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R 081548Z JAN 10
FM AMCONSUL DURBAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1548
INFO RUCNSAD/SADC COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 0930

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 DURBAN 000003 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR AF/S; INR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI SF
SUBJECT: IS THE ANC AS DEMOCRATIC AS IT CLAIMS? 
 
REF: 09 DURBAN 94 
 
DURBAN 00000003  001.2 OF 005 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.     What began as a Durban road blockade in 
2005 has become a shack-dwellers movement in South Africa. 
Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM, which means `those who live in the 
shacks' in Zulu) now includes thousands of shack-dwellers from 
more than 30 informal settlements throughout the country.  AbM 
has garnered international support and has won legal battles 
against the African National Congress's (ANC) attempts at forced 
removal.  While the ANC claims to be making efforts to clean up 
slums and provide the poor with adequate housing, AbM leadership 
claims intimidation and anti-democratic tactics are used against 
its members by the ruling party.   AbM represents a true test of 
democratic governance for the ANC.   END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
History 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Kennedy Road (KR) is a shack settlement located next 
to Durban's largest dumpsite, southwest of central Durban. 
Homeless individuals began living in KR in the late 1970s.  As 
the number of residents grew, local government attempted to 
force people out of KR but was unsuccessful.  By the late 1980s, 
the City of Durban ended its eviction efforts.  However, in 
1995, a year after the end of apartheid, the local ANC 
government began its own eviction campaign.   KR now has 
approximately 10, 000 residents, who live in squalor.  A lack of 
electricity, potable water, and toilets has resulted in daily 
fires, open sewers, and rat infestations, according to local 
media. 
 
 
 
Birth of a Movement 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU)  In 1999, residents of KR formed the Kennedy Road 
Development Committee (KRDC) as a way to petition local 
authorities for basic utilities in their settlement while they 
awaited permanent housing.   S'busiso Zikode was elected 
chairperson, and under his leadership, KR was able to secure 
interim services from the city of Durban, said Zikode to 
Pol/Econ officer during a two-hour December 3, 2009 meeting. 
Encouraged by municipal promises of permanent housing and better 
living conditions and hoping to increase his credibility and 
influence with city lawmakers, Zikode joined the ANC in 2000. 
By 2004, however, KR residents had not yet seen any movement on 
their promised housing.   Zikode also claims he began to feel 
pressure from the Durban municipality to avoid discussing 
housing and service delivery issues during KRDC meetings. 
Zikode withdrew from the ANC, and he along with other KR 
residents declared that 2005 would be a `year of action.' 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) On March 19, 2005, KR residents protested the 
demolition and sale of a tract  of land that had been promised 
to the residents of KR by the Durban municipality as a new 
housing site, said Zikode.  The protest drew over 800 
participants, including residents from other informal 
settlements, who  blockaded a major Durban road for several 
hours.  The protesters were ultimately dispersed by police dogs, 
and 14 people were arrested, according to local media. 
Subsequent to the protest, residents from KR and 13 other 
informal settlements formed Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM).   In 
September 2008, AbM joined the Landless People's Movement, the 
Rural Network, and the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign to 
form The Poor People's Alliance, the largest shack-dwellers 
organization in South Africa. 
 
 
 
AbM Philosophy and Demands 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU)  Zikode emphasizes that AbM is a `radical poor people's 
movement that is democratic.  Our movement is a homemade 
politics that everyone can understand and find a home in.'  The 
politics of AbM are conducted `by the poor, for the poor, and 
where the poor people live,' said Zikode.   AbM shuns top-down 
`self-enriching,' `professional' politics and refuses 
representational roles, personal power, and financial reward. 
`Such a top-down system has terrorized our society.  In fact, it 
 
DURBAN 00000003  002.2 OF 005 
 
 
is an insult to assume that poor people cannot think for 
themselves, that someone else must talk for them without their 
concern.  Our demands are simple: land and homes in the cities 
where we live,' said Zikode.   And while AbM members wait for 
the local government to act, they demand water, electricity, and 
basic sanitation facilities. 
 
 
 
Shack Dwellers Movement Flexes its Muscle 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU)  In 2007, the KZN Legislature passed the KwaZulu-Natal 
Elimination & Prevention of Re-emergence of Slums Act.  The act 
was controversial because it gave the provincial MEC (Member of 
Executive Committee, like a `provincial minister) for Housing 
authority to forcibly remove residents from informal 
settlements.  AbM contested the act in the KZN High Court, 
arguing that it was repressive, anti-poor, and unconstitutional. 
 AbM also argued that rather than evict slum residents, KZN was 
mandated to deal with the lack of inadequate housing in the 
province.  AbM lost in the KZN High Court but on October 14, 
2009, the South African Constitutional Court ruled that the act 
was unconstitutional.  This was a great blow to the ANC and 
municipalities in other provinces that had hoped to pass similar 
acts, Imraan Buccus - who teaches politics at the University of 
KZN - told Pol/Econ Officer on November 22, 2009. 
 
 
 
Intimidation and Oppression 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU)  AbM members have endured harassment from the state in 
the form of unwarranted arrests, and repeated and severe police 
violence in people's homes, in the streets and in detention, 
according to Zikode.  On a number of occasions the police have 
used live ammunition, armored vehicles and helicopters in their 
attacks on unarmed shack dwellers, according to local media. 
AbM has filed numerous police brutality and wrongful arrest 
charges against the police, to no avail.  To date, not one of 
the AbM members who was arrested has ever been convicted of an 
offence, according to Zikode. 
 
 
 
The Kennedy Road Attack 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU)  On September 26, 2009, 40 local tavern owners 
disrupted a AbM youth camp, demanding that the youth join them 
in a protest against AbM, said Secretary of AbM Youth League 
Zodwa Nsibande to Pol/Econ officer on December 3.  The tavern 
owners gathered outside AbM's office and called for Zikode and 
Nsibande to come out, accusing them of being Xhosa-speaking 
meddlers intent on ruling the lives of Zulus living in KR, said 
Zikode.  Nsibande and Zikode hid from the tavern owners, but the 
mob ransacked and demolished AbM's office, Zikode's home and 
those of several other AbM members in the presence of the 
police, said Nsibande and Zikode.  The attacks continued through 
September 28, and five people were killed, reported local media. 
 Thirteen AbM members were subsequently held without bail or 
charges until early December when eight were released.  In the 
aftermath, ANC Ward Councilor Yakoob Baig reported to local 
media that `harmony has been restored now that the Abahlali 
criminals are gone.' 
 
 
 
¶9. (SBU)  Nsibande and Zikode claim that the September 26 KR 
attack was `planned by the ANC at the very highest political 
level.'  According to Zikode, the ANC retaliated against AbM 
because the party was incensed that `a group of dirty shack 
dwellers would dare to expose the ANC's corruption' and 
challenge them in the highest courts of the land.  `Although we 
have won some important battles against the ANC, we are now 
paying for those victories with our lives.  Thousands of us no 
longer have homes, and many of us live in fear in our own 
country.  I am a refugee in my own country, in my own city,' 
declared Zikode to Pol/Econ Officer. 
 
 
 
¶10. (SBU)  KZN MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison 
 
DURBAN 00000003  003.2 OF 005 
 
 
Willies Mchunu denied in an October 20 op-ed piece that the ANC 
was behind the September 26 KR attack.  Mchunu argued that the 
attack on AbM members was the result of an illegal curfew 
imposed on KR residents by an illegal safety and security forum 
formed by AbM.  Zikode acknowledges the formation of the forum, 
but insists that the curfew was a 12a.m. sales curfew imposed on 
illegal taverns selling liquor 24 hours a day.  Also, Zikode 
points out that the forum was formed with the consent of the 
local police commissioner and therefore was empowered to impose 
such a curfew.  Mchunu has since placed under investigation the 
police commissioner who authorized the forum.  He declared the 
forum a `vigilante group that must be dissolved.'  Mchunu also 
placed KR under a 24-hour police watch and promised improved 
lighting and that a new housing project for 600 households would 
begin in January 2010. 
 
 
 
Democracy under Attack 
 
 
 
¶11. (SBU)  AbM leaders argue that their movement is a threat to 
the ANC's authority and to the elites who have enriched 
themselves at the expense of the poor.  `Democracy itself is 
under threat in South Africa.  A coup happened on September 26. 
The ANC violently replaced a democratically elected community 
organization.  Who are they to do this!' exclaimed Zikode. 
After the politicians and the police departed from KR on 
September 26 in KR, the settlement was left in the hands of 
armed young ANC men who patrolled the area and made it clear, 
via death threats, that AbM was now banned from Kennedy Road, 
alleged Zikode.   `We always allowed free political activity in 
Kennedy and all settlements in which AbM candidates have been 
elected to leadership.  Now we are banned.' 
 
 
 
¶12. (SBU)  ANC leaders, including MEC for Economic Development 
and Tourism Mike Mabuyakhulu, Durban City Mayor Obed Mlaba, and 
Durban City Manager Mike Sutcliffe, have often accused AbM of 
being `manipulated by a third force or a foreign intelligence 
agency intent on destabilizing the country,'  according to 
Zikode.  No evidence has ever been presented to substantiate 
these claims `because they are patently ludicrous and paranoid 
but they have created a climate that justifies violent 
repression.'  In support of AbM's claim, Anglican Bishop Rubin 
Phillip said, `It is essential that the attack on democracy in 
KR is widely publicized so that we can all confront what has 
happened and ensure that it never happens again.' 
 
 
 
Support from Other Political Parties 
 
 
 
¶13.  (SBU) `The AbM situation reveals the ANC's inability to 
address the serious housing shortage problem in the Durban 
area,' contended Democratic Alliance (DA) Representative Dean 
McPherson to Pol/Econ Officer during a November 20, 2009 
meeting.  The DA also supports AbM's efforts to expose the ANC's 
`corrupt and unfair system of housing allocation, McPherson 
added. 
 
 
 
¶14.  (SBU)  `COPE is  concerned about what is going on in 
Kennedy Rd.  We are worried about reports of police biasness and 
alleged ANC involvement.  Our [parliamentary representative] 
Lucky Gabela will ask KZN MEC Willies Mchunu to give the 
legislature a report on Kennedy Road as soon the legislature 
resumes.  We believe there is a need for an independent inquiry 
into the Kennedy Road situation,' KZN Congress of the People 
(COPE) Provincial Secretary Phillip Mhlongo told Pol/Econ 
Assistant on January 5. 
 
 
 
¶15.  (SBU)  `The IFP is monitoring developments in Kennedy Road 
and is very concerned about the plight of Abahlali leaders who 
have been exiled from their homes.  Kennedy Road is part of a 
bigger housing problem in eThekwini and needs urgent attention 
of the municipality.  The ANC is treating Kennedy Road badly 
because it is not their stronghold area and they don't enjoy 
support there.  We will call for an independent inquiry to 
determine the cause of violence in the area,' reported Inkatha 
 
DURBAN 00000003  004.2 OF 005 
 
 
Freedom Party (IFP) eThekwini Spokesperson Joshua Mazibuko to 
Pol/Econ Assistant on January 5. 
 
 
 
Church Support, International Calls for Action 
 
 
 
¶16. (SBU)  The plight of AbM has garnered the attention of 
churches and international civil rights organizations.  The 
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing Miloon 
Kothari on February 29, 2008 expressed great concern about the 
well being of KR residents living under `far short of safe and 
sustainable living conditions.'  He added, `This situation is 
compounded by tenure insecurity and the threat of forced 
eviction.'  In a speech at the AbM Unfreedom Day event on April 
27, 2008 Anglican Bishop Rubin Phillip said: `You have faced 
fires, sickness, evictions, arrest, beatings, slander, and still 
you stand bravely for what is true.  Your principle that 
everyone matters, that every life is precious, is very simple 
but it is also utterly profound.  Many of us who hold dear the 
most noble traditions of our country take hope from your courage 
and your dignity.' (Note.  In Germany on October 30, 2009, 
Bishop Phillip received the 2009 International Bremen Peace 
Award in recognition of his work for justice, peace and 
integrity.  End Note.) 
 
 
 
¶17. (SBU)  The September 26 KR attacks led to a petition in 
support of an independent investigation signed by over 1200 
academics, NGOs and church leaders.   Executive Director of 
Children of South Africa (CHOSA) Jared Sacks lambasted the ANC 
in a September 30 op-ed piece for its treatment of KR residents 
and also called for support of the investigation demanded by 
AbM. 
 
 
 
¶18. (SBU)  In response to the arrest and detainment without 
charge or bail of the 13 AbM members after the September 26 KR 
attack, the Diakonia Council of Churches on November 18 made an 
`urgent call to defend our democracy and to support the 
voiceless.'  On December 16, 2009 Bishop Phillip presented 
Zikode with the Order of the Holy Nativity, saying: `We believe 
what [AbM] are doing is right.  They stand for democracy and 
human rights.'    On the same day, Amnesty International also 
threw its weight behind a call for an investigation.   `Amnesty 
International deplores the continuing failure of the South 
African authorities to investigate impartially and fully human 
rights abuses which occurred during and after armed violence at 
the Kennedy Road Informal Settlement in Durban last September.' 
 
 
 
¶19. (SBU)  On December 24, the KZN Church Leaders' Group 
released a joint Advent message regarding the `battles of the 
poor.'  Regarding AbM, the message stated: `[AbM] has called for 
land and housing to be made available within the city.  By doing 
so it has exposed corruption and mismanagement in the allocation 
of houses.  Since September 2009, when the KR settlement was 
attacked by armed and organized vigilantes, the political elites 
have brought a horrifying wave of violence upon the movement, 
including forced evictions, targeted destruction of homes and 
death threats against its leaders.  In all of these instances, 
an unholy but by now characteristic, alliance of profit-seeking 
economic elites and elements in the governing party are 
implicated in a broader project of elite enrichment and 
accumulation.' 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
 
 
¶20. (SBU)  The parallels between AbM's struggles against the ANC 
and the latter's fight against the apartheid regime cannot be 
ignored.  The accounts of forced removals, violence, 
intimidation, and leaders in hiding seem like echoes of a time 
supposedly gone forever.  Even talk by ANC leaders of a `third 
force' at work are eerily reminiscent of a paranoid apartheid 
era.  Post has found local ANC officials reluctant to discuss 
the matter and repeated attempts by Pol/Econ Assistant to secure 
a meeting with municipal housing authorities came to naught. 
 
 
DURBAN 00000003  005.2 OF 005 
 
 
 
 
¶21. (SBU)  The AbM movement is a test of democratic governance 
for the ANC, as it decides what to do when its own people do not 
support its vision of development (Reftel).  The ANC's tolerance 
for dissent will be further tested during next year's FIFA World 
cup; AbM members plan mass demonstrations for the entire world 
to see - even if they do not get a permit to do so. 
 
 
 
¶22. (SBU)  Providing free housing for the nearly 800,000 
residents living in 500 informal settlements in the Durban area 
is a great challenge for the ANC.  Apart from the funds required 
to build sufficient housing, there simply isn't enough space in 
Durban proper for such expansion.  City housing may be a central 
demand of AbM, but its members must face the reality that 
accepting free housing in the rural periphery may be the only 
viable option for most. 
DERDERIAN