As the war for land and decent living conditions continues in Durban, Abahlali baseMjondolo (ABM) deputy president Mqapheli Bonono and general secretary Thapelo Mohapi are the latest members of the movement to require protection after heightened intimidation that has forced them into hiding.
After multiple assassinations of branch leaders and lack of trust in law authorities, the top leadership of the national shack dwellers movement have turned to human rights groups for security.
Now Amnesty International has put their might behind the organisation and will host Mohapi as their guest speaker at the launch of Amnesty International South Africa’s Write for Rights campaign in Durban.
ABM was founded in 2005, after a road blockade by shack dwellers on Kennedy Road in Durban and prides itself on campaigning for “land, housing and dignity” of the poor.
The movement believes that their plight has faced resistance from the “powers that be” leading to 25 of its members losing their lives and countless incidents of intimidation during its 18-year existence.
Mohapi told TimesLIVE Premium that they have received threatening calls since last year during a period when their branch leaders of eKhenana and eNkanini communes were assassinated.
“There have been threats directed to us since the assassinations of our four comrades last year. We understand that they now want to target the top leadership,” said Mohapi.
In 2022, four of its members in eKhenana and eNkanini were shot to death in their respective communes over a six-month period.
In March, eKhenana deputy chairperson Ayanda Ngila was killed in a hail of bullets in broad daylight at the Cato Crest-based commune, and few weeks later Siyabonga Manqele was shot in eNkanini.
I don’t trust the police any more. I never report anything to them [including the recent threats]. I have lost confidence in the police in this country. In fact, we think some of them are working with the people who are targeting us.
— Abahlali baseMjondolo
general secretary Thapelo Mohapi
Nokuthula Mabaso, an eyewitness to Ngila’s murder and women’s league leader, suffered a similar fate in May. Ekhenana chairperson Lindokuhle Mnguni, who had been in hiding after he survived the shooting that resulted in Ngila’s death, was shot in his shack in eKhenana in August.
Mabaso has always maintained that Ngila’s killer was Khaya Ngubane, a former Abahlali member who has become one of their chief tormentors.
Ngubane was sentenced to 15 years for the murder of Ngila in July this year.
Ngubane’s father and uncle have since been arrested for Mabaso’s murder.
“Immediately after Khaya was sentenced, the threatening calls intensified, even to our offices. The reason we intensified our security was because history tells us that we can’t ignore the threats,” said Mohapi.
“And there are people who have approached us as well, saying they have been paid to remove us, and others have information.”
ABM believes that the people behind the murders of their activists are now targeting their top leadership.
Bonono said eKhenana leaders Sniko Miya, Maphiwe Gasela and Sindiswa Ngcobo are living in safe houses.
Bonono, Gasela and Miya were previously arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit murder in 2021, which was later dropped. Ngcobo was reportedly present when Mnguni was killed.
Mohapi said because of their previous dealings with law enforcement, they have completely lost their trust in the police.
“I don’t trust the police any more. I never report anything to them [including the recent threats]. I have lost confidence in the police in this country. In fact, we think some of them are working with the people who are targeting us,” he said.
He said they have resorted to going into hiding and enlisting the assistance of human rights movements like Amnesty International for their safety.
“Amnesty International has intervened a lot for my safety, they have even given me a new phone which can’t be traced because we don’t know how much resources the people after us have.”
Amnesty International SA executive director Shenilla Mohamed said they have chosen to work with the movement because their values align and they want to bring global attention to Mohapi’s story.
“Thapelo Mohapi has dedicated his life to fighting for the rights of people across South Africa as an activist and a leader within the Abahlali baseMjondolo movement. He has been forced into hiding after threats and intimidation because of his activism.”
“Write for Rights will help shine a global spotlight on his case, helping to increase his protection and make it harder for those behind the death threats to act.”
She called on SAPS to conduct a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into the harassment and killings of ABM members, to bring the perpetrators to justice and provide security for them.
“Whistle-blowers and human rights defenders continue to be treated with disdain and are either being killed or intimidated for doing the right thing, which goes against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and undermines our democracy.”
Mohapi said the launch was meant to be on October 14 at the Dennis Hurley Centre in Durban, but the venue and dates were changed after he received more threats.
“I’m busy profiling the people who are going to attend from the media and the public. The public will mainly be Abahlali, but the organisers have left it up to me because I’m the one who knows the situation in Durban, so I will decide who will be allowed to enter.”
On the impact of the recent threats to their lives and the subsequent moving into safe houses, Mohapi said it was not just physical but also psychological, as he still had sleepless nights despite being out of the province and provided with security.
“I’m still scared and I can’t sleep at night because I’ve witnessed for years that these aren’t empty threats. We have to walk around scared like criminals, and our children can’t play like other kids. We’re living like rats.”
Bonono said being moved around different to safe houses and living with these threats also affected their families.
“This affects everyone because it deprives us of our right to be with family freely, and the family is also being dragged into all this. In the place we call home for now we have to lock as soon as we come. My family can’t spend the time outside: go to a restaurant, swim or walk on the beach. That life has been taken away from us.”
“Even living with the knowledge that there is a possibility that someone can come and kill me, and whether they [his family] would be allowed to live is another thing they have to live with.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.