ON Workers Day May 1 the ‘Marikana’ Evictions took place.
These residents of Philippi East, a growing township sandwiched between Nyanga, Mitchell’s Plain, Khayelitsha and Philippi, were evicted.
Desperate as they were, they contacted Abahlali baseMjondolo activist Cindy Ketani, in the hope that this movement that supports those fighting for decent living conditions could help them in their struggle.
By Thursday, Ketani said that 150 of them had paid the standard R10 fee to become members of the movement and were looking for another piece of land since they had nowhere else to go.
Some of them began building their new homes on unused council-owned land along Symphony Way near Stock Road.
Six homes were fully occupied by Friday morning with another 15 or so, built and occupied on UnFreedom Day. Those who did not have their own building material, spent the day helping fellow Abahlali residents finish building their homes.
According to chairperson Sandile Ngoxolo, Abahlali christened their new settlement ‘Marikana’ in honour of the workers who died in their struggle for a living wage and because ‘we too are organising ourselves peacefully and are willing to die for our struggle’.
The City’s Law Enforcement, with its substantially funded Anti-Land Invasions Unit, had not produced a court order or any type of written documentation as to why the settlement was being evicted.
Without any court order it was clearly not only an illegal act, but also criminal.
A call was sent out from Abahlali baseMjondolo for activists and media to come and witness and protect residents during the illegal evictions.
Only a ‘New Age’ reporter showed up in time to see the evictions take place.
A lawyer working pro-bono with Abahlali baseMjondolo arrived and explained the need for a court order to the city officials, but he was rebuffed.
At 1pm on the same day, a mass contingent of the Anti-Land Invasions Unit and dozens of day labourers, picked up only hours earlier, arrived, backed up by Law Enforcement and SAPS vehicles.
They were ready for confrontation and a Casspir and a Nyala ensured that this would be a one-sided war against about 50 residents mostly women and children.
Law Enforcement went into the homes, often beating residents who refused to leave. The Anti-Land Invasions Unit then went on to destroy people’s property.
Law Enforcement personnel stood by in line, attempting to block the press.
Residents were removed and also arrested after being beaten for refusing to leave their homes.
A resident who has hemiparesis and walks with a limp because of a recent stroke, was filming the abuse on the phone which was subsequently stolen by Law Enforcement.
After that she was then pepper-sprayed and shoved away from the scene. Another lady was inexplicably shot twice at close range with rubber bullets.
As the violence meted out by state officials continued, hundreds of residents began gathering on both sides of the streets singing various freedom songs and hurling verbal abuse at the police.
The community of Philippi East was turning out in full support of the ‘Marikana’ occupiers.
Residents remained defiant. Hundreds marched to Philippi East police station to secure the release of their ‘political prisoner’ comrades while another group remained behind to rebuild their homes.
The peaceful group demonstrated outside the station while the leadership attempted to negotiate with the station commissioner inside.
However, after about an hour of protest, the station commissioner, Colonel Vuyane Mdimbaza, refused to release two residents, after he insisted that they be charged with public violence.
This is the typical charge against protesters used to cover up police violence, which the judge almost always throws out of court.
Mdimbaza then went on a diatribe about anarchy, development and democracy, blaming protesters for not consulting with government, and accusing a sinister third force of being behind the occupations.
The ‘Marikana’ leadership answered these accusations by asserting that their numerous attempts to consult with government had consistently been ignored; their land occupation was a last resort.
Protesters responded to the commissioner with civil disobedience: they closed off Stock Road, Ngqwangi Drive and Symphony Way with rocks and burned tyres. The furious colonel eventually became more conciliatory: he began promising the release of the two.
After four hours of protest – effectively shutting down the station during that time – the state prosecutor finally agreed to come into the station and negotiate bail. The protesters immediately dispersed and they were finally released at 9pm.
On Sunday evening, the Marikana community, resolute and unwavering, rebuilt their homes. They were not going away without a fight.
On Workers Day, the Anti-Land Invasions Unit returned, this time with even more police backup: Casspirs, Nyalas, and even water cannons.
On both days, there were about 50 shacks built. On Tuesday they destroyed almost all of them and arrested another person, who is said to be an innocent passer-by.
Once again, Law Enforcement used physical violence and in some cases assaulted residents. Zowi Zulu, a young mother with a newborn baby strapped to her back, was violently removed from her home.
The Anti-Land Invasions Unit destroyed people’s property while taking apart their homes.
Meanwhile, a fourth person charged with ‘public violence’, got arrested and he will also most likely be the fourth person to have his case thrown out of court while the ‘Marikana’ community wastes more time and money on legal support.
This game of cat-and-mouse continues, with Abahlali, once again, vowing to rebuild their homes or at least sleep on the site where their homes once stood.
Meanwhile, the SAPS will continue to patrol along Symphony Way in their Nyalas, firing rubber bullets at the protesting community and re-gathering their forces to ensure that Abahlali remain landless until the authorities eventually build another Blikkiesdorp in which to dump them once and for all.
