Media Policy
Abahlali baseMjondolo has always been ready to discuss its goals with the media. Its representatives are, unlike the government, keen to offer honest and straightforward answers to questions from the media, and to offer resources to help print, radio and TV sources get the best and most accurate story to their constituents. All Abahlali meetings and events are open to all media at all times without exception. If journalists visiting us do not speak isiZulu and isiXhosa we will always be happy to arrange translation into English, Portugese or French.
Media Coverage
Abahlali have appeared in all major South African newspapers, radio and television stations and many popular magazines (in isiZulu, isiXhosa and English), and in international media such as the New York Times, The Times (London), The Economist, Al Jazeera, Agence France-Presse,
Le Monde diplomatique, CNN etc, etc. Quite a bit, although certainly not all, of the print media coverage over the last three years is archived on this website. The biggest gaps are in the coverage in the various local newspapers which are not online and some of the foreign newspapers which require subscriptions for online access.
Press Releases
The latest press releases are available here. There is an archive of older press releases here. If you would like to be added to the Abahlali press mailing list (which is a low volume email list that exists only for the purpose of facilitating easy contact with the media) please email us here.
Direct Contact
To contact members of Abahlali online use the contact form or write or phone using the contact details below. If you are calling from outside South Africa, the international dialing code is +27, and the first 0 is dropped. e.g. To contact S'bu Zikode, dial +27 83 547 0474. If you want to contact people via the internet please understand that it might take a couple of days to get a reply. There is an internet connection in the Kennedy Road settlement but neither the phone line nor the electricity are always available.
Abahlali baseMjondolo
c/o Mr S’bu Zikode
Kennedy Road Development Committee
P.O. Box 26 Umgeni Road 4098
Tel: (27) (031) 269 1228
Fax: (27) (031) 269 3749
Cell:(27) 083 547 0474
Mnikelo Ndabankulu has been elected to be media liason person for 2008. His new number (as of February 2008) is 0797450653. If you can't get Mnikelo you can also try:
Louisa Motha 0781760088
Shamita Naidoo 0743157962
Mashumi Figlan 0725274600
Philani Zungu 0729629312
Quick Background Reading
*We are the Third Force, The famous response by S'bu Zikode to the paranoid claims that Abahlali is 'third force', November 2005
*Taking Poverty Seriously: What the poor are saying and why it matters, Article by Win Wei Ngiam on the political thinking in Abahlali baseMjondolo, November 2006
*Memorandam of Demands Handed to Superintendent Glen Nayager of the Sydenham Police Station, April 2007
*Operation Murambatsvina comes to KZN: The Notorious Elimination & Prevention of Re-emergence of Slums Bill, Press Statement, June 2007
*Memorandam of Demands to Mayor Obed Mlaba, September 2007
*The University of Abahlali baseMjondolo, Overview of the movement by Richard Pithouse, October 2007
Useful Archives on this Site
Past articles and press statements on some themes of recurring media interest are collected together here:
* An archive of entries on Motala Heights
* An archive of documents on the Slums Act
* An archive of entries on the Kennedy Road 6
* A library of writing from the University of Abahlali baseMjondolo
* A library of academic articles on Abahali baseMjondolo
(We'll soon also collect and collate the articles on evictions; fires; marches; police harassment; a list of illegal, criminal and/or unconstitutional actions by the eThekwini Municipality; and the struggles of Abahlali's Cape Town ally, the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign. But at the moment you'll have to use the search function to get a sense of what has been loaded here in the past.)
Pictures and Video Footage
Photo galleries, with many pictures at print quality resolution, are available here as well as some short films.
Copyright policy
This site is copyleft. All resources on this site may be reproduced freely, credited to Abahlali baseMjondolo unless otherwise stated. Articles are posted under 'fair use' entitlements, for information, not for profit.
