[News] Activists Occupy Central Durban

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Abahlali basemjondolo Occupy Central Durban for 
the First Time Since the Attacks in September Last Year

Submitted by <http://libcom.org/user/red-jack>red jack on Mar 23 2010 08:53


Around 3 000 Abahlali baseMjondolo (ABM) members 
braved serious intimidation from the intelligence 
services, local party goons and the notoriously 
violent South African Police to occupy downtown 
Durban yesterday - which was the South African 
public holiday in honour of 'Human Rights'.

The notoriously authoritarian Durban City 
Manager, Mike Sutcliffe (who calls himself a 
Marxist), had first tried to ban the march with 
an illegal diktat. AbM promised to march in 
defiance of the ban forcing Sutcliffe to 
compromise. He then 'allowed' them to march 
through the periphery of the City. They went to 
court to contest this restriction of their right 
to protest but lost on a technicality. But 
yesterday they set off on the route that they had 
originally intended to take and were able to 
occupy the main streets and the downtown area in 
violation of both Sutcliffe and the court. 
However they could not get past the huge and 
armed police presence cutting them off from the 
City Hall. But the comrades in Durban are 
thrilled - they have shown the ANC that they have 
not been defeated by the attack on the movement 
in September last year and the incredible 
intimidation and repression that followed the 
violence by a state backed party militia.

A Memorandum of Demands to President Jacob Zuma
Monday, 22 March 2010 14, 2005

We, members and supporters of Abahlali 
baseMjondolo and the Rural Network in the 
province of KwaZulu-Natal, are democrats 
committed to the flourishing of this country. We 
speak for ourselves and direct our own struggles. 
We have no hidden agendas. We have been mobilised 
by our suffering and our hopes for a better life. 
We believe that it is time to take seriously the 
fact that South Africa belongs to all who live in it.

We come from the townships of Inanda, KwaMashu 
and Lamontville. We come from the farms in 
eNkwalini, New Hanover, Howick, KwaNjobokazi, 
Melmoth, Utrecht, Babanango and eShowe. We come 
from the flats of Hillary, Portview, Ridge View 
(Cato Manor), Wentworth and New Dunbar. We come 
from the shacks of Joe Slovo, Foreman Road, Clare 
Estate, Palmiet Road, Quarry Road, Motala 
Heights, Siyanda, Umkhumbane, New eMmaus, Pemary 
Ridge, Arnett Drive, Lindelani, Richmond Farm 
and, yes, Kennedy Road. We come from the transit 
camps of Richmond Farm, eNsimbini, Ridge View 
(Transact Camp), Cato Manor and New Dunbar.

We are all agreed that there is a serious crisis 
in our country. The poor are being pushed out of 
any meaningful access to citizenship. We are 
becoming poorer. We are being forced off our land 
and out of our cities. The councillor system has 
become a form of top down political control. It 
does not take our voices upwards. The democracy 
that we won in 1994 is turning into a new system of oppression for the poor.

We are all agreed that this country is rich 
because of the theft of our land and because of 
our work in the farms, mines, factories, kitchens 
and laundries of the rich. That wealth is 
therefore also our wealth. We are all agreed that 
the democratic gains that were won in 1994 were 
won by the struggles of the people and that we, 
the poor, are part of the people. Those victories 
are therefore also our victories. We are all 
agreed that we can not and will not continue to 
suffer in the way that we do. We are all agreed 
that we can not and will not give up our hopes 
for a better life and a fair world.

We have had meetings in all of our areas to 
discuss this march. Each area has developed its 
own set of demands which we are presenting to 
you. We have also taken all the demands that are 
common to many areas and put them together into 
this statement of our collective demands. We 
offer it to you as a statement of our demands. We 
also proclaim it to ourselves and to the world as 
a charter for the next phase of our struggle.

For too long we have been subject to evictions 
from our homes, be they in shack settlements or 
farms. These evictions are often unlawful, they 
are often violent and they often leave the poor 
destitute. Therefore we demand an immediate end 
to all evictions so that we can live in peace and with security.

For too long our communities have survived in 
substandard and informal housing. Therefore, we 
demand decent housing so that we can live in safety, health and dignity.

For too long those of us living in shacks have 
suffered without enough water and without 
toilets, electricity, refuse collection and 
drainage. Therefore we demand decent social 
services in all our communities so that we can 
live in safety, health and dignity.

For too long many of those of us who are formally 
connected to water and electricity have not been 
able to afford the costs of these services and 
face disconnection. Therefore we demand that 
these services be made free for the poor.

For too long the promise of housing has been 
downgraded to forced removal to a transit camp. 
These transit camps are more like prisons than 
homes. If they are ‘delivery’ then they are the 
delivery of the people into oppression. Therefore 
we demand an immediate and permanent end to all 
transit camps so that the dignity of the people 
that have been taken to the camps can be immediately restored.

For too long the housing that has been built has 
been built in human dumping grounds far outside 
of the cities and far from work, schools, clinics 
and libraries. Therefore we demand immediate 
action to release well located land for public 
housing. Where necessary land must be 
expropriated for this purpose. The social value 
of urban land must be put before its commercial value.

For too long people that are already languishing 
in human dumping grounds have been unable to 
access the cities. Therefore we demand the 
immediate provision of safe and reliable 
subsidised public transport to these areas.

For too long there has been rampant corruption in 
the construction and allocation of housing in 
transit camps, RDP housing and social housing. 
Therefore we demand complete transparency in the 
construction and allocation of all housing and an 
immediate end to corruption. We demand, in 
particular, a full and transparent audit into all 
the activities of the social housing company 
SOCHO – including its CEO, general manager and 
board of directors. We demand a similar audit 
into all the activities of Nandi Mandela and her associates.

For too long poor flat dwellers have suffered 
from unaffordable and exploitative rents. 
Therefore we demand the writing off of all 
arrears and the institution of an affordable flat rate for all.

For too long the poor have been forced to sign 
exploitative rental agreements under duress and 
threat of eviction. Therefore we demand the 
cancellation and collective renegotiation of all 
rental agreements signed under duress.

For too long farm dwellers have suffered the 
impoundment of their cattle, demolition of their 
homes, the denial of the right to burry their 
loved ones on the land, the denial of basic 
service and brutality, and sometimes even murder, 
at the hands of some farmers. The bias that the 
justice system has towards the rich has meant 
that it has systematically undermined farm 
dwellers. Therefore we demand immediate and 
practical action to secure the rights of farm dwellers.

For too long a fair distribution and use of rural 
land has been made impossible by the fact that 
land –a gift from God – has been turned into a 
commodity. Therefore we demand immediate steps to 
put the social value of rural land before its commercial value.

For too long the attack on our movement, its 
leaders and well known members, their family 
members and its offices in the Kennedy Road 
settlement in September last year has received 
the full backing of the local party and 
government structures. Therefore we demand

• a serious, comprehensive and credible 
investigation into the attack and its subsequent 
handling by the local party and government 
structures. This must include a full 
investigation into the role of the South African Police Services.
• the right to return for all the victims of the 
attack, including the Kennedy Road Development 
Committee and all its sub-committees. This right 
must be backed up with high level protection for 
the security of all the residents of the settlement.
• full compensation for everyone who lost their 
homes, possessions and livelihoods in the attack.
• a full and public apology by Willies Mchunu for 
the attack and its subsequent handling.
• the immediate release of those members of the 
Kennedy 13 who are still being held in detention.
• that immediate steps be taken to ensure that 
Willies Mchunu, Nigel Gumede and Yakoob Baig are 
not allowed to interfere in any police or 
judicial processes resulting from the attack.

For too long our communities have been ravaged by 
the cruelest forms of poverty. Therefore we 
demand the creation of well-paying and dignified jobs.

For too long the right to education has been 
reserved for the rich. Therefore we demand free education for the poor.

For too long we have not been safe from criminals 
and violence. We are especially concerned about 
the lack of safety for women in our communities. 
Therefore we demand immediate practical action to 
secure the safety of everyone and, in particular, the safety of women.

For too long the poor have been turned against 
the poor. Therefore we demand an immediate end to 
all forms of discrimination against isiXhosa 
speaking people (amamPondo) and people born in other countries.

For too long the legal system has been biased 
against the poor. Therefore we demand serious 
practical action to ensure that access to justice 
is no longer distorted by access to money.

For too long the councillor system has been used 
to control the people from above and to stifle 
their voices. Therefore we demand the immediate 
recognition of the right of all people to, if 
they so wish, organise themselves outside of 
party structures in freedom and safety.

Furthermore, just as people from around the city, 
the province and the country are uniting in 
support of our struggle we express our support 
for our comrades elsewhere. We have stood with, 
and will continue to stand with our comrades in 
Wentworth, our comrades in the Poor People’s 
Alliance and struggling communities and movements 
across the country. We thank everyone who has 
demonstrated solidarity with our struggle 
including church leaders, students and our 
comrades in other countries. We will do our best 
to offer the same support to your struggles.

Sunday, 21 March 2010 – Human Rights Day
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Release

******************************************************

Sutcliffe’s Dirty Tricks Will Not Keep Us from Marching in Our City Tomorrow

Our political rights are always taken from us with technical arguments.

When we are evicted we are always told that it is 
because the land is ‘too steep’, the soil is ‘not 
right’ and so on. Of course once our shacks are 
demolished flats or businesses for the rich are 
quickly built on the same land that we were told was ‘unsafe’ for us.

When we are denied bail we are always told that 
it is because the police ‘need time to complete 
their investigations’, or even to ‘type documents.’ This is how it goes.

Technical arguments are always used against us 
because it is assumed that technical questions 
can only be answered by experts. The state has 
their own experts on their payroll and so by 
making important social questions into problems 
to be resolved by experts they seize the right to 
answer these questions on their own – they expel 
the people from any chance to debate these 
questions. The Freedom Charter said that ‘the 
people will govern’. It didn’t say that the 
experts will govern. It didn’t say that there 
will be democracy if the city managers decide to allow it.

Today we went to court to ask the judge to 
interdict Sutcliffe against his attempt to limit 
our right to protest by keeping us away from the 
City Hall and the main streets. We have won 
similar cases against Sutcliffe twice before. But 
this time the City played a dirty trick. They 
told the court that they could not allow us to 
march through the main streets and to the City 
Hall because the City Hall is being repaired and 
it would be ‘dangerous’ for us to come too close 
to it. They argued that our basic political 
rights could be stolen from us because of a technical issue.

Our lawyer pointed out that yesterday SADTU 
marched to the City Hall. Their response was that 
Abahlali baseMjondolo is a mass movement and that 
our march will be much bigger than the march 
organised by SADTU. This is true but it remains 
clear that the repairs to the City Hall are just 
being used as an excuse to prevent us from 
protesting freely in our own city. We would have 
been happy to keep a safe distance from the 
building. Anyway even if it was dangerous to come 
close to the City Hall that would not make it 
dangerous for us to protest in the main streets.

Unfortunately the judge allowed the City to use a 
technical argument to take away a basic 
democratic right. We have asked our lawyers to 
explore the option of launching an urgent appeal first thing tomorrow morning.

But irrespective of the outcome of that legal 
process we will be marching tomorrow. The 
marchers will decide, democratically, when we are 
all together, how to respond to this attack on 
our basic political rights. But one thing that we 
are very clear on is that amandla remains with 
us. We go to court to confirm the rights that 
have been won in prior struggles but we are very 
clear that the only real defence for these 
rights, and the only way to win new rights, is 
through the power of the organised poor. For 
example everyone can see that organised 
communities are not evicted. Unorganised 
communities are evicted, illegally, every day.

Many of us spent today with our comrades in the 
Rural Network in eNkwalini where farm dwellers 
who have been subject to a reign of terror by a 
farmer called Mark Channel mourned Human Rights 
Day. Their homes have been demolished, they have 
been shot and their cattle have been impounded. 
They live on this land but they do not live in 
any Republic of South Africa. They live outside 
of the protection of human rights and the law. We 
spent the day listening as they shared their 
stories. It is clear that from the flats to the 
shacks and the farms there is no place for the poor in this democracy.

Sutcliffe has decided to protect the name of the 
City Hall by using dirty tricks to keep us away 
from it – to keep our protests as hidden as a 
transit camp. But tomorrow we will be coming into 
the city from the townships, the farms, the 
flats, the shacks and the transit camps. We will 
be coming into the city from the townships of 
Inanda, KwaMashu and Lamontville. We will be 
coming into the city from the farms in eNkwalini, 
New Hanover, Howick, KwaMjolokazi, Melmoth, 
Utrecht, Baba Nango and eShowe. We will be coming 
into the city from the flats of Hillary, Russell 
Street, Mayville, Wentworth and Dunbar. We will 
be coming into the city from the shacks of Joe 
Slovo, Foreman Road, Clare Estate, Palmiet Road, 
Quarry Road, Motala Heights, Siyanda, Umkhumbane, 
New eMmaus, Pemary Ridge, Arnett Drive and, yes, 
Kennedy Road. We will be coming into the city 
from the transit camps of Richmond Farm, 
eNsimbini, Ridge View, Cato Manor and New Dunbar. 
We will be joined by representatives of some 
churches and NGOs. All of these struggling 
communities will bring their own demands to Jacob 
Zuma. We will also issue our collective demands to Jacob Zuma.

Many journalists have been phoning us and asking 
if our ‘service delivery protest’ will be going 
ahead tomorrow. We appreciate the interest of the 
media but we really want to stress that this will 
not ‘be a service delivery protest’. We have 
never organised ‘a service delivery protest.’ In 
fact our first marches were to announce that we 
rejected top down rule by the councillors and 
that we would, as we have done for the last five 
years, begin to rule ourselves. The language in 
which people’s struggles are turned into ‘service 
delivery protests’ is a language that has been 
imposed on our struggles from outside – it is not 
our language. Of course we are struggling for 
land and housing, water and electricity. But we 
do not accept the limited way in which these 
‘services’ are ‘delivered’. Often an important 
part of our struggles is to reject that the way 
that services are delivered. For example we do 
not accept transit camps. We are struggling for 
the full recognition and realisation of our 
humanity in a society that denies our humanity at 
every turn. We are struggling for real equality. 
We are struggling so that the world that God gave 
to humanity is shared fairly by all of us. To 
call our struggles ‘service delivery protests’ is 
a way of making them safe for our oppressors.

We appeal to the media, and to other groups too, 
like academics, NGOs and churches, to please 
exercise an important discipline when talking 
about struggling communities and movements. That 
discipline is a simple one but it is a very 
important one. That discipline is to speak to 
people before speaking about them or for them. As 
we have said so many times before we are poor in 
life, not in mind. If you want to know why we are 
struggling just ask us and we will tell you. If 
you want to know why people are protesting in 
Mamelodi, Orange Farm or anywhere in the country 
you don’t need researchers or analysts or spies – you just need to ask them.

We have a clear message for all those who believe 
that they have a natural right to rule the poor 
from above be they in government, civil society 
or the left. We have a clear message for all 
those big men like Willies Mchunu, Michael 
Sutcliffe or Ashwin Desai who believe that they 
have the right to ruin any organisation of the 
poor that they cannot rule. Our message is this:

We have been evicted, forcibly removed, beaten, 
slandered, publicly threatened with death, 
arrested, jailed, tortured and driven from our 
homes. Some of us have lost everything that we 
ever owned in this world. But we will not give 
up. We will not be turned against each other. We 
will work and work and work to unite the poor 
against the politicians and the rich. The problem 
in this society is the deep political 
disempowerment of the poor and we will solve this 
problem by organising ourselves to build our 
political power. Struggle is hard and it is 
dangerous. But struggle is the only way to defend 
our humanity and the humanity of our children. We 
have a deep responsibility to continue with this 
struggle until we achieve real equality and a fair sharing of this world.

The march will be supported, with a physical 
presence, by the Rural Network and the South 
Durban Community Environmental Alliance. It will 
also be supported, without a physical presence, 
by our comrades in the Poor People’s Alliance – 
Abahlali baseMjondolo Western Cape, the Western 
Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign and the Landless People’s Movement in Gauteng.

For more information on the march please contact:

S’bu Zikode, Abahlali baseMjondolo President: 083 547 0474
Troy Morrow, Chairperson of the Abahlali 
baseMjondolo Hillary Branch and march convenor: 071 511 8446
Zodwa Nsibande, Abahlali baseMjondolo General Secretary: 082 830 2707

Representatives of the following organisations 
that will be in solidarity with Abahlali 
baseMjondolo can also be contacted for comment:

Reverened Mavuso Mbhekeseni, Rural Network: 072 279 2634
Des D’sa, South Durban Community Environmental Alliance: 083 982 6939
Ashraf Cassiem, Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign: 082 337 4514
Mzonke Poni, Abahlali baseMjondolo of the Western Cape: 073 256 2036
Maureen Mnisi, Landless People’s Movement (Gauteng): 082 337 4514

Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Release
Friday, 19 March 2010




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