Macassar Village land occupation

Last updated

The squatter's movement Abahlali baseMjondolo occupied a piece of vacant state owned land in Macassar Village, near Somerset West outside of Cape Town on 18 May 2009. The occupation was later destroyed by the city's anti-land invasion unit.

Contents

Background

Before occupying the land Abahlali baseMjondolo organised an open and public 'cleaning campaign' on the land during which the land was cleared. [1] On the day of the occupation four people, including prominent academic Martin Legassick were arrested. [2] The arrests, which were accompanied by shooting with rubbfollowed two attempts by the occupiers to barricade the N2 in protest at the demolition of their shacks by the police. [3] The Cape Times quoted Clarissa Benjamin, a 47-year-old mother of three as saying "We have no place to stay. The government has millions to spend on building stadiums for 2010, but I have been waiting for a house for the past 20 years.". [4]

Bush Radio reported that [5] the local councillor had agreed, on 20 May, to hand the land over to the residents on 21 May and that the occupiers expected Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato to hand the land over in person. However the City of Cape Town sent in its Anti-Land Invasions Unit to demolish the shacks on 21 May. [6] According to Abahlali baseMjondolo the City demolished the shacks on the land each day since the land was occupied and the occupiers rebuilt their shacks each day. [7] [8] Because the City had no court orders for any of these demolitions they were, according to an article in the Cape Argus, "in strict legal terms, criminal". [9]

Responses

Professor Martin Legassick commented that "If housing cannot be provided immediately for all, people must be allowed to find land on which to build shacks, whether that land is municipal, state, provincial or private." [10] Mayor Dan Plato argued that "certain elements had orchestrated the land invasion through misinformation" and that 'If the group was allowed to squat there, they would "start shouting for services" such as electricity and toilets. [11]

On 29 May Abahlali baseMjondolo secured an urgent interdict in the Cape High Court that prevented the City Council from demolishing any shacks without an order of the court. [12] However the City ignored the interdict and continued to demolish shacks. On 1 June 2009 Mzonke Poni, chairperson of Abahlali baseMjondolo in the Western Cape, was arrested on a charge of public violence. [13] He alleged that he was assaulted by the police while in their custody. [14]

Support for the occupation

On 9 June the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions in Geneva issued a letter strongly condemning the actions of the Cape Town City Council. [15] The following day the occupation received a strong statement of support from The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission. [16] On 16 June 2009 Abahlali baseMjondolo Cape Town held an event to 'de-celebrate' the national public holiday of Youth Day. [17] At the time the Cape Argus reported that one of the people evicted from Macassar was sharing a single roomed backyard shack with 26 other people. [18]

On 18 June the City of Cape Town terminated its working relationship with the legal firm that had represented the occupiers [19] resulting in a 'storm' [20] of harsh criticism from human rights advocates. [21]

Outcomes

During 2009 the land occupation continued under 24-hour surveillance from the Anti-Land Invasions Unit, [22] which had just received R10 million in funding from the Cape Town City Council. [23] Although people continued to live on the land they were not able to rebuild their shacks and were sleeping out in the open. [24]

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 'Second day of the cleaning campaign: The 14 May 2009 Archived 16 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine ' by Abahlali baseMjondolo, 14 May 2009
  2. ↑ '3 held after police and homeless group clash Archived 17 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine ' by Aziz Hartley, Cape Times, 20 May 2009
  3. ↑ 'Macassar invaders to stay put Archived 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine ' by Regan Thaw, Eyewitness News, 20 May 2005]
  4. ↑ 'Millions for stadiums, but no houses Archived 17 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine ' Arrests made as violent protests erupt over dismantling of newly-erected shacks by Francis Hweshe, Cape Times, 20 May 2009
  5. ↑ 'Land awarded to Macassar Village residents Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine ', 21 May
  6. ↑ 'The City reversed the decision by ward counselor (sic) at Macassar village Archived 5 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine ', Khayelitsha Struggles, 21 May 2009
  7. ↑ 'Ongoing Defiance of State Criminality at Macassar Village Archived 16 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine ', Abahlali baseMjondolo, 23 May 2009
  8. ↑ 'Land Occupation and the Limits of Party Politics Archived 17 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine ' by Richard Pithouse, South African Civil Society Information Service, 25 May 2009
  9. ↑ 'It's the state that is flouting the law Archived 17 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine ' by Richard Pithouse, Cape Argus, 27 May 2009
  10. ↑ 'If housing cannot be provided immediately for all, people must be allowed to find land on which to build shacks, whether that land is municipal, state, provincial or private Archived 17 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine ', Martin Legassick, Cape Times, 26 May 2009
  11. ↑ 'Retreat, mayor says to invaders', by Francis Hweshe, Cape Argus, 22 May 2009
  12. ↑ 'Homeless fight Cape Town city [ permanent dead link ]', by Anna Majavu, Sowetan, 4 June 2009
  13. ↑ 'Backyard dwellers' leader arrested for public violence Archived 17 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine ' by Michelle Jones, Cape Times, 2 June 2009
  14. ↑ 'Macassar Village Secured an Urgent Interdict Against the City of Cape Town Last Night Archived 16 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine ', Abahlali baseMjondolo, 29 May – 2 June
  15. ↑ ''Violation of housing rights of 60 families in Macassar Village, Cape Town', Centre on Housing Rights & Evictions, 9 June 2009 Archived 26 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ 'Can’t this city of prosperity find accommodation for 50 families? Archived 13 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine ' by The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, 10 June 2009
  17. ↑ 'In Macassar, 16 June is no cause to celebrate Evictees rally to 'decelebrate' Youth Day Archived 13 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine ' by Fouzia van der Fort, Cape Argus, 17 June 2009
  18. ↑ 'All we want is a patch to call home 27 people share a one-roomed shack after being removed from Macassar land Archived 17 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine ', by Fouzia van der Fort, Cape Argus, 16 June 2009
  19. ↑ 'City gives law firm the boot [ permanent dead link ]' by Anna Majavu, Sowetan, 23 June 2009
  20. ↑ 'Storm erupts as city axes law firm Archived 17 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine ', by Karen Breytenbach, Cape Times, 3 July 2009
  21. ↑ 'Why Cape legal twist looks like a demolition of justice for poor Archived 17 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine ' by Jackie Dugard and Kate Tissington, Business Day, 2 July 2007
  22. ↑ 'The Macassar Village Land Occupation, 15 June 2009 Archived 12 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine ', Abahlali baseMjondolo
  23. ↑ 'Anti-Land Invasion Unit Gets R10 million Budget Archived 18 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine ', by Brendan Nkuna, West Cape News, 10 June 2009
  24. ↑ 'Macassar Land Occupation Archived 18 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine ', Khayelitsha Struggles, 25 June 2009

34°03′01″S18°45′20″E / 34.0503°S 18.7556°E / -34.0503; 18.7556

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abahlali baseMjondolo</span> Shack dwellers movement in South Africa

Abahlali baseMjondolo is a socialist shack dwellers' movement in South Africa which primarily campaigns for land, housing and dignity, to democratise society from below and against xenophobia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S'bu Zikode</span>

Sibusiso Innocent Zikode is the president of the South African shack dwellers' movement, which he co-founded with others in 2005. Abahlali baseMjondolo claims to have an audited paid up membership of over 115 000 across South Africa. His politics have been described as 'anti-capitalist'. According to the Mail & Guardian "Under his stewardship, ABM has made steady gains for housing rights."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennedy Road, Durban</span> Informal settlement in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Kennedy Road is an informal settlement in Durban (eThekwini), in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Formed in the late 1970s or early 1980s, the settlement was mentioned by the African National Congress (ANC) after the end of apartheid but amenities were not improved. The site is mostly not connected to sanitation or electricity. Dissatisfaction with local councillors led to 2005 protests including a road blockade, out of which the shack dwellers movemment Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) formed. In 2009, an AbM meeting was attacked resulting in two deaths and a court case. More recently, the municipality has improved facilities and promised to relocate inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign</span> Movement in Cape Town, South Africa

The Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign was a non-racial popular movement made up of poor and oppressed communities in Cape Town, South Africa. It was formed in November 2000 with the aim of fighting evictions, water cut-offs and poor health services, obtaining free electricity, securing decent housing, and opposing police brutality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poor People's Alliance</span> South African movement network

The Poor People's Alliance was network of radical grassroots movements in South Africa. It was formed in 2008 after the Action Alliance, formed in December 2006, was expanded to include two more organisations. It become defunct following the collapse of two of its affiliated movements, the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign and the Landless People's Movement.

The N2 Gateway Occupations saw large numbers of government-built houses occupied illegally by local residents of Delft in the Western Cape during December, 2007. The houses in question were the new Breaking New Ground (BNG) houses in the Symphony section of Delft near the main road Symphony Way. This was the largest occupation of houses in South Africa's history.

No Land! No House! No Vote! is the name of a campaign by a number of poor people's movements in South Africa that calls for the boycotting of the vote and a general rejection of party politics and vote banking. The name is meant to imply that if government does not deliver on issues important to affected communities these movements will not vote.

Martin Legassick (1940–2016) was a South African historian and Marxist activist. He died on 1 March 2016 after a battle with cancer. He was one of the central figures in the "revisionist" school of South African historiography that, drawing on Marxism, revolutionised the study of the social formation of Apartheid by highlighting the importance of political economy, class contradictions and imperialism. He was also a key figure in the independent left in South Africa from the 1970s, and a critic, from the left, of many of the analytical and strategic positions taken by the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party, as well as their understanding of South African history. The author of numerous books, mainly on the history of colonialism and capitalism, he collected many of his key political writings in his 2007 book Towards Socialist Democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mzonke Poni</span>

Mzonke Poni is an activist in Cape Town. He is the former chairperson of Abahlali baseMjondolo of the Western Cape and was previously a leader of the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign. The Sunday Times has described him as "the face of an ANC nightmare - an angry activist mobilising the township masses to protest at what he calls the government's failure to create a better life for the poor."

South Africa has been dubbed "the protest capital of the world", with one of the highest rates of public protests in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KwaZulu-Natal Elimination and Prevention of Re-emergence of Slums Act, 2007</span> South African provincial law

The KwaZulu-Natal Elimination and Prevention of Re-emergence of Slums Act, 2007 was a provincial law dealing with land tenure and evictions in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.

QQ Section also known as Tambo Park, was founded in 1989 and is an Informal Settlement in the Site B sub-division of Khayelitsha in South Africa.

<i>No Land! No House! No Vote!</i> (book) Book by Symphony Way Pavement Dwellers

No Land! No House! No Vote! Voices from Symphony Way is an anthology published in 2011 of 45 factual tales written and edited by the Symphony Way Pavement Dwellers.

Michael Sutcliffe is the former municipal manager of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, which includes the city of Durban, South Africa. During his time in the position he was widely reported to be a controversial figure amongst Durbanites and was the target of popular protest in the city.

The Constitution of South Africa protects all basic political freedoms. However, there have been many incidents of political repression, dating back to at least 2002, as well as threats of future repression in violation of this constitution leading some analysts, civil society organisations and popular movements to conclude that there is a new climate of political repression or a decline in political tolerance.

There have been many political assassinations in post-apartheid South Africa. In 2013 it was reported that there had been more than 450 political assassinations in the province of KwaZulu-Natal since the end of apartheid in 1994. In July 2013 the Daily Maverick reported that there had been "59 political murders in the last five years". In August 2016 it was reported that there had been at least twenty political assassinations in the run up to the local government elections on the 3rd of August that year, most of them in KwaZulu-Natal.

In March 2013 around a thousand people occupied a piece of land in Cato Crest, Durban and named it Marikana after the Marikana miners' strike. Mayor James Nxumalo blamed the occupation on migrants from the Eastern Cape. He was strongly criticised for this by the shack dwellers' movement Abahlali baseMjondolo who said that "The City Hall is red with blood".

On 27 April 2013, the national public holiday of Freedom Day in South Africa which some grassroots social movements have termed UnFreedom Day, members of Abahlali baseMjondolo occupied a piece of land in Philippi, Cape Town. They named the occupation Marikana after the Marikana miners' strike. The occupation was repeatedly destroyed by the city's anti-land invasion unit. According to the Daily Maverick the occupiers were evicted on six separate occasions. Two months after the eviction 90 people were still sleeping on the site under a tent.

eKhenana Commune

The eKhenana Commune is a prominent land occupation in the historic working-class area of Cato Manor in Durban, South Africa. According to the Socio-Economic Rights Institute "The eKhenana settlement is organised as a cooperative in which residents collectively run a communal kitchen and tuck shop, theatre, poetry and music projects, and care for a vegetable garden named after the late Nkululeko Gwala [assassinated in 2013] as well as a poultry farm named in honour of the late S’fiso Ngcobo [assassinated in 2018]. The Commune has solar power and is also home to a political school that residents named the Frantz Fanon School, as well as the Thuli Ndlovu Community Hall [Ndlovu was assassinated in 2014]. The Commune has suffered sustained political repression, including multiple arrests and three assassinations in 2022.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.