Another Cadre has Fallen in a Land Occupation

19 December 2017
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

Another Cadre has Fallen in a Land Occupation

On Sunday 19 November our chairperson in the Sisonke Village land occupation in Lamontville, Sibonelo Mpeku, was kidnapped and murdered. On Sunday 17 December 2017, at around 4 p.m., two of our members, Soyiso Nkqayini and Smanga Mkhize, were shot by unknown men in the eNkanini land occupation in Cato Manor. Comrade Smanga was seriously injured and Comrade Soyiso passed away.

Comrade Soyiso was the branch Youth League organiser in eNkanini. He was a very active militant who played a key role in the early stages of the occupation. He was from the village of Thombo, near to Port St. Johns in the Eastern Cape.  Continue reading →

Building Democratic Popular Power in the Struggle for Land & Dignity

11 December 2017
Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA

Building Democratic Popular Power in the Struggle for Land & Dignity

– 2017 Year End Statement

Our movement continues to grow. We currently have 46 branches in good standing. Our branch by branch audit of members in good standing has now counted the members in 32 branches and we currently have over 42 000 members on our spreadsheet. We have successfully expanded into Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.

However we continue to face lies, evictions, life threatening living conditions and serious repression.  Continue reading →

Sibonelo Mpeku to be Laid to Rest in Bizana

1 December 2017
Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA Press Statement

Sibonelo Mpeku to be Laid to Rest in Bizana

Tomorrow, 2 December, we will be laying our friend and comrade Sibonelo Patrick Mpeku, former chairperson of our branch in Sisonke Village in Lamontville, to rest. This has been a difficult time for his family, his community and the movement at large. Comrade Mpeku was a leader that we all looked up too and respected. He was a man of God who wanted justice, land and dignity for the poor.  Continue reading →

“I Have Only Come To Know What My Rights Are And What They Mean Through This Organisation”

by Lizeka Maduna

On Sunday 26 November, shack dwellers’ movement Abahlali BaseMjondolo launched a branch in Cato Manor, aimed at assisting and protecting residents of the uMkhumbane informal settlement. A few residents spoke to the Daily Vox about the change they hope to see with the newly launched branch.

Sthembiso Khoza, 54, unemployed, Cato Manor
The organisation has been of great help to us when we had lost all hope. Having our own branch will make things easier for us, especially since we will have our own elected members who will look out for our needs and complaints. Seeing the branch being launched gave me hope; we’ve been living under dire conditions for quite some time now. I foresee change in this community and I hope there will be peace.  Continue reading →

Abahlali to launch a branch in Cato Manor

Sunday, November 26, 2017
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

Abahlali to launch a branch in Cato Manor

Abahlali baseMjondolo will be launching a branch in Cato Manor in Umkhumbane today. We have had many members in the area for some time and they are now ready to constitute and elect a council and officially become part of the organised structures of our movement.

The comrades in Umkhumbane have faced serious repression and regular attacks in the struggle for land and dignity. There are comrades who have lost their eyes and ears and some are not walking properly. Mlungisi Mokoena, an 18 year old pupil, was shot in both legs by the Anti-Land Invasion Unit for refusing to let them demolish his home. Women have been severely beaten by these armed men.  Continue reading →

GroundUp: Activist groups unite to fight evictions

GroundUp

Scathing criticism of Durban Municipality for not responding adequately to Foreman Road fire

Photo of a crowd
Residents of Cato Manor met members of civil society formations. Photo: Nomfundo Xolo
By 

 

“Those people have nothing left. They have no money and no documents. The least the municipality could have done was to bring mobile services to the people so that they can reclaim their lives again, but they were instead treated inhumanely.” Zukiswa Qezo, an organiser with the Social Justice Coalition (SJC), was speaking in Foreman Road, the scene of a shack fire on 12 November that killed a toddler and left hundreds of people homeless.

Continue reading →

Abahlali to hold a Memorial Service in Memory of Sibonelo Mpeku Tomorrow (Thursday)

Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

Abahlali to hold a Memorial Service in Memory of Sibonelo Mpeku Tomorrow (Thursday)

Tomorrow Abahlali will hold a memorial service to respect and honour the life of our late comrade Sibonelo Mpeku. We will be celebrating his life and his contribution to building the power of the impoverished in struggle. Mpeku was one of our great cadres who knew he needed to be humble and respect others in order to demonstrate the kind of leadership that we want. But at the same time Mpeku knew that he needed to be firm and brave to realise land, housing and dignity.   Continue reading →

Three Murders in Sisonke Village

Tuesday, 21 November 2017
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

Three Murders in Sisonke Village

Three people were murdered in Sisonke Village, in Lamontville, on Sunday, including our chairperson in the area Sibonela Mpeku.

Our members gave Sisonke Village its new name on 13 July 2014 and our branch was launched there on 9 November 2014. During that year we issued statements noting that the local ANC had tried to prevent us from holding meetings and had made serious threats against our members. Since then there has been a long struggle in this area with serious intimidation from the local ANC, including death threats, and at least twenty four armed and illegal evictions. The comrades in the area have rebuilt their homes again and again. They have remained on the land despite regular violence and intimidation. They have organised road blockades and other protests and taken their struggle to court.  Continue reading →

After A Devastating Fire, Teargas And Rubber Bullets At Foreman Road

The Daily Vox

Lizeka Maduna

On Thursday, police in Durban used teargas and rubber bullets to disperse an angry crowd of Foreman Road residents, who picketed in the streets after eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede failed to arrive for a meeting with the community.

Residents of the Foreman Road informal settlement in Durban were promised building materials and the chance to plan a way forward with the mayor after a devastating fire razed about 800 homes, killing a family of three, over the weekend. When the community learned the mayor had cancelled her visit to the area on Thursday, they blockaded Clare Road in Clare Estate in anger. Residents used the burnt corrugated iron from their shacks, dustbins and rubbish to block the road.     Continue reading →