Students for Social Justice
(The original UPM statement is here, the AbM statement is here, the DLF statement is here and the Mandela Park Backyarder's Statement is here.)
We, the Students for Social Justice condemn in the strongest possible
terms the vicious police attack on our friend and comrade Ayanda Kota of
the Unemployed People's Movement, which occurred on Thursday the 12th
of January 2012. Ayanda Kota was assaulted in barbaric and cowardly
fashion in front of his 6 year old son at the Grahamstown police station
by Constable Zulu and several other officers.
Ayanda had voluntarily
gone to the station after having been accused of the theft of a book
lent to him by a Rhodes University academic. The charge of theft is
unfounded and part of a private vendetta against comrade Ayanda Kota.
Having been informed of the charges, Ayanda acted in good faith by
offering to replace the book in question, which he had misplaced.
Sadly it has become all too predictable for police, often on the behest
of the ruling party, to violently attack activists perceived to be a
threat. We have seen this behavior when the police murdered Andries
Tatane before the eyes of the nation. We have seen this behavior in
Durban, when the ANC led an attack against Abahlali basemjondolo members
in the Kennedy Road Settlement. We have seen this behavior when ANCYL
members attacked Democratic Left Front and UPM activists (including
Ayanda) at the international day of climate action during COP 17. We
have seen this behavior when Rehad Desai was assaulted in front of Zuma.
We have seen this behavior when the police arrested Ayanda Kota and
three other UPM members on spurious charges last year. The police
continue to disrespect the laws surrounding political protest, laws they
are constitutionally bound to protect. They act as little more than the
municipalities’ private enforcers and the agents of Capital.
We remember General Cele's call of “shoot to kill”. SSJ has also
observed the manner in which the police have been re-militarized under
the pretext of the World Cup and have noted that it was only a matter of
time until this violence was directed against dissenters in this
country. The vast sums of money spent on turning a civilian police force
into a highly aggressive military cadre could have gone towards a
public works program, creating thousands of jobs for the unemployed of
South Africa. Instead, the ANC seems more concerned with destroying
dissent than dealing with the root problems of crime: poverty, chronic
unemployment, disempowerment and dehumanization. After the centenary
celebrations of the ANC, it is shocking to us how the ruling party has
forgotten so quickly what it was like to be persecuted by the state. In a
sad twist, the ruling party has taken up the monstrous legacy which the
likes of DF Malan left in terms of dealing with dissidents in this
country.
Clearly there is a ongoing pattern in which dissent is either
criminalized or met with illegal extrajudicial violence in South Africa,
both the ANC and the official opposition, the DA, act in
uncharacteristic concert towards grassroots dissent, as comrades from
Blikkiesdorp and Hangberg can testify. Members of SSJ have personally
witnessed threats of violence directed towards Ayanda Kota on more than
one occasion. It has become common practice for the Makana municipality
to accuse Ayanda of being an agent of an unnamed reactionary third
force, the bogeyman with which all organic dissent is linked to. This is
part of a long running attempt to silence the UPM, a leaked document
obtained by SSJ last year showed that the local ANC branch had drawn up
detailed plans to undermine the UPM and Ayanda's credibility and
reputation. Ayanda has been under police surveillance and subject to
regular harassment.
If only the same amount of energy was directed towards the huge problems
facing working class residents of Grahamstown. With over 70%
unemployment, little or no infrastructure in the townships, 10s of
millions of rands unaccounted for and the inhuman use of the ‘bucket
system”, it seems that the ruling party would rather focus its energy on
harassing, maligning, and assaulting those who bring these problems to
light, rather than solve them.
We call on the police to investigate this assault and punish those
responsible. We call on the municipality and the ANC to condemn this
violence in the strongest possible terms. We call on all those who
believe in democracy to denounce this criminal action. We call upon the
Rhodes academic to drop her personal crusade against Ayanda. Most
importantly, we call on the SAPS and the ANC to turn back from this
brutal policy of intimidation, coercion, and outright violence and
respect our constitutional right to protest the inequalities of our
current society. Sadly we suspect that the ruling party and the
Grahamstown municipality will attempt to hide this incident and
prosecute Ayanda for threatening their comfortable position of power.
Until that position of power is toppled, our calls will continue to echo
through the streets, despite them being met with the truncheon.
Students for Social Justice
