17 November 2023
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

We condemn the killing of Ahmed Abbasi in Gaza yesterday

The mass murder of civilians in Gaza by the apartheid state of Israel, supported by the imperialism of the United States of America, continues before the open eyes of the world.

Ahmed Abassi was the head of Gift of the Givers in Gaza. He was killed yesterday while returning from the morning prayer with his brother. His brother was also killed in what Gift of the Givers have said was a targeted attack. Another Gift of the Givers worker, Mohammed Al Ahel, was killed on 6 November. Continue reading →

En Gaza se ataca a la humanidad

16 de octubre de 2023

Comunicado de prensa de Abahlali baseMjondolo

Civiles, incluidos niños, fueron masacrados a un lado de la frontera entre Israel y Gaza. Ahora el terror y la muerte se abaten sobre Gaza, al otro lado de la frontera, mientras Israel utiliza el ataque indiscriminado de Hamás para lanzar un ataque aún más cruel e indiscriminado contra los residentes de Gaza. Lamentamos todas estas muertes e insistimos en que la única forma de poner fin a la violencia es acabar con la opresión de los palestinos. La justicia es el único camino hacia la paz. Continue reading →

16 October 2023
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press statement

Humanity is under attack in Gaza

Civilians, including children, were massacred on one side of the border between Israel and Gaza. Now terror and death crash through Gaza, on the other side of the border, as Israel uses the indiscriminate attack by Hamas to launch an even more cruel and indiscriminate attack on the residents of Gaza. We grieve all these deaths, and insist that the only way to put an end to the violence is to put an end to the oppression of the Palestinians. Justice is the only road to peace. Continue reading →

14 October 2023
Abahlali baseMjondolo press statement

Crackdown on the Indian media and others

The fascist government in India has launched a major attack against the media. On the morning of 3 October the homes of over 100 journalists and others, including a comedian, were raided in four cities, in an operation carried out by more than 500 police intelligence officers. Around 50 people were interrogated in police stations, and two arrested. Continue reading →

This is the text of a talk given by Mqapheli Bonono to an audience of Canadian students on Thursday last week.

Thursday, 05 October 2023

The right to decent housing in South Africa

Thank you, programme director, for this wonderful opportunity to share Abahlali’s perspective on this important topic of the right to decent housing in South Africa. Greeting to students and all participants.

According to the official statistics, there are about 2700 informal settlements in South Africa. We are also told that about 12 000 people live in substandard housing conditions. Clearly there is a high rate of homelessness in our country. Continue reading →

4 October 2023
Abahlali Youth League Press Statement

Youth paving the path to a just and equal society for all humankind

The 4th of October marks the day of the establishment of the Abahlali baseMjondolo movement, AbM in short. In 2005 the movement was established because the impoverished, the marginalised and the shack dwellers of South Africa were continuously rejected or left out by the system that had promised to be democratic and free to every citizen of South Africa.

The movement was formed in the Kennedy Road settlement, and other settlements in ward 25 in Durban, by young people who were tired of the inhumane conditions that they had to go through every day, were facing evictions and were deprived of their rights to political freedom. Since the establishment of the movement 25 lives have been lost during the course of the struggle for land, housing and dignity. Amongst the 25 there are young people who were so determined to change the oppression faced by the shack dwellers. As the Youth League of the movement we continue to salute and honour every soul who dedicated their lives to struggling for an equal society in which the dignity of all people is respected. Continue reading →

21 September 2023
Abahlali baseMjondolo press statement

Abahlali welcomes the SAHRC report on the water crisis in KwaZulu-Natal

Earlier this year the South African Human Rights Commission conducted an inquiry into the water crisis in the municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal. The inquiry has found that the municipalities have violated people’s rights by not providing clean water for the residents of KwaZulu-Natal.

Many richer people do not know how difficult it is to walk kilometres to get access to water which is a basic necessity. It is a feeling that everyone experiences daily in the shack settlements and rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. This is not the life that South Africans should be living 30 years after apartheid. Continue reading →

14 August 2023
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

Abahlali in solidarity with the people of Morocco and Libya

A devastating earthquake has taken just under 3 000 lives in Morocco. We would like to send our condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones during this catastrophic event, as well as all the people who have lost their homes and livelihoods.

As happens with every disaster the majority of those who lost their lives in the earthquake are the poor who live in houses that are not built as strong structures because they do not have money and are abandoned by the state. In Morocco as in South Africa, and around the whole world, the poor continue to suffer as a result of impoverishment and being abandoned because we are not considered as full and equal human beings. Every disaster hits the poor harder, and as climate change escalates it will be the poor who will suffer the most. Continue reading →

S’bu Zikode’s speech at the Built Environment Climate Change Indaba earlier today

1 September 2023

Democratisation of the built environment

Programmer director, Minister Khuzeni, MEC Nkosi, Mayor of eThekwini, Cllr Kaunda, President of SALGA, Mama Mtshali, CEO of CBE, academia, officials and civil society formations, Abahlali baseMjondolo delegates, ladies and gentlemen. I wish to thank CBE for inviting Abahlali to participate in this important discussion on the built environment and climate change.
In most cases impoverished communities are not invited to participate in spaces that discuss their future and we welcome this invitation to contribute to this meeting. Continue reading →

31 August 2023
Abahlali baseMjondolo press statement

Our deepest solidarity with the victims of the fire in Johannesburg

The news that at least 73 people have died in the terrible fire in downtown Johannesburg has left all people of good conscience reeling in pain. Just as with the Grenfell Tower Fire in London in 2017 that took 72 lives, and just like the shack fires that tear through our communities year after year, this fire is a direct result of the contempt for the lives of the poor by politicians and the state.

Last Sunday five children died in a shack fire in the Itireleng shack settlement in Pretoria. Shack fires are relentless. We are left to burn year after year. In South Africa to be poor is to live with the constant risk of fire. Continue reading →