Saturday, 12 June 2010
Landless People’s Movement Press Statement
The Repression of the Landless People’s Movement Spreads to the Harry Gwala Settlement
The repression that the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) has been facing in Protea South and eTwatwa has now spread to the Harry Gwala settlement near Wattville in Benoni in Ekurhuleni.
On Sunday last week the elderly chairperson of the LPM in the Harry Gwala settlement, Johnson Nokutwana, was arrested on trumped up charges. Mr. Nokutwana was accused of threatening a man who has been abusing people in Harry Gwala by pointing a gun at him.
The police searched Mr. Nokutwana’s home and could not find any gun. Everyone in Harry Gwala knows that Mr. Nokutwana does not own a gun and that the hands of the old man are not working. His hands were badly injured in a work accident. When he wants to pick something up he has to ask someone to help him. There is no way that he could have threatened anyone with a gun.
The real reason why Mr. Nokutwana was arrested is that the local ANC councillor the police to arrest him. When the councillor calls a meeting in the settlement know one comes. When Mr. Nokutwana calls a meeting everyone comes. The councillors is saying that the LPM in Harry Gwala have not right to call themselves a committee. We as the LPM are saying that we have every right to set up our structures where ever we like.
Mr. Nokutwana has been released on bail of R1 000 but the charges have not been dropped.
It is unacceptable that the councillors continue to misuse the police to oppress our movements by harassing and arresting our leaders, or protecting mobs that attack us.
For more information and comment on the situation in the Harry Gwala settlement contact the Harry Gwala Landless People’s Movement spokesperson, Bazino Lihlebi, on 084 704 4144
For more information and comment on the general situation confronted by the Landless People’s Movement in Johannesburg contact the chairperson of the Landless People’s Movement in Gauteng, Maureen Mnisi, on 082 337 4514