When he died in a hail of bullets earlier this month, activist Loyiso Nkohla was struggling to rid himself of the “poo thrower in chief” label he earned a decade ago.
Nkohla, 40, earned the nickname after dumping faeces at Cape Town International Airport and the provincial legislature in protest at inadequate sanitation for some residents in the city.
The NGO Black People’s National Crisis Committee said the activist should be remembered as a man of principle who fought for the rights of the poor.
“Nkohla was an activist of his community who was always grounded in the struggles of his people. While the ‘poo protests’ may have gained media attention, it is essential to recognise Nkohla was a man of principle who dedicated his life to fighting for the rights of poor and marginalised residents in Cape Town,” said the NGO.
“That he met his death in the crime-ridden township of Philippi, a forgotten township on the outskirts of Cape Town that has become a haven for criminality, while doing his political work, is testament to his unwavering commitment to his people.”
Loyiso Nkohla remembered as a man of principle fighting for the poor
When he died in a hail of bullets earlier this month, activist Loyiso Nkohla was struggling to rid himself of the “poo thrower in chief” label he earned a decade ago.
Nkohla, 40, earned the nickname after dumping faeces at Cape Town International Airport and the provincial legislature in protest at inadequate sanitation for some residents in the city.
The NGO Black People’s National Crisis Committee said the activist should be remembered as a man of principle who fought for the rights of the poor.
“Nkohla was an activist of his community who was always grounded in the struggles of his people. While the ‘poo protests’ may have gained media attention, it is essential to recognise Nkohla was a man of principle who dedicated his life to fighting for the rights of poor and marginalised residents in Cape Town,” said the NGO.
“That he met his death in the crime-ridden township of Philippi, a forgotten township on the outskirts of Cape Town that has become a haven for criminality, while doing his political work, is testament to his unwavering commitment to his people.”
Anti-apartheid activist Mamphela Ramphele echoed the NGO’s sentiments. She was among the speakers at Nkohla’s memorial service in Khayelitsha this week.
“Loyiso wept when he saw humiliated black people continue to be used as cannon fodder by elites. He wept when he saw people living with the indignity of sharing buckets and pota-potas [portable toilets the City of Cape Town provides to families who live in shacks] in a city that prides itself as the fairest of the Cape,” she said.
“The humiliation is happening in the dark parts of Cape Town — he brought it out to the steps of the legislature and the airport. It is wrong to label Loyiso as the poo man. We, the people of South Africa, are the ones who deserve the label because we are the ones who have subjected our fellow citizens to that humiliation. Loyiso refused normalisation of inequality in our society.
“It is my plea to all of us here today and elsewhere in the country: let us heed Loyiso’s message that he left with his last breath. The message is South Africa will never be free until all citizens are treated with dignity and share in the wealth that is abundant in our county,” she told mourners.
Nkohla was shot dead during a meeting at the Philippi train station on April 17.
He and other members of the Ses'khona People's Rights Movement were arrested after dumping buckets of faeces at the airport in August 2013 and sentenced to community service in 2015.
Nkohla will be buried in Alice, Eastern Cape, on Saturday.
The murder investigation has been handed over to the Hawks.
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