Abahlali baseMjondolo

Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement
11 March 2010

Mike Sutcliffe Bans another Abahlali baseMjondolo March

The notorious Mike Sutcliffe has banned another Abahlali baseMjondolo march. We have, as always, scrupulously followed the laws that govern protest and we have informed the City in good time that we intend to march on Jacob Zuma on 22 March 2010. Yesterday the march convenor, Troy Morrow from the Hillary AbM branch, was verbally informed that permission to march has been denied. The excuse that has been given this time is that the City does not have enough police officers to be able to ensure security at our march.

Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement
3 March 2010

The Third Force is Gathering its Strength

The goal that our attackers wanted to achieve when they ambushed us on the night of 26 September 2009 has not been achieved. A surprise attack was launched against our movement, the spontaneous resistance to the attack was broken by the police, our office was destroyed, hundreds of our members and supporters were chased from Kennedy Road, thirteen of our comrades were jailed and illegally detained and we have been banned from openly organising in the settlement where our movement was founded. But our movement was never just in Kennedy Road. Before the attack there were fifteen settlements affiliated to our movement in Durban and more than 50 branches across Durban, Pinetown, Tongaat, Howick, Pietermaritzburg and Cape Town. The goal of the attack was to destroy our movement to punish us for our victory against the Slums Act, to deny us the victory that we had won to have the Kennedy Road settlement upgraded where it is and to neutralise us before 2010. But our movement still exists. In fact it continues to grow. Since the attack we have launched four new branches and we will launch another four new branches soon.

Update: 27 January 18:32 - the bosses have flown down from Jo'burg to negotiate with the strikers and the strike has been suspended while the negotiations are ongoing. So far things are looking very positive.

150 contract workers at National Print, in Westmead, Pinetown, have walked off the job. The night shift workers will also refuse to work tonight.

The contract workers have decided to go on strike in protest at the attempt by the CEO to suddenly reduce their working hours and, therefore, their income. January is the month when poor families struggle to pay school fees and to buy school uniforms, books and stationery. This is a very bad time for people to suddenly lose most of their income.

11 December 2009
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

Today the five members of the Kennedy Thirteen who are still in detention returned to court for their 7th attempt at requesting bail. On each of the 6 previous occasions the state failed to provide any evidence against the accused and the Magistrate postponed the bail application to give the state more time to produce some evidence of their guilt. On each case the state has failed to produce this evidence at the next hearing. This has led Bishop Rubin Phillip to call this case a 'travesty of justice'.

Click here to read this statement in French.

30 November 2009
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

All We Want is Justice

The Kennedy Thirteen were back at court on Friday for their 6th attempt at requesting bail. After two months in detention all charges were dropped against one of the thirteen, six were given bail and the other five were remanded in custody to give the police one more chance to bring some evidence against them to the court. The next court date has been set for 11 December 2009. This will be the 7th opportunity given to the police to provide some evidence of guilt.

Thursday, 15 October 2009
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

The Kennedy Eight are now the Kennedy Thirteen

There have been five more arrests. The Kennedy Eight are now the Kennedy Thirteen.

None of the people that launched the attack on us in the Kennedy Road settlement have been arrested.

None of the people that have systematically destroyed the houses of the entire Kennedy Road Development Committee and all of the Kennedy Road Abahlali baseMjondolo members who hold office in our movement have been arrested.

None of the people who have banned our movement from the Kennedy Road settlement on the pain of violent expulsion from the settlement or death have been arrested.

Tuesday, 06 October 2009
Press Statement by the Kennedy Road Development Committee, Abahlali baseMjondolo and the Poor People’s Alliance

Our Movement is under Attack

We are under attack. We have been attacked physically with all kinds of weapons - guns and knives, even a sword. We have been driven from our homes and our community. The police did nothing to stop the attacks on us despite our calls for help. The attacks, which began on the night of Saturday 26 September, were carried out by local ANC members together with shebeen owners from the Kennedy Road settlement. They were saying that our movement was ‘selling them’ to the AmaMpondo. It is a fact that our movement, at the local branch level and at the movement level, has no concern for where people were born or where their ancestors were born. We are a movement of the poor and that means that we do not make divisions between the poor. We have always been clear about this. This is our politics and we will stick to it.

Friends and comrades

The movement is still under attack in Kennedy Road and the police are still failing to protect us. The settlement is now run by the chairperson of the local ANC branch, Jackson Gumede, and his armed mob. Gumede is asking people to show ANC cards. Senior people in the ANC and the police continue to offer open and public support for the attacks. None of the people that attacked us and destroyed our homes have been arrested. Many of us are still sleeping in the bush and in the streets. There has been another death in hospital.

Our members from across 34 settlements in Durban, and some from other settlements as far away as Cape Town, will soon meet in a secret location. We will formulate a plan of action and draft and issue a full and official press statement.

Update: The Kennedy Road 13 have now appeared in court on 6 occasions since they were first arrested to request bail. On each occasion there has been a highly intimidatory and armed presence from the ANC, often making open threats of various sorts including death threats. On each occasion the prosecution have not been able to bring any evidence before the court indicating that the accused are guilty of the crimes with which they have been charged. On each occasion a ruling has been postponed while the police have been given more time to produce this evidence. On each occasion they have failed to do so. The next bail hearing will be on 18 November.