Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement Press statement
The suspect in the KwaNdengezi bush knife murders and Ward 12 Cllr Nqola Ngcobo return to Court
Abahlali bakwaNdengezi with the support of Abahlali baseMjondolo in general will be going to the Pinetown Magistrate’s
Court today.
We will be protesting at the bail application of the accused in the KwaNdengezi bush knife murders. We will demand that
bail be denied in the interests of the safety of the community and that there be a thorough investigation into these
murders that looks closely at the motive for the killing. It will be remembered that last time the magistrate had
ordered that the suspect‘s state of mind be examined by relevant doctors. The suspect had killed two comrades in one
Abahlali family and then ran to another Abahlali family where he assaulted Mr Shozi. This was in a community where
Abahlali members have been under serious intimidation, including threats of violence, for some time.
The councillor of the area Cllr Mduduzi Christian Nqola Ngcobo is due to appear in the same court today. He is appearing
on charges of intimidation.
Ngcobo who has become a threat in this community is well known for his undemocratic and thuggish behavior in the
community. He has demolished people’s houses without a court order. He has built houses on other people’s land and then
allocated them to people who are not from the area. It is widely alleged that houses have been allocated on the basis of
bribery rather than social need. Ngcobo has also fired live ammunition at people. He has also allegedly knocked a child
to death with his car early this year.
Nqola has got away with all of this and the eThekwini municipal Housing Unit and the Office of the Speaker have
protected him. We do not know if some officials in eThekwini municipality benefit out of his activities. What we do know
is that both the ANC and eThekwini municipality have failed to investigate him. They have decided to listen to him and
to protect him instead of listening to the community and protecting the community.
We will also be protesting at Nqola’s court appearance. We will be making it clear that Abahlali will not allow
politicians like Nqola and killers that come out of the night to destroy our communities. We demand that the ANC and the
eThekwini Municipality investigate Nqola’s conduct in KwaNdengezi. We demand that there is a transparent and democratic
development process and housing allocation in eThekwini. We demand that there is a fair and open housing list for all
the people of eThekwini.
ENDS