Durban activists fear for their lives

A GROUP of Durban housing activists have gone into hiding “in the mountains” after a fellow campaigner was gunned down near his home last week.

They belong to the Abahlali baseMjondolo, whose actions have often brought them to open conflict with the ANC.

Nkululeko Gwala, 34, the murdered activist, was shot soon after he had stormed into a high-level meeting between the ANC and community members to discuss the allocation of low-cost housing.

The meeting came after a week of tension following the blockade of Durban’s King Cetshwayo highway by people whose shacks had been demolished.

Gwala was described as “troublesome” by Sibongiseni Dhlomo, ANC eThekwini regional chair- man and KwaZulu-Natal health MEC, who wanted him banished from the Cato Crest area where he had led several housing protests.

Gwala, who was buried this week at his family home in Inchanga near Durban, was the second member of Abahlali to have been assassinated in the past four months. Thembinkosi Qumbelo, leader of the Cato Crest Residential Association, was gunned down on March 15. No arrests have been made.

The police have denied that they are “dragging their feet” in the investigation.

Abahlali chairman S’bu Zikode made the accusation against the police, saying the murder investigation would have been given top priority had Qumbelo been a “highprofile person”.

Police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane said: “The police are working around the clock to find the culprits and we will leave no stone unturned to ensure that those responsible for Gwala’s killing are brought to book.”

Zikode said Gwala had been branded an “ANC threat” for mobilising the community to protest against the allocation of RDP houses to politically connected people.

The meeting Gwala attended shortly before his murder was also attended by Dhlomo and Durban mayor James Nxumalo.

Zikode said he and the other activists who worked closely with Gwala in Cato Crest feared for their lives. “Threats are continuing and more than 12 of our people are sleeping in the mountains . . . The truth is that I’m also not safe for speaking out about our concerns,” he said.

Abahlali baseMjondolo claims to have 50 000 registered members.