The eKhenana Commune () is a prominent land occupation in the historic working-class area of Cato Manor in Durban, South Africa.eKhenana bloodbath – state has a duty to protect human rights defenders, Nomfundo Xolo, 24 November 2022 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,eKhenana bloodbath – state has a duty to protect human rights defenders, Nomfundo Xolo, 24 November 2022 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.
Background
The land on which the settlement is located is in a small valley between formal housesTrouble in the promised land , Chris Makhaye, New Frame, 8 November 2021 with a stream running through the middle. The land was first cleared and then settled in 2018. It is one of many land occupations in the Cato Manor and Cato Crest area which lay vacant for many years after apartheid-era forced removals. The forced removals from Cato Manor are considered the Durban equivalent of the internationally better known forced removals from District Six in Cape Town and Sofiatown in Johannesburg. Like many occupations in Durban, eKhenana has been subject to a number of attempted evictions by municipal Law Enforcement as well as government-hired private security services. This continued despite an interdict being secured against the demolitions.
Political Affiliation
In April 2019, residents of the settlement became members of Abahlali baseMjondolo, the largest independent social movement in South Africa, and set up a branch of the movement at the occupation.
Commune
Inspired by a visit by Brazil's Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (Landless Workers Movement), the community decided to turn the settlement into a productive commune where they collectively produce and share food. They began a communal vegetable garden, a collectively run chicken farm and build a community hall and communal kitchen. They also set up a collectively run spaza shop where they sold basic items for everyday use as well as produce from the garden.
The Frantz Fanon School, a political school, was founded in 2019.
The commune and its communal garden was hard hit by the 2022 KwaZulu-Natal floods and many homes were washed away.Death, and survival, haunt KZN flood-stricken shack dwellers, Chris Makhaye, Eyewitness News, 21 April 2022KZN floods: Affected shack dwellers ‘don’t have clothes, blankets or even food’ – Abahlali baseMjondolo, Zukiswa Pikoli, Daily Maverick, 14 April 2022
Repression and assassinations
Since its founding, eKhenana has been subject to recurrent bouts of repression, including evictions, arrests and assassinations. This occurred even during the Covid-19 lockdown when there was a national ban on evictions. In April 2020 there were multiple evictions carried about the eThekwini municipality's Anti-Land Invasions Unit (ALIU) as well as a private security company called Calvin Family Security Services. Dozens of homes were demolished during the various operations and a least one resident sustained serious wounds after allegedly being shot by ALIU officers. This occurred despite a court order whereby the municipality agreed to refrain from further operations.BARE LIFE: Life of the Urban Poor During the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Africa, Stefan Ogedengbe, University of Bergen, Fall 2021Political Wars in KwaZulu Natal, Ryan Brunette, CityPress, 19 December 2021KZN shack dwellers’ movement win partial victory in high court , Katleho Sekhotho, Eyewitness News, 28 December 2018
In 2021, about a dozen members of Abahlali baseMjondolo were subject to a variety of arrests related to eKhenana settlement. The settlement's chairperson, Lindokuhle Mnguni, along with two other leaders, Ayanda Ngila and Landu Shazi were arrested for murder. They were held in prison for over six months after which all charges were withdrawn after a key state witness recanted her testimony.Abahlali activist is killed at home in eKhenana , Nomfundo Xolo, New Frame, 6 May 2022Murder charges dropped against activists after six months in prison, Nokulunga Majola, News24, 29 September 2021Trouble in the promised land , Chris Makhaye, NewFrame, 8 November 2021 After these arrests, Mqapheli Bonono, the deputy president of Abahlali baseMjondolo, along with eKhenana residents Maphiwe Gasela and Siniko Miya were also arrested and charged with conspiracy to murder the witness in the first case. The former two were also held for two weeks and the later was denied bail for more than six months. Their cases were also eventually dropped as well.Activists to sue NPA over “false” arrest and imprisonment, Nokulunga Majola, GroundUp, 5 October 2021Overwhelming support for activists released on bail, Nomfundo Xolo, New Frame, 4 June 2021 Three more eKhenana residents and Abahlali leaders, Nokuthula Mabaso, Thozama Mazwi and Sindiswa Ngcobo, were also arrested, charged with assault and denied bail for a few weeks All these charges were later dropped as well.Abahlali demands probe into Cato Manor police after new arrests, Nokulunga Majola, Groundup, 13 October 2021Murder charges dropped against activists after six months in prison, Nokulunga Majola, News24, 29 September 2021Trouble in the promised land , Chris Makhaye, NewFrame, 8 November 2021
Activists claim these arrests were charges trumped up as part of state-sanctioned repression against the movement. They called for an investigation into police complicity and have also, with the help of the Socio-Economic Rights Institute begun a lawsuit to claim damages from the state.Lindokuhle Mnguni 'enriched all of our lives', says land activist group of murdered commune leader, TimesLive, 22 August 2022Under siege: Abahlali baseMjondolo says the ANC sees it as the ‘enemy of the state’, Chris Makhaye, Daily Maverick, 14 March 2022 Abahlali activists in eKhenana claim to be constantly under threat and under state surveillance.State Is Putting Us At Peril Say Activists, Naledi Sikhakhane, Mail and Guardian, 19 June 2022
On 8 March 2022, Ayanda Ngila was shot and killed by a group of men that entered the settlement. Then on 5 May 2022 Nokuthula Mabaso was shot and killed in front of her home. On 20 August in the early morning, chairperson of the commune and leader of Abahlali baseMjondolo's youth league, Lindokuhle Mnguni was also killed when two gunmen entered the settlement.Prominent land activist Ayanda Ngila gunned down in KZN — Abahlali points finger at ANC, Chris Makhaye, Daily Maverick, 8 March 2022Murder of Abahlali baseMjondolo leader, Ayanda Ngila, condemned, Willem Phungula, DailyNews, 10 March 2022‘Our hearts are heavy’: Another KZN activist gunned down inside his home , Lisalee Solomons, News24, 20 August 2022The Business of Killing: Assassinations in South Africa, Rumbi Matamba, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, April 2023, Geneva
There were further arrests in November 2022.Abahlali baseMjondolo and the fight of the organized poor against a hostile justice system, Tanupriya Singh, People's Dispatch, 6 February 2023
Responses to the assassinations
The assassinations have been widely condemned.Abahlali baseMjondolo member's murder was 'deliberate', Radio 702, 17 May 2022The South African Human Rights Commission condemns the brutal killing of Lindokuhle Mnguni, a leader within the Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement , South African Human Rights Commission, 22 August 2022 They have provoked significant international responses including a collective letter from over 130 South African and international human rights organisations,Civil Society organisations condemn the South African government for allowing the targeting of Abahlali baseMjondolo human rights defenders., SERI, 9 September 2022 and were discussed at the United Nations Human Rights Council in November 2022,UN member states call for the protection of SA’s human rights defenders and whistle-blowers, Simphiwe Sidu and Bongani Ngwenya, Daily Maverick, 21 November 2022 where the South African government was called to account for the killings of AbM members at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the UN Human Rights Council.A year after the assassination of its leaders, South Africa’s Abahlali baseMjondolo continues to advance, Pavan Kulkarni, People's Dispatch, 24 August 2023 Prior to this the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor had issued several statements of concern.A year after the assassination of its leaders, South Africa’s Abahlali baseMjondolo continues to advance, Pavan Kulkarni, People's Dispatch, 24 August 2023
In 2022 the eKhenana Commune was collectively awarded the 'Human Rights Defender of the Year' award.Standing up to power — Six reasons to celebrate human rights defenders, Dzikamai Bere, Daily Maverick, 15 December 2022
References