On Monday, 28 November 2009, the Kennedy Thirteen appeared in court for their 6th attempt at requesting bail. All charges were dropped against one of the thirteen, six were granted bail, while the remaining five were kept in custody awaiting evidence by the police of their guilt. The leader of the ANC in Ward 25, Jackson Gumede, and ANC Councillor for Ward 25, Yakoob Baig, were in court and openly advised the prosecution, as they had been doing prior to this.
On Friday, 11 December 2009, the five of the Kennedy Thirteen remaining in detention returned to court for Attempt No. 7 at requesting bail. This time the investigating officer and prosecutor did not turn up for the hearing. Instead of throwing the case out of court, the Magistrate granted a further extension to the state and set the hearing for 22 January. It should be noted that by that date, the five would have been detained for nearly four months, without an scrap of evidence presented accusing them of any wrongdoing. ANC supporters continued their intimidating ways at the court, and even had the gall to bring with them the Abahlali sound system which was stolen during the attack on Kennedy Road!
On 16 December 2009, Amnesty International released a statement on the attacks on Kennedy Road. The statement went through most of the facts that were already known, but included one extra piece of information provided by (interestingly enough) the police. This was that a day after the attacks on Kennedy Road, 500 people appeared at Kennedy Road wielding machetes and demanding the arrest of 8 Abahlali supporters. After the eight were arrested, this armed mob went on a rampage, throwing petrol bombs and attempting to burn down the shacks of those arrested. Amnesty reported that to its knowledge no action was taken by the police to arrest or charge anyone linked to this armed attack.
Also on 16 December, S'bu Zikode, president of Abahlali baseMjondolo, was awarded the Order of the Holy Nativity by Rubin Phillip, the Anglican Bishop of Natal. Bishop Phillip gave a speech praising the work of S'bu and Abahlali, and also stated that the decision to confer the award was made before the September 26 attack on Kennedy Road. This last statement is important because it shows that the Order was not granted merely as an act to stir up support for Abahlali in the aftermath of the attack.
On 22 January 2010, the remaining five of the Kennedy Thirteen appeared in court for the 8th time. A call was put out by church leaders to gather for a prayer meeting outside the Durban Magistrates Court to give support to the five, their family and friends. Once again, however, the case was postponed, this time until the 5th of February.
On 27 January 2010, a statement dated 19 January 2010 was posted on the Abahlali website with an update on the situation in Kennedy Road after the September 26 attack. The text of this statement, as mentioned above, has been reproduced on this blog in the post immediately preceding this one.
5 February 2010 marked the ninth time the last five of the Kennedy Thirteen appeared in court. Bail was once again refused, and the next date for the hearing was set for 19 February. Meanwhile, the seven who were granted bail on 28 November 2009 still have their freedom of movement restricted to Pietermaritzburg because the state has not as yet confirmed their new accommodation in Durban. At the prayer service outside the court, Revd Sue Britton warned the authorities that the church is watching them and expressed her disgust for the manner in which the state has handled this case – clearly politically motivated – which has been brought against Abahlali members.
No statement has yet been released regarding the hearing which was to take place two days ago on 19 February. As ordinary people outraged at the injustice that is continuing to take place against members of Abahlali baseMjondolo whose only 'crime' is that of fighting for justice for the poor, we must continue to give our support and express our indignation towards those who are complicit in this indefensible attack on those who fight for the oppressed, which includes themselves.
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Here are some links for additional information regarding what has been summarised in this post:
The Amnesty International statement: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AFR53/011/2009/en/53fce922-d49e-4537-b3bb-84060cf84c85/afr530112009en.html
On the conferment of the Order of the Holy Nativity on S'bu Zikode: http://www.abahlali.org/node/6132
Coverage of the (second) latest court appearance on February 5: http://www.abahlali.org/node/6251
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