the movement. Biza Shabalala was parked close by in his very expensive Mercedes and watched what was happening.

Our General Secretary, Thapelo Mohapi, was running the launch. He consulted with the residents suggesting that the launch be postponed as the situation was dangerous but the residents insisted that it must go ahead: “guns or no guns”. It went ahead with more than1 500 people participating in the open public election despite the presence of the six armed men. Biza only observed the election but Sithole decided to run for treasurer. He lost the election for this position to Khabazela, and he lost it decisively.

It was very clear that Sithole considered the open, public election of a local council as a direct threat to his power and interests. He was enraged by his loss to Khabazela.

That night Thulani Ngubane, an Abahlali supporter from Mayibuye who was working towards an election in Mayibue was shot dead.

There have now been five murders in eNkanini between February last year and February this year. While we have our suspicions we don’t know who killed these men but they were all killed in the same way. There have been no arrests and the local police have shown no interest in the killings.

After the branch council was elected in eNkanini they, acting with the support of the community and sustaining an ongoing process of political education, immediately put an end to the selling of land. They also moved, through the democratic structures and processes they had built, towards developing community infrastructure such as lighting and water. This also threatened the ‘izinduna’ who became even more hostile to what they called ‘The Top Seven’ – the seven elected members of the branch council. The branch council called an assembly for the whole community each month, which was very well attended. The meetings called by the two remaining mafias were tiny, mostly only including their appointed committees. The assemblies show the legitimacy of the branch council, and the open public discussions gave people growing confidence in their own power. They were also a threat to the mafias.

The land mafias prevent an election in Mayibuye

Our movement was then invited to launch a branch at the Mayibuye settlement. We followed our usual slow processes leading up to the launch on 29 November 2025 but on the day of the launch the process had to be stopped after the church where the launch was being held was attacked, the windows broken and people threatened. Our General Secretary was directly threatened by a man with a large hammer shouting “We will not be ruled by women!” and had to be rushed to safety.

While it was not possible to hold an election in Mayibuye the elected council in eNkanini moved to abolish the sale of land. On Tuesday last week two stands were sold by the ‘izinduna’. In one case people had already built a shack and the ‘izinduna’ demolished it and demanded that the land be paid for before a new shack could be built. Khabazela told the family that they should rebuild and that they did not need to pay the ‘izinduna’. It was announced that the issue would be discussed at the branch assembly scheduled for Sunday 22 February. Our members believe that this is why he was killed.

The remaining eNkanini leaders are in real fear and have all moved out of the occupation. At around 6:00pm on Wednesday a Quantum taxi full of men, arrived at the home of the Mkhize family. One of them came to the house. He was hostile and said that they will be coming back.

The impunity of the mafias must be brought to an end

The seizure and sale of land by armed groups is extortion. Stealing money from desperate people under the pretext of paying lawyers is a particularly cruel form of corruption. These are both cruel ways of exploiting people’s desperation. We take a very firm stance against both of these forms of the increasingly organised abuse of poor people. We have previously worked with decent people in government to have key figures in the land mafias in KwaZulu-Natal arrested. In 2014 we had to expel a senior member of our movement, Bandile Mdlalose, for taking money from desperate people for non-existent lawyers.

The struggle for land is not only a struggle against the state and capital. The violence with which the private control of land is defended does not only come from the armed forces available to the state and capital. Land is also seized and commodified by various kinds of mafias who have their own capacity of violence. Our struggle is not only to win land for the people, it is also to manage it democratically and to abolish the rent and selling of land and shacks.

In many cases the land mafias are linked to political parties and the state but in this case they are not linked to any parties and we are not aware of any active alliance with the local state.

However, the space for these mafias to operate and the desperation from which they feed are a direct result of massive unemployment and impoverishment, the general abandonment of the poor, the collapse of the state’s housing programme, endemic police corruption and the use of violence by the state to prevent land occupations rather than embarking on a massive programme of urban land reform.

If the state provided serviced sites for people to build, and ensured that there was no buying and selling of these sites and that they remained in public ownership, there would be no space for these mafias. Ultimately the government sees poor people with the same contempt as the mafias. Until our humanity is recognised the killing will continue and for the poor the price for land will continue to be paid in blood.

The growing power of mafias of various kinds – in and out of political parties – is a serious threat to democratic organising. These mafias do not hesitate to kill anyone who resists their attempts to exploit and extort the poor. Because their interests align with desperate occupiers in the early stages of occupations they can easily become embedded in a community during the chaotic early stage of an occupation. When land is held and their interests begin to diverge from those of the residents they will turn to intimidation, co-option and murder to prevent democratic organisations from emerging and for the sale or rent of land and shacks to be abolished. There is always a risk that our leaders will be killed, and that some residents – including those who have taken membership of our organisation – will be intimidated or co-opted by the mafias. Our movement was infiltrated by the ANC in 2014, and attempts at infiltration, which also include the mafias, will continue as the social crisis worsens.

A clear demand from the eNkanini residents

The eNkanini residents have a very clear demand to put to the state. Their demand is for a rigorous and independent police investigation into each of the five killings across the two adjacent occupations.

We have lost people – including a baby – to the police in the past, and often suffered severe repression – including assault, torture and wrongful arrest – at the hands of the police. However, we have also had one police officer, one local ANC branch member and two ANC councillors arrested by the police, tried in the courts and then convicted for the murder of our comrades.

When our movement was formed twenty years ago it was the state that repressed us the most at first, and especially the police. Then it was the ANC. In the last decade or so it is increasingly mafias of various kinds, in and out of political parties and the state, that are repressing us the most. Although our central strategy remains building the democratic power of the oppressed, and uniting the popular left, today we also find ourselves requesting the police to act against very well armed mafias who increasingly operate as local militias.

No society can tolerate a situation in which groups of armed men openly extort a community, threaten democratic organisation and murder people who do not give in to their threats. We fully support the demand of the residents for an urgent police investigation into each of the killings to deal with the mafia that has terrorised the residents of the eNkanini and Mayibuye occupations. This investigation must be independent, fair and professionally run. In these kinds of situations the local police can never be trusted to carry out investigations as they are very often captured by local mafias. In fact people will not give them information out of fear that they will tell the local mafias. We are told that Firoz Cachalia is a principled man and we are making a direct request to him to arrange an investigation in the extortion, intimidation and murders in the eNkanini and Mayibuye occupations. We are willing to share the information that we have with a credible police team.

Contact:

Thapelo Mohapi 084 576 5117
S’bu Zikode 083 547 0474