The poorest of the poor will be left even further behind unless those responsible for helping them are held to account and public scrutiny
Faith ka-Manzi (The Mercury) 1 July 2013
CATO Manor is once again a murderous site of repression and forced removals, with Abahlali baseMjondolo member Nkululeko Gwala’s murder just the most recent incident.
Service protests in Cato Manor have become more violent as residents have become more desperate. They are trying to raise awareness of their plight, says the writer.
Who is to blame, and how can this spiral of violence be reversed?
Last Wednesday at the Cato Crest Community Centre at least 2 000 people gathered for a meeting addressed by leaders of the eThekwini Municipality and the ANC regional executive.
Those present included provincial Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo, who is also the chairman of the ANC’s eThekwini region, mayor James Nxumalo, ANC regional leader Monica Jama and councillor Mzi Ngiba from ward 101.
The protests against councillors and lack of service in Cato Crest’s ward 101 shackland and the formal housing area in Cato Manor’s ward 30 have been under way for months. One other community leader from the shacks was killed in March after leading land invasions in vacant areas as a result of the housing shortage.
The protests, which regularly block traffic along Spine, Rick Turner and Bellair roads, reached a critical point last week when government property was destroyed, including the offices of Ngiba and ward 30’s Zanele Dzoyiya. Protesters say that neither of them serve their constituencies and that they are involved in corrupt allocation of council resources, including RDP houses.
I attended the meeting, as both a resident and as a University of KwaZulu-Natal researcher studying Cato Manor’s problems. One of my colleagues taped the public meeting and provided the recording to those who requested it. When journalist Nathi Oliphant wrote about Gwala’s murder in the Sunday Tribune yesterday, he reported that Dhlomo had accused his newspaper of “planting agents to record meetings on its behalf”.
Dhlomo should know that we are not Tribune agents. We are the kind of citizens who are not afraid to speak out when we see injustice, and provide information to the press and society.
In the US two of these whistleblowing citizens are Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden, who are being unfairly prosecuted for leaking information about the government of President Barack Obama. The world knows more about the US’s extreme violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen thanks to Manning, and about its frightening surveillance capacity thanks to Snowden.
Likewise in South Africa we have a Right2Know campaign concerned about official secrecy – such as the US-style General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill – and it needs the support of every member of our society. Go to www.r2k.org.za
For example, the police should be investigating Dhlomo and other speakers for incitement to murder. In addition to Gwala, who was shot 12 times a few hours later, three others were targeted at last Wednesday’s meeting, and are presumably in hiding.
Before the crowd was incited, other community residents spoke about problems in the area.
One said: “We are tired of hooligans breaking into bottle stores and destroying the robots.” He said that hooligans had attacked a Somaliowned tuck shop, but the Somalis had beaten the attackers off. The police had been useless, he said.
Another called for the army to be brought in to restore order.
The final resident to speak before the mayor and MEC said that the ANC was being disturbed by “new arrivals” (izifikanamthwalo), which is often used as a xenophobic pejorative.
To her credit, Jama, who was the MC, continually reminded those at the meeting that the ANC did not encourage violence.
Nxumalo’s main message was that ward 101 shack residents should have lower expectations. Because “land does not expand”, they would never be able to satisfy everyone. Even after buying nearby plots, there would not be enough housing for everyone, so some people would be moved to Cornubia.
Nxumalo also blamed residents who had tenants, as well as the Occupy Umlazi movement, which began at Zakheleni Squatter Camp next to the Mangosuthu University of Technology a year ago.
Members of the movement occupied an uncleared plot right next to their councillor’s offices.
In that instance, however, our contacts in Zakheleni insist that their protest led to the council supplying more water, sanitation and electricity.
It is well known that if community service protests create a nuisance in a creative way, sometimes not only do radio traffic reports pay attention to them, but President Jacob Zuma or other dignitaries also visit the scene.
In the case of Cato Manor and Cato Crest, the visits by provincial and municipal politicians did not lead to delivery or even a change in councillor. So the protesters kept increasing the pressure, to the point of last week’s explosions.
Dhlomo was the least forgiving of those expressing grievance. He bragged that ward 101 was the “Gedleyihlekisa Zone”, named after Zuma. Dhlomo told Nxumalo that his “home boy” Gwala should be relocated to Inchanga, where Nxumalo claimed he had a “proper house”, and that he should “scrub his heels because he is leaving today”.
“It’s either he goes or the community goes. He must go. He is not wanted here,” he said.
A few hours later, Gwala was assassinated.
In recent days, as Nelson Mandela continued to struggle for his life and as Zuma entertained Obama, a microcosm of the ANC’s degeneration played out here.
It is obvious who is responsible for the public threat to Gwala, whom I never met but understand was a strong-willed activist committed to his community.
But it is not obvious how this terrible conflict between politicians and their furious constituents will end. Making what we know about this conflict public is a small step towards raising the price of political violence.
The tape recording showing incitement of a crowd against Nkululeko Gwala
Photos from meeting
Laba abahlwempu kakhulu bazosala kakhulu emuva ngaphandle umangabe labo okuyibona okufanele balungise lesimo ngokubasiza bavezwe obala futhi umphakathi wazi ukuthi basebenza kanjani
NguFaith ka-Manzi (The Mercury) 1 July 2013
EMkhumbane sekuphinde futhi kwayindawo yokubulawa kwabantu, ingcindezi kanye nokususwa ngempoqo, njengokubulawa kwelunga laBahlali Basemjondolo kukaNkululeko Gwala.
Izibhelu ezimayelana nokulethwa kwezinqalasizinda eMkhumbane isnodlame njengoba izakhamizi nazo seziphelelwa kakhulu ithemba. Zizama ukukhombisa umhlaba wonke inking ezibhekene nayo, kusho umbhali.
Ubani okufanele asolwe ngalokhu, futhi kungenziwa-njani ukuthi loludlame lungaqhubekeli phambili?
NgoLwesithathu olwedlule eCato Crest Community Centre cishe amalunga omphakathi abalelwa kwizinkulungwane ezimbili zazibuthene emveni kokubizelwa umhlangano ophuthumayo lapho kwakukhuluma khona abaholi bakaMasipala weTheku kanye nobuholi beTheku bukaKhongolose.
Kubaholi ababekhona kubalwa uNgqongqoshe Wezempilo kwisifundazwe saKawZulu-Natal uSbongiseni Dhlomo, obuye futhi abe ngusihlalo kaKhongolose eThekwini, uSobaba woMkhandlu waseThekwini uJames Nxumalo, nomunye umholi kaKhongolose waseThekwini uMonica Jama kanye neKhansela laku Ward101 uMzi Ngiba.
Imibhikilisho emelene namakhansela alezizindawo kanye nokungafiki kahle kwezinqalasizinda kuwadi 101 eCato Crest emjondolo kanye nasezakhiweni zakuwadi 30 eCato Manor sekunezinyanga kwaqala. Omunye wabaholi emjondolo wabulawa ngenyanga kaMashi emva kokuhola iqembu elalizakhela imijondolo emhlabeni owawuvele ungasetshenziswa muntu ngenxa njalo yakho ukushoda kwezindlu.
Lemibhikisho, ejwayele ukuvimba ukuhamba kwezimoto kwimigwaqo emithathu uSpine, uBelllari kanye noRick Turner, ifike kwelinye igiya ngesonto eledlule lapho izakhiwo zikahulumeni zacekelwa phansi, okumbandakanya nokungqongqiswa kwamahovisi kaNgiba kanye noZanele Ndzoyiya waku wadi30. Abakhikilishi bathi womabili lamakhansela awasebenzeli abavoti bakulezi zindawo futhi azimbandakanya nenkohlakalo mayelana nokulethwa kwezinsiza zikamasipala, okuhlanganisa izindlu zeRDP.
Ngangikhona kulomhlangano owawubizwa ngumasipala kanye nobuholi bukaKhongolose eThekwini, njengesakhamizi kanye nomcwaningi ozinze esikhungweni semfundo ephakeme eNyuvezi yaKwaZulu-Natal ebhekelela izinkiga zaseMkhumbane. Omunye wozakhwethu yena wayephethe umshini owawuqopha izinkulumo kulomhlangano womphakathi futhi wanikeza noma ngubani owayewufuna lomhlangano owawuqoshiwe. Ngesikhathi intatheli uNathi Oliphant ebhala ngokubulawa kukaGwala kwiphephandaba iSunday Tribune izolo, wabika ukuthi uDhlomo wasola leliphephandaba “ngokutshala izimpimpi ukuqophela leliphephandaba umhlangano”.
UDhlomo kuemele azi ukuthi asizona izimpimpi zeTribune. Siyiloluhlobo lwezakhamizi ezingesabi ukukhuluma uba zibona bungekho ubulungiswa, futhi bese zitshela abezindaba kanye nezwe.
EMelika izakhamizi ezimbili uBradley uBradley Manning kanye no Edward Snowden, njengamanje abashushiswa ngokungenabulungiswa ngenxa yoveza amahlazo ngeohulumeni kaMongameli uBarack Obama. Umhlaba wazi kakhulu ngesihluku esikhulu saseMelika eIraq, e Afghanistan, ePakistan kanye naseYemen futhi sibonga uManning ngalokho, kanye futhi nobunhloli obusabisayo obenziwa yilohulumeni futhi sibonga uSnowden ngalokho.
Njengoba kwenzeka-ke eNingizimu Afrika sinomkhankaso iRight2Know nawo obhekene nomshikashika wokumelana nezimfuhlo zezikhulu – njengoba kwenzeka kumthetho waseMelika wezobunhloli iGeneral Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill – futhi lomkhankaso udinga ukuxhaswa yizozonke izakhamizi zaseNingizimu Afrika. Ukwazi kabanzi vakashela e www.r2k.org.za
Ukwenza-nje isibonelo, amaphoyisa kufanele ngabe aphenya uDhlomo kanye nezinye izikhulumi ngokukhuluma okunokuhlohla okuholelel ekubulaweni komuntu. Ngaphezu kokubulawa kukaGwala, owadutshulwa mahlandla ayishumi nambili emva kwamahora ambalwa kade ukhona lomhlango, abanye futhi abathathu okwabuye kwakhulunywa ngabo emhlangweni wangesento eledlule ngoLwesithathu, futhi kusolakala ukuthi babhacile lapho bekhona.
Ngaphambi kokuthi abantu ababethamele lomhlangano bahlohlwe, amanye amalunga omphakathi akhuluma ngezinkinga zakulewadi.
Omunye wabo wathi: “Sikhathele izigcwelegcwele ezigqkeza izitolo zotshwalo futhi zicekela phansi amarobhothi.” Wathi lezizigcwelegcwele zahlasela isitolo umnikazi waso ogowesizwe saseSomali, futhi lesisizwe sashaya abahlaseli. Amaphoyisa awabanga nhlobo nosizo, esho esephetha.
Elinye ilunga lathi akubizwe abezombutho wezempi ukuze kubekhona ukuhlelaka endaweni.
Ilunga logcina ukukhuluma ngaphambi kukaSobaba woMkhandlu weTheku kanye noNgqongqoshe lathi uKhongolose uphazanyiswa ngabokufika abasha izifikanamthwalo, igama njalo elihlala lisetshenziswa uma kushiwo abaseAfrika abaqhamuka ngaphandle kwaleli.
UJama, okunguyena owayephethe lomhlangano, wayelokhu njalo etshela abantu ukuthi uKhongolose awulugqugquzeli udlame.
Umyalezo ophambili kaNxumalo kwakungukuthi abahlali basemjondolo bakuwadi101 kwakungafanele babenathemba kakhulu.
Ngenxa yokuthi “umhlaba awunwebeki”, futhi ngeke bakwazi ukwenelisa wonke umuntu. Wathi nomangabe bangathenga umhlaba oseduzane nelendawo, ngeke kube khona izindlu eziyokwanela wonke umuntu, ngakho-ke abanye abantu bayodluliselwa eConurbia.
UNxumalo wasola futhi abahlali abaqashisayo, kanye neOccupy Movement yaseMlazi, eyaqala emjondolo yaseZakheleni eduze kwesikhungo semfundo ephakeme iMangosuthu University of Technology ngonyaka odlule.
Amalunga alenhlangano ahlala endaweni eyayingakhiwe eduze nehovisi lekhansela lendawo.
Kodwa-ke okwenzeka eZakheleni, njengokusho kwesixhumana nabo kulendawo bathi bona ukubhikilisha kwabo kwaholela ekutheni ikhansele lilethe amanzi, ukuhlanzwakwendle kanye namandla kagesi.
Kuyaziwa kakhulu ukuthi uma kezibhelu ezimayelana nokulethwa kwezinsiza emphakathini udala isicefe kodwa ngendlela enobuciko, kwesinye isikhathi abagcini-nje mgokubikwa lapho imisakazo ikhuluma mayelana nokucinana kwezimoto emgaqweni, kodwa ngisho uMongamelu Zuma uqobo kanye nezinye izikhulu bavasheka kuzo lezozindawo.
ECato Manor kanye nase Cato Crest, ukuvakashelwa abezombusazwei besifunda kanye nomkhandlu akuzange kuholele oshintshweni kwisimo nomakushintshwe ikhansela. Ngakho-ke amabhikishi balokhu befaka ingcindezi, okwaholela-ke kokwenzeka ngesonto eledlule sekushiswa izakhiwo zikahulumeni namahovisi amakhansela.
UDhlomo wayengenayo nhlobo untethelelo kulabo ababekhononda. Wyeqhosha ukuthi uwadi 101 ungaphansi kwe”Gedleyihlekisa Zone”., ebizwa ngoZuma. UDhlomo watshela uNxumalo ukuthi “umkhaya wakhe” uGwala kufanele aphindele eNtshanga, lapho uNxumalo ayethi “kunomuzi wakubo’’, nokuthi kufanele “ahlikihle izinyawo zakhe ngoba uyahamba namhlanje”.
“Kufanele ahambe uma kungenjalo kuhambe umphakathi. Kufanele ahambe. Akadingeki lapha,” kusho uDhlomo.
Emva kwakahora ambalwa. uGwala watholakala esesocongiwe.
Kulezizinsuku, njengoba noNelson Mandela elwela impilo yakhe noZuma amukela kahle uObama, kuvele kancane ukwehla kwesizotha kukaKhongolose.
Kusobala ukuthi ngubani owahlohla emphakathini ngempilo kaGwala, naye ebengingakaze ngihlangane naye kodwa engizwa ukuthi kwakuyisishoshovu esinomfutho futhi esisizinikele kakhulu emphakathini.
Kodwa-ke akukho obala ukuthi lesimo esibi kangaka sokungaboni ngaso linye phakathi kwabezombusazwe kanye nabavoti babo abavutha bhe ulaka siyophela kanjani.
Ukwenza ukuthi zwe ngalesisimo igxathu elincane ekubhekelaneni nenani lodlame lezombusazwe.
UFaith ka-Manzi ungumcwaningi esikhungweni semfundo ephakeme iNyuvesi yaKwaZulu-Natal, eCentre for Civil Society.
Unacceptable!
The Mercury lead editorial opinion 1 Jul 2013
NO MATTER what one’s opinion is of Nkululeko Gwala, the leader of a group of protesters who have been demanding free government housing in Cato Manor, the manner of his violent death on Wednesday night is unacceptable in a supposedly civilised society.
It is in the public interest that his killers face justice, if only to send a message that using murder to solve political problems will not be tolerated.
To the apparent annoyance of officials including eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo and Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo, who is also the chairman of the ANC in the region, Gwala had staged what at times were violent protests to back up demands, which included free housing and the resignation of councillors on the grounds they were not doing their jobs.
The protesters took their action to another level last week, blocking public roads and destroying property.
This was unacceptable and the police should have taken firm action against those responsible.
It is this escalation that seems to have brought Nxumalo and Dhlomo into the area on Wednesday night to address residents’ grievances.
At this public meeting, an unfortunate choice of words was uttered by some officials, which some observers now believe, rightly or wrongly, might have led to Gwala’s murder later that night.
His violent death and public interest demand that the matter be investigated properly.
It is also in the interest of the officials who addressed that meeting that the truth about Gwala’s killers comes out, if only to put to rest damaging suspicions and clear people’s names.
Gwala may well have been an opportunistic demagogue who took advantage of desperate people to build his political career. But that does not justify silencing him with bullets.
In spite of our claims to be a thriving democracy in which disputes are resolved by peaceful means and officials are responsive to the needs of the people, Gwala’s killing and those of others, who have died over competition for councillor posts and government contracts, suggest that is far from reality.
People who will stop at nothing to gain access to political office or to retain it should have no place in our society.
A culture of impunity is slowly taking root. We hope in this case the law will take its course without fear or favour.
Call for probe into activists’ killing
NKULULEKO NENE 1 July 2013
Durban – The former head of shack dwellers movement Abahlali baseMjondolo has called for an independent probe of the killings of Durban housing activists Nkululeko Gwala and Thembinkosi Qumbelo.
Gwala, 34, was shot 12 times on Wednesday night near his girlfriend’s home in Cato Crest, where he lived. Qumbelo was shot dead in March on the same street, with 10 spent cartridges found by the police at the scene.
Speaking at Gwala’s memorial service on Sunday, former Abahlali president, S’bu Zikode, lashed out at Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo for allegedly inciting people at a tense community meeting just before Gwala was killed.
Dhlomo, who is the ANC chairman in eThekwini,
denied that he had incited the crowd at the meeting before Gwala was murdered.
Dhlomo had delivered a heated speech at a meeting, saying Gwala was not wanted in the area, and that he “either leaves the area or the community leaves”.
He said that Gwala should be banished and should “scrub his heels because he is leaving today”.
He had said mayor James Nxumalo, who was also present, should take his homeboy Gwala back to Inchanga.
Gwala had been interviewed by the Daily News two hours before he was murdered.
Zikode told the about 300 people at the memorial service that it seemed every time government officials tried to calm the situation, a leader got killed.
He claimed that Qumbelo was due to meet officials from the eThekwini Municipality the weekend after he died.
“We have damning evidence to prove that Gwala’s assassination was… politically orchestrated. But we cannot produce it because we have lost trust in the police and the ANC leadership,” said Zikode.
“We will be engaging with our legal team which is busy probing (the) Marikana saga at the moment, to give us advice. Many of us are happy to come forward and present it (the evidence).”
Zikode claimed that the people responsible for the two murders had an interest in the Cato Crest area. “The killing of Qumbelo and Gwala was planned to instil political fear.”
He said Gwala had been instrumental in recruiting members to Abahlali baseMjondolo, an organisation that fights for shack dwellers’ rights.
Dhlomo could not be reached for comment.
But he told the Sunday Tribune that he had said at the meeting that Nxumalo, who came from the same area as Gwala, should take him back to Inchanga.
“I said: ‘If this boy can go back to Inchanga, there would be peace here.’ Do you have a problem with that? Do you call that incitement? That is your own opinion. I don’t agree with you,” Dhlomo had said.
nkululeko.nene@inl.co.za
www.iol.co.za
Shack-dweller activists go into hiding
NKULULEKO NENE (IOL News)2 July 2013
Durban – Three members of shack-dwellers’ organisation Abahlali Basemjondolo, who have been receiving death threats, have gone into hiding after the murder of a comrade in Cato Crest.
Activist Nkululeko Gwala, 34, was shot 12 times on Wednesday night following a meeting to discuss protests in the area, including torching the offices of two local councillors.
Gwala and his alleged part in the destruction became the centre of the discussion.
But on Monday, Sibongile Msiya, 30, also a member of Abahlali Basemjondolo, who admitted to being among the protesters, denied Gwala had been present at the torching of councillor Mzimuni Ngiba’s offices.
She said she now feared for her life and was in hiding.
Members of the Dhunbar community – part of councillor Zanele Ndzoyiya’s ward 30, which includes Cato Manor – had been on the rampage the night before Gwala got killed, said Msiya.
“He (Gwala) had been a very strict person. After seeing them run amok, he decided to withdraw himself and went home. He had never been there,” she said.
She said she had heard rumours that she was on a hitlist.
“My landlord had received a message that she must get rid of me, otherwise she would lose her RDP house,” she said.
Abahlali Basemjondolo general secretary Bandile Mdlalose said three members had had to flee the area after rumours spread that their names were on a hitlist.
Asked why these allegations had not been reported to the local police station, she said they had lost trust in the police.
“After it became clear that a meeting on Wednesday was about our (member) Gwala, police ought to have given him protection,” she said, adding that police had been at the meeting when speakers incited the community to violence.
Mdlalose said Gwala had reported intimidation, but nothing was done to investigate.
“As an organisation, we are obliged to protect our members. It will be difficult to say how long they would remain in hiding. Some of our members have been in hiding after assassination attempts failed three years ago,” she said.
SAPS spokesman Colonel Vincent Mdunge said nothing had been reported to the police regarding a hitlist, and he rejected allegations of incompetence levelled at the police.
“These people are just mongering rumours. They should make statements at the police station if they have any information which might help us arrest Gwala’s killers,” said Mdunge.
He said the situation was calm in Cato Manor and police were monitoring the area.
Gwala is expected to be buried in Inchanga on Wednesday.
nkululeko.nene@inl.co.za
Daily News
www.iol.co.za
Nkululeko Gwala Murdered in Cato Crest
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement 27 June 2013
Nkululeko Gwala Murdered in Cato Crest
Last night Nkululeko Gwala, an Abahlali baseMjondolo member, and a well known and respected housing activist, was murdered in Cato Crest. Twelve shots were fired. The style of this assassination is very similar to the assassination of Thembinkosi Qumbelo, also a well known housing activist (but not an AbM member) who was killed in the same area on the 15th of March this year. There are also strong similarities to the attack on our movement in Kennedy Road in 2009.
There has been a long struggle in Cato Crest against evictions, transit camps and rampant corruption in the housing project. Nkululeko Gwala , along with a large number of comrades from Cato Crest, participated in the Abahlali baseMjondolo UnFreedom Day event in the Kennedy Road settlement in April. In May he joined the movement. We were planning to launch the Cato Crest branch next week.
On Monday there was a road blockade in Cato Crest starting at 2:00 a.m. It was a protest against Councillor Mzimuni Ngiba for only allocating housing to members of the ruling party. Later that morning the councillor called the people to his offices to talk but when they got there he refused to come out. He said that he would only meet with a delegation of four people. Four people, including Nkululeko, were delegated to speak to the councillor. Nkululeko spoke about corruption. He questioned why houses were only going to party members and why ward committee members were receiving two or three houses. They delegation told Cllr Ngiba that they wanted to meet with the ward committee and that they would not meet with the ANC or SACP. A meeting with the ward committee and the delegation of four was set up for Tuesday at 9:00 a.m.
When the four comrades, all Abahlali baseMjondolo members, arrived at the meeting the ANC and the SACP were there.
The delegation made it clear that this was not what they had agreed too and that they did not want political parties present. The ANC replied that this was ANC land and that the housing project was an ANC project and that they would make all decisions in the area and about the project. Nkululeko decided to walk out. The other three comrades remained. They were told to warn Nkululeko that the ANC would not accept what they called his ‘disrespect’. There were a lot of threats.
The three comrades who remained in the meeting reported back to the community in Cato Crest and to Abahlali baseMjondolo. The protests in the neighbouring section of Dunbar, which is in a different ward, were discussed. There are no Abahlali baseMjondolo members there but it was decided that although Dunbar is in a different ward people were struggling on the same issues and facing the same threats and that they should try to unite.
At around 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday people in Dunbar started to protest. Nkululeko and others started to move towards Dunbar from the transit camps in Cato Crest (where people have been left to rot for six years). At 11:00 p.m. Abahlali baseMjondolo received a call from one of our members there to say that people in the Dunbar community had burnt down the offices of their councillor, Zanele Ndzoyiya. He said that the people were doing their own thing and were not under the discipline of Abahlali baseMjondolo or any other organisation. The same group of people then moved to Councillor Ngibai’s office and at 2:30 a.m. that office was burnt down.
On Wednesday a Municipality car with ‘Community Participation’ written on the side drove around Cato Crest and the people were called to a meeting with a loudhailer. It was said that the agenda was to unite the community.
But when the people got to the meeting it was not about uniting the community. James Nxumalo, the mayor, and Sibongeseni Dhlomo, the ANC chairperson in Durban, chaired the meeting. The meeting was about Nkululeko. It was said by the ANC that he was vocal, that he was not disciplined, that he was disrespectful, that he was causing trouble to the party, that he was making it difficult for the ANC to operate in the area and it was claimed that he was introducing a new political party to the area (i.e. our movement which is not a political party). It was also said that anyone who interrupted the bulldozers would be ‘sorted out’. Dhlomo told Nxumalo to tell Nkululeko that he must ‘wash his feet’ and that Nxumalo must give him a lift back home to Inchanga today. It was said that he must leave Durban and return there.
Dhlomo attacked the police for not controlling the protests in the area. He has called on residents to ‘protect the area’. We all know what this means. He was calling for ANC members to drive out people organised outside of the party as the ANC did in Kennedy Road in 2009. We remember very well how Willies Mchunu said that Kennedy Road had been ‘liberated’ after our movement was driven from that area by the ANC with violence while the police did nothing. We expect more violence in Cato Crest. But just as we have taken Kennedy Road back through the strength of democratic organisation we will also hold our place in Cato Crest and across this city.
After this meeting Nkululeko contacted Abahlali baseMjondolo and set up a meeting for 8:00 a.m. this morning. The agenda was to discuss the intimidation and political corruption in the area and to organise a press conference to expose all of this to the media. Nkululeko had been collecting evidence of intimidation and political corruption for a long time.
There was a Confederation Cup game on last night. Nkululeko watched the game at a friend’s house. He was in sms and telephone contact with Abahlali baseMjondolo leaders throughout the evening. He made it clear that he expected an attack. His comrades in Cato Crest advised him to flee the area. He said that he would ‘rather take a bullet’ than run away. At 9:30 p.m. he was returning to his shack after the game. Four men accosted him and he was shot 12 times. People who saw the shooting are saying that he was killed by the same men who killed Thembinkosi Qumbelo in the same area in March. This murder was never investigated and there have been no arrests.
Now that Nkululeko is dead his body is being taken home to Inchanga. People are asking if this is what Dhlomo meant when he said that the Mayor should take him home. Just as in the case of the Qumbelo murder, and the attack on Abahlali baseMjondolo in Kennedy Road in 2009, the senior politicians arrived directly after the violence. This is exactly how the 2009 plot in Kennedy Road was organised. Just like in Kennedy Road they were singing songs against Nkululeko at this meeting. They said that they would not tolerate Nkuleleko’s ‘nonsense’ while he is still selling vetkoek.
Nkululeko was always a confident man, full of smiles, jokes and songs. His favourite song was Babekuphi Lababantu Emzabalazweni?
But recently he was very quiet although he never stopped speaking out at meetings. He was saying that he knew that he was at the top of the list of people to be killed in Cato Crest and that there were many others on the list. He was asking the movement to make sure that we continued to support the struggle in Cato Crest after he was gone.
Nkululeko was 34 years old. He leaves a girlfriend, Thembi Mazibane. She is a strong comrade and highly respected. We will stand with her. We express our condolences to Thembi, Nkululeko’s family and everyone who is in rebellion in Cato Crest.
We are not sharing information that we have that could put more comrades at risk. But if there is a credible and independent investigation into this murder we will be happy to share all the information that we have including the text messages that he sent just before he was murdered.
The murder of Nkululeko is the front page story on the final edition of today’s Daily News. The front page story on the earlier edition was about massive corruption in housing tenders in Durban. It said that 45 companies are under investigation. There is a direct connection between the massive corruption in housing in Durban and the repression that we are facing. The Manase Report remains hidden from the public. We continue to demand its release.
In 1993 uTata Nelson Mandela said that “If the ANC does to you what the Apartheid government did to you, then you must do to the ANC what you did to the Apartheid government.” We are being evicted by the ANC. We are being put into transit camps by the ANC. When we organise we are also being beaten, tortured, jailed and killed by the ANC. We will not give in to tyranny. We will continue to resist. Stand with us in the struggle for freedom and justice. Stand with us in the struggle for a country where everyone can organise freely and land, cities, wealth and power are shared.
www.abahlali.org
For more information please contact:
Bandile Mdlalose 084 557 5090
Mazwi Nzimande 076 843 3361
S’bu Zikode 083 547 0474
Cato Manor protest leader murdered
The Mercury 28 June 2013
THE leader of the shack dwellers who have been rampaging through Cato Manor, destroying infrastructure and demanding houses and the removal of councillors in the area, was shot dead on Wednesday night.
After a day of protest, Nkululeko Gwala went to the local tavern to watch a football match. He was returning home two hours later when his girlfriend, Thembi Mazubane, heard shots fired close by. Too afraid to venture out, she hesitated.
“It was only when Nkululeko’s friend Vusi (who lives next to the tavern) came running and screaming – alerting me – that I realised what happened. When I got to the scene, people were just peeping through their windows, and from a distance.
“It was just me and Vusi and the body riddled with bullets. Normally when someone is shot, people cry, but with Nkululeko, it was like a dog had just died. Nobody cared.”
He was shot multiple times in the back and head.
Gwala’s death came just hours after eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo and the ANC regional chairman and Health MEC, Sibongiseni Dhlomo, visited the area to calm the situation and assess damage.
On Tuesday night, the mob torched offices of ward 30 councillor Zanele Ndzoyiya. They then set alight the offices of ward 101 councillor Mzi Ngiba on Wednesday
The eThekwini ANC regional secretary, Bheki Ntshangase, condemned the “senseless” killing, calling for “calm heads”.
“The ANC expresses its deepest condolences to the Gwala family, and the community. We are pleading with the police to act swiftly and put the killers in their rightful place,” he said.
Police spokesman Thulani Zwane said no arrests had been made.
KZN protest leader shot 12 times
NKULULEKO NENE (Daily News) 27 June 2013
Durban – A Cato Crest man who led protests in the area this week over the allocation of RDP houses was shot 12 times – just hours after a high level ANC delegation met with angry community members.
Nkululeko Gwala, 34, had told the Daily News during the week and two hours before he died, that he was afraid he would be killed. He was shot by two men as he made his way home at about 10.30pm.
This is the second killing related to the allocation of RDP houses in the area since violence first flared up in March. Thembinkosi Qumbelo, the leader of the Cato Crest Residential Association, was gunned down on March 15 by four gunmen. No arrests have been made.
The latest killing came just hours after eThekwini mayor, James Nxumalo and Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo – who is also chairman of ANC in the city – met community members at the Cato Crest Community Hall to discuss rising tension in the area during which two local councillors’ offices were torched.
Speaking to the Daily News before his death, Gwala said he did not want to attend the meeting because he feared he might be killed.
He said the main reason he had led the protests this week was that councillors were giving low cost houses to politically connected people.
“People should get houses because of merit and not politcal affiliations,” he said.
“If they say I am guilty of leading the protest then that is fine because I am doing it for the rights of people.”
He was dead two hours later.
Long-standing tension over the allocation of RDP houses intensified this week after land invaders, evicted from their shacks, blockaded part of King Cetshwayo (Jan Smuts) Highway on Monday morning.
This morning, his girlfriend, Thembi Mazubane, 42, said he was ambushed by two men who were later seen running away from the scene.
“After Qumbelo’s death, two women jokingly said I must buy black panties and bras in preparation for mourning. I believe that those who shot him also murdered Qumbelo. He (Gwala) had been receiving death threats since the protests started,” she said.
Addressing community members on Wednesday night, Dhlomo slammed police for not stopping the mob that went on the rampage in the area. He said police did nothing to stop the violence or arrest offenders.
The offices of ward councillors Zanele Ndzoyiya and Mzimuni Mnguni were torched on Tuesday night and Vusi Mzimela (Bellair) Road and King Cetshwayo Highway had been blocked with rubble and burning tyres.
“I am going to have an urgent meeting with (MEC for Community Safety and Liaison) Willies Mchunu to vent our unhappiness on how police conducted themselves during the protests.
“We hear that police accompanied the hooligans while they were destroying properties. We urge the community not to rely on police, but be protective of this area and its infrastructure,” said Dhlomo, who was addressing Cato Crest residents at a special meeting on Wednesday.
He appealed to the community not to allow hooligans to stand in the way of development. “Otherwise, the budget set for building homes in the area will be taken elsewhere,” he said.
Nxumalo was among the speakers at the meeting, which was attended by thousands of residents. He also criticised the police, calling them incompetent.
Nxumalo referenced Gwala – who had been mentioned by several residents – in his address to residents, telling them that he knew him from their home town, Inchanga, and that he had come from a “good home”.
Nxumalo appealed to people to be patient as the shortage of land hindered development. However, he said there were other housing projects, such as Cornubia, where they could be housed.
Mnguni said it was disappointing to see infrastructure being destroyed and development halted because of a few unruly people.
Police confirmed Gwala’s death and said they were investigating.
www.iol.co.za
Motorists stoned by Mayville mob
Lungelo Mkamba 25 June 2013
Durban – Mayville in Durban came to a standstill on Monday when a mob trashed streets, pelted motorists with rocks and tried to forcibly evict an elderly man who was accused of occupying a government house illegally.
The police watched as the group, estimated to number about 700 people, went on the rampage, destroying public toilets, blocking the road, and stoning motorists and police cars in protest at alleged corruption in low-cost government housing.
They demanded the removal of Ward 30 councillor Zanele Ndzoyiya, identified in an ANC investigation as being among those whose elections were “illegitimate”. An ANC task team led by Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma probed allegations of irregular nominations of ANC candidates for the 2011 local government elections.
On Monday, the police’s public order unit used teargas to disperse the crowd.
Metro police cordoned off Vusi Mzimele Road (Bellair) from 5am and diverted motorists to alternative routes.
The group’s leader, Nkululeko Gwala, said eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo knew about their plight.
Violence also nearly erupted between the mob and taxi bosses, who were upset that the protest was affecting their business because taxis could not use their normal routes.
Gwala led the mob to the home of Khuba Mpungose, where they accused the pensioner of occupying the house illegally.
The group tried to storm into the house and remove Mpungose, who was with his young grandson, but police blocked the door. The outnumbered officers called for back-up and drove the mob from the yard.
Ndzoyiya could not be reached for comment.
Police spokesman Thulani Zwane said police would continue monitoring the situation.
www.iol.co.za
Police let mob run wild, say residents
IOL News 27 June 2013
FRANTIC residents of Mayville and Cato Manor in Durban appealed to ANC heavyweight Sibongiseni Dhlomo yesterday to find out why the police appeared to do nothing to stop a rampaging mob destroying buildings and infrastructure and looting Somalis’ tuck shops during housing protests this week.
Dhlomo, the MEC for health and the ANC’s eThekwini regional chairman, was in the area with eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo to assess the aftermath of the protests.
More than 2 000 residents arrived to see the MEC and the mayor – all of them furious that police had not stopped the rampaging of about 700 disgruntled shack dwellers.
Dhlomo promised residents he would go to the Cato Manor police station to find out what had happened.
He said he would also raise complaints with Community and Safety Liaison MEC Willies Mchunu
On Tuesday night, the mob torched the offices of ward 30 councillor Zanele Ndzoyiya, and yesterday they set alight the offices of the councillor for ward 101, Mzi Ngiba.
Ngiba also accused the Cato Manor police of watching innocent residents being attacked by protesters.
Nxumalo said the city was planning to build more houses for those who could not be accommodated in Mayville.
“There are too many people in Mayville. Not everyone will get a house,” the mayor said.
Last night police spokesman Vincent Mdunge said the accusations against the police were noted.
Swiftly
“We are of the view that the police acted swiftly under the circumstances,” he said.
“The residents came in huge numbers. They looted shops and destroyed property – the police did everything they could and arrested seven people.”
Mdunge explained that the police needed to be careful in volatile situations.
“There can be a loss of life and the finger will be pointed at the police.
“The claims by the MEC will be investigated and answers will be sought if police did not act appropriately.”
www.iol.co.za
Protesters torch councillor’s office
IOL News 27 June 2013
Durban – A mob of 50 protesters on Tuesday night set alight a ward councillor’s office in Bonela, bordering Cato Manor. This was the group’s second attempt this week to torch the office of ward 10 councillor Zanele Ndzoyiya. Cato Crest residents in the ward are calling for the councillor to step down and accuse her of “rigging” municipal elections. They also accuse her of not bringing any development to the ward. Protests, which started earlier this week, led to Vusi Mzimela (Bellair) Road being closed because of rubble and burning tyres.
The road was still closed this morning. On Tuesday night, the mob in Candella Road caused mayhem outside the office and surrounding streets. Ndzoyiya’s container office was situated in the parking area of a block of flats. The security guards at the block were left helpless when the mob stormed the premises. Several windows were smashed and cars damaged when the mob threw stones and rocks. It is unclear what was used to start the fire.
Firemen extinguished what was left of the smouldering pile of metal. Concrete fencing from a nearby house was also pulled off and thrown on to the road. Several bushes were set alight along the road. Throughout the night, black smoke from burning tyres hung over Cato Crest and Bonela. Protesters on Vusi Mzimele Road sang and chanted throughout the night. Mobs using tree stumps, broken glass and refuse barricaded Rick Turner (Francois) Road to King Cetshwayo (Jan Smuts) Highway. Police spokesman, Captain Thulani Zwane, said officers from Cato Manor police as well as the Public Order Police Unit, who “are well trained and equipped to handle the situation”, were deployed in the area to monitor the situation. Seven people were expected to appear today in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on public violence charges.
http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/protesters-torch-councillor-s-office-1.1538021
Slain activist was warned to leave
NKULULEKO NENE (Daily News) 28 June 2013
Durban – The distraught girlfriend of the murdered Cato Crest protest leader says his comrades warned him to flee the area for his own safety, shortly before he was gunned down.
Thembi Mazubane, 42, who had lived with Nkululeko Gwala, 34, described how she found his body in the road near her home in Cato Crest after 10pm on Wednesday. He had been shot in the head and chest, she said.
Just two hours before he was shot, and earlier in the week, Gwala had told the Daily News that he had received death threats .
Gwala, of the shack dwellers’ movement Abahlali base Mjondolo, was shot while he was walking home after watching a football game at Mgazi’s tavern. Mazubane said she had advised him to quit his activism over housing provision in the area, but he would hear none of it.
The killing came just hours after eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo and Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo – who is also chairman of the ANC in the city – met residents at the Cato Crest Community Hall to discuss rising tension.
The offices of two local councillors were torched earlier this week, apparently by residents unhappy over the allocation of RDP houses.
During the meeting, a number of community members who were given a chance to speak mentioned Gwala by name, commending his actions.
Mazubane said that after the meeting his comrades advised him to leave the area.
“He told them that if he dies, they should just continue to fight for service delivery. This house is never going to be the same without him. His bravery brought him this fate,” she said.
Mazubane said Gwala had told her he had no interest in owning a house in Cato Crest but was involved in protesting for people whose voices had been ignored by leaders.
Gwala was in the thick of things during the land invasions in Cato Crest earlier this year and represented residents in talks with eThekwini officials, including the mayor.
Recalling the horror of finding his body, Mazubane, said: “I cried seeing him in that position. He was face-down. It seemed as if his head had been filled up with nails. I have never experienced such trauma.”
She said she was deeply hurt that none of her neighbours had called to give her support or pay their respects.
Gwala’s father, Thembinkosi Ndokweni, of eManzimtoti, hailed his son as a “real man who had big plans and would not let fear stand in his way”.
Ndokweni said: “I have lost a man with a wonderful heart. He drafted a business proposal for an Inchanga youth project. His vision was to hand out awards to schools with an excellent matric pass rate. He owned a successful football team at Inchanga. He always wanted to bring change into people’s lives.”
Ndokweni plans to have his son buried on Wednesday.
Police said they were investigating Gwala’s death.
www.thepost.co.za