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Protests in South Africa

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South Africa has been dubbed "the protest capital of the world"[1] and has one of the highest rates of public protest in the world.[2] The rate of protest has been escalating since 2004[3] and "rose dramatically in the first eights months of 2012".[4] Since 2008 more than 2 million people have taken to the streets in protest every year.[5] Njabulo Ndebele argues that "Widespread 'service delivery protests' may soon take on an organisational character that will start off as discrete formations and then coalesce into a full-blown movement".[6] There has been considerable repression of popular protest.[7] The most common reasons for protest are greivances around land and housing.[8]

During the 2004/05 financial year about 6,000 protests were officially recorded, an unknown number of protests went unrecorded, and about 1,000 protests were illegally banned. This meant that at least 15 protests were taking place each day in South Africa at this time.[9][10] However the number of protests has escalated dramatically since then and Business Day reports that "2009 and 2010 together account for about two-thirds of all protests since 2004". [11] There was a dramatic surge in protests shortly after Jacob Zuma first took office and the number of protests was ten times higher in 2009 than in 2004 and even higher in 2010.[12] The number of protests reached an all time high in 2010/2011[13] and then a further all time post-apartheid peak in July 2012[14] with more protests occurring in the Western Cape than in any other province[15] and just under half of all protests occurring in shack settlements.[16]

The Rebellion of the Poor, Municipal Revolts or the Ring of Fire

There has been a major wave of popular protest since 2004.[17][18] Just under 40% of all protests take place in shack settlements.[11] There has been a significant degree of repression of popular protest.[19][20][21]

These protests are usually referred to as service delivery protests in the media but although there is evidence of growing unhappiness with service delivery[22] most analysts argue that this description is overly narrow and misleading.[23][24][25][26] A number of poor people's movements have insisted that their protests should not be referred to as 'service delivery protests'.[27][28][29] But others have termed the rapidly increasing wave of protest since 2004 as a 'rebellion of the poor'[17][30] or a series of 'municipal revolts'.[31] Zwelinzima Vavi, COSATU Secretary General, has described the increasing rate of popular protest as a "ring of fire" closing in on major cities that could result in a Tunisia style revolution.[32][33]

Some of the most notable protests during this period occurred in Harrismith, Kennedy Road, Durban, Diepsloot, Balfour, Thokoza,[34][35] Khutsong,[26] Macassar Village, Lansdowne Road[36][37] and Mandela Park[38][39] in Khayelitsha, KwaZakhele, downtown Durban,[40] Masiphumelele, Ermelo[41], Grahamstown[28] and Thembelihle (Lenasia).[42]

Protests continue and some analysts take the view that protests are becoming increasingly radical.[43] Some commentators have concluded that "a large majority of South Africans feel that conventional mechanisms of engaging the state are failing, and that alternatives may be more effective."[44]

According to Professor Peter Alexander:

"As many commentators and activists now accept, service delivery protests are part of a broader Rebellion of the Poor. This rebellion is massive. I have not yet found any other country where there is a similar level of ongoing urban unrest. South Africa can reasonably be described as the ‘protest capital of the world’."[45]

A number of community organisations and movements have emerged from this wave of protest,[46][47] some of which organise outside of party politics.[48] However in most cases this wave of protest has not led to sustained organisation.[49]

Protest by Trade Unions

The national trade union federation, COSATU, has also organised a number of large protests, most notably against labour broking and highway tolls.[50][51]

Protest by Workers Organised Outside of Trade Unions

The 2012 Marikana miner strike, organised outside of the ruling tripartite alliance, resulted in 34 strikers being killed by the police with 78 being wounded on 16 August 2012.[52]

Notable protests

Notable post-apartheid protest campaigns

Reasons for protest

  • Unequal and segregated distribution of land in both rural and urban areas[89]
  • The demand for housing[90]
  • Poor Service delivery[91] (especially with regard to housing)[92][93]
  • Government Corruption (especially at the local level)[94][95][96]
  • Undemocratic structure of wards and development forums[97]
  • Top down selection for party positions within the ANC [97][98][99][100][101]
  • Top down and authoritarian approaches to governance[102]
  • Evictions and forced removals[103]
  • Rampant crime[28][104]
  • Unemployment[105]
  • Police brutality [106][107]
  • Provincial border demarcation issues[26]
  • Increases in transport prices[108]
  • Electricity disconnections[109][110], increases in electricity prices[111][112][113] and the failure to provide electricity to shack settlements[114]
  • Over crowding in schools [115]
  • Failure to install traffic calming measures on roads adjacent to shack settlements[116]
  • Low wages[87][117]

Tactics

See also: Toyi-toyi

The toyi-toyi originally a Zimbabwean dance, has been used for decades in South Africa as a protest tool. Road blockades,[118] land occupations, the mass appropriation of food[40][61][119] and vote strikes[120][121][122][123] are also common tactics.

In areas with high rates of popular protest residents tend to boycott elections, to support independent candidates or to support parties other than the ANC.[124]

Violence

Violence from the State

A number of people have been killed by the police in these protests over the years[41][55][125][126][127][128][129] including Andries Tatane.[70][130][131][132][133][134][135][136] The number of confirmed deaths of protestors after apartheid is currently standing at twenty three. Four people were killed by the police during protests between 2000 and 2004, two in 2006, one in 2008, two in 2009, three in 2010 and eleven in 2011.[137]

There have also been constant allegations of non-fatal police brutality against protestors.[128][138][139][140][141] It has been argued that people organizing independently of the ruling African National Congress are more likely to face state repression.[142][143]

The worst incidence of police violence in post-apartheid South Africa was the Marikana Massacre in August 2012 in which 34 striking miners were killed and 78 were injured. One pistol was recovered from the strikers after the massacre.[144]

Violence from Protesters

Violence on the part of protesters, including attacks on ward councilors and their homes, has been escalating.[145] In two years nine houses belonging to ward councillors in Gauteng were burnt down.[146]

Also See

Further reading

Other Resources

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ ‘Black boers’ and other revolutionary songs, Chris Rodrigues, 2010
  2. ^ Protests and Police Statistics: Some Commentary, Peter Alexander, Amandla Magazine, April 2012
  3. ^ Protests and Police Statistics: Some Commentary, Peter Alexander, Amandla Magazine, April 2012
  4. ^ 'The year that anger boils over', Nirhsa Davids, The Sowetan, 11 October 2012
  5. ^ Behind the Marikana massacre, by Martin Plaut, The New Statesmen, 20 August 2012
  6. ^ Liberation betrayed by bloodshed, by Njabulo S. Ndebele, City Press, 26 August 2012
  7. ^ Media underplaying police, state brutality, Jane Duncan, Sunday Independent, 26 August 2012
  8. ^ Service-delivery protests getting uglier - report, Nashira Davids, The Times, 11 October 2012
  9. ^ "Amandla! Protest in the New South Africa". FXI.
  10. ^ Sekwanele! - Social Movement Struggles for Land and Housing in Post-Apartheid South Africa, by Toussaint Losier, Left Turn Magazine, 2010
  11. ^ a b Are fiery street protests replacing the vote?, Karen Heese and Kevin Allan, Business Day
  12. ^ Municipal Hotsopts Monitor research as reported in the City Press newspaper, 20 February 2011
  13. ^ Protests and Police Statistics: Some Commentary, Peter Alexander, Amandla Magazine, April 2012
  14. ^ South African Television's Accumulation by Dispossession, Jane Duncan, SACSIS, 7 August 2012
  15. ^ Western Cape is protest capital of SA, Oryx Media, 2012
  16. ^ Marrian, Natasha (7 August 2012). "Mangaung ANC 'link' to new wave of protests". Business Day.
  17. ^ a b c Rebellion of the poor: South Africa’s service delivery protests – a preliminary analysis, Peter Alexander, Amandla Magazine, 2010
  18. ^ Rebellions of the poor, by the poor, for the poor, Khadija Patel, The Daily Maverick, May 2011
  19. ^ Dissent Under Jacob Zuma, Jane Duncan, May 2011
  20. ^ Dissent Under Thabo Mbeki, Jane Duncan, May 2011
  21. ^ Political tolerance on the wane in South Africa, Imraan Buccus, University of KwaZulu-Natal, SA Reconciliation Barometer, 2011
  22. ^ Dismay over service delivery growing, survey shows, CHANTELLE BENJAMIN, Business Day, 2011/05/13]
  23. ^ Burning message to the state in the fire of poor’s rebellion, Richard Pithouse, Business Day, 2009/07/23
  24. ^ People are demanding public service, not service delivery, Steven Friedman, Business Day, 2009
  25. ^ The Service Delivery Myth, Richard Pithouse, The Daily Dispatch, 2011
  26. ^ a b c d "We are Gauteng People" Challenging the politics of xenophobia in Khutsong, South Africa, Seminar Presentation, Joshua Kirshner, 23 February 2011, Rhodes University
  27. ^ Living Learning, Abahlali baseMjondolo
  28. ^ a b c d South African rebellion comes to Grahamstown, Unemployed People's Movement, 2011
  29. ^ The Uprising, Dylan Valley interviewed by Sean Jacobs
  30. ^ Rebellions of the poor, by the poor, for the poor, Khadija Patel, The Daily Maverick, May 2011
  31. ^ Making sense of municipal revolts, by Mandisi Majavu, Foundation for Contemporary Research, 2011
  32. ^ Jobless youth a ‘ticking time bomb’ for SA, Vavi warns, SAM MKOKELI, Business Day, 2011/06/07
  33. ^ Unemployment in South Africa: Feel It, the Ticking Time Bomb Is Here, Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen, 23 June 2011
  34. ^ "Police get blame for making protests worse". Business Day.
  35. ^ "Protest violence: cops blamed". News24.
  36. ^ "An Urgent Update on AbM-WC Protest". Khayelitsha Struggles.
  37. ^ "Cop fires on Cape Argus team". Cape Argus.
  38. ^ "Mandela Park Backyarders to march peacefully on Housing MEC at 9am this morning". Mandela Park Backyarders. [dead link]
  39. ^ "Hundreds protested yesterday in Mandela Park after assault by Chippa security guards. Demonstrations to continue…". Mandela Park Backyarders.
  40. ^ a b "94 arrested for protest thefts at supermarkets". Daily News.
  41. ^ a b c Ermelo Residents See No Reason to Vote, Diane Hawker, Independent Online, 2010
  42. ^ Five lessons from Themb'elihle, Phillip de Wet, The Daily Maverick
  43. ^ The 'Gatvol' Factor, Jane Duncan, 2011
  44. ^ Delivery protests National problem requires local, tailor-made solutions, Udesh Pillay, Business Day, 1 April 2011
  45. ^ A Massive Rebellion of the Poor, Peter Alexander, Mail & Guardian, April 2012
  46. ^ The elite and community protests in South Africa, Shawn Hattingh, LibCom, 2009
  47. ^ The 'new' ANC and the Alliance, Shawn Hattingh, Z Mag,2009
  48. ^ "Popular Anger and Protest in Cape Town is Under the Control of Ordinary People and No Political Party Likes That", People of Color Organize!, 2010
  49. ^ [* Whose Liberation? A Partly-Forgotten Left Critique of ANC Strategy and Its Contemporary Implications, by Steven Friedman, Journal of Asian & African Studies, February 2012 doi:10.1177/0021909611429436]
  50. ^ Cosatu finds a way through the tricky political minefield, Carol Paton, Business Day, 16 May 2012
  51. ^ South Africans march in mass protest at toll roads, BBC News, 7 March 2012
  52. ^ Marikana: What really happened? We may never know., by Mande de Waal, The Daily Maverick, 23 August 2012
  53. ^ Harrismith police killing follow-up, Freedom of Expression Institute, 2004
  54. ^ A collection of newspaper articles on the Harrismith protest
  55. ^ a b Tatane’s death opens old wounds for family, Lucas Ledwaba, City Press, 2011-04-24
  56. ^ Struggle Is a School: The Rise of a Shack Dwellers’ Movement in Durban, South Africa, Richard Pithouse, Monthly Review, 2006
  57. ^ Housing and Evictions at the N2 Gateway Project in Delft, by Kerry Chance, Abahlali baseMjondolo, 2008
  58. ^ The Cape Town model, state violence and military urbanism, Christopher McMichael, Open Democracy, 5 January 2012
  59. ^ South Africa’s Poor Renew a Tradition of Protest, Barry Bearak, New York Times, September 2009
  60. ^ Martin Legassick on the Macassar Village Land Occupation in Cape Town, Martin Legassick, 2009
  61. ^ a b South Africa's Outraged Poor Threaten President, Megan Lindow, Time Magazine, 24 July 2009
  62. ^ "Shack dwellers up in arms". Sowetan.
  63. ^ "Sutcliffe Continues His War on the Poor". Abahlali.
  64. ^ The Rebellion of the Poor Comes to Grahamstown
  65. ^ The Flames of Phaphamani, by Pedro Alexis Tabensky, LibCom
  66. ^ Bullets fly as township erupts, Thabo Jijana, Grocott's Mail, 10 February 2011
  67. ^ Protests in Zandspruit
  68. ^ Police fire rubber bullets in Zandspruit, Jacob Moshokoa, Eye Witness News, April 2011
  69. ^ South Africa rocked by footage of protester's death, Monsters & Critics, 14 April 2011
  70. ^ a b SAPS, SABC under fire after Ficksburg killing, The Times, 14 April 2011
  71. ^ Ficksburg protesters torch buildings, by Miranda Andrew, Mail & Guardian, 14 April 2011
  72. ^ Hall torched in housing protest, Mandla Mnayakama, The New Age, 29 April 2011
  73. ^ Fatal turn in taxi fare protest, By Lungi Langa and Nompumelelo Magwaza, IOL, 8 June 2011
  74. ^ Army dispatched to ‘hot spot’, 13 May 2011, Cape Argus, BRONWYNNE JOOSTE and ESTHER LEWIS
  75. ^ ‘Police fired rubber bullets without provocation’, by Adam Sege, 10 June, The Star
  76. ^ Themb'elihle: Arresting a protest, Phillip de Wet, The Daily Maverick
  77. ^ Western Cape hit hardest by service-delivery protests, Setumo Stone, Business Day, 6 June 2012
  78. ^ Service failure: next step, silence the dissent, Many de Waal, Daily Maverick, 25 June 2012
  79. ^ KZN to build homes after fatal protest, by NONDUMISO MBUYAZI, Independent on Saturday, 2012
  80. ^ Residents protest over lack of housing, Kamcilla Pillay, Daily News, 24 July 2012
  81. ^ Protesters held in Northern Cape, SAPA, IOL Online
  82. ^ http://www.peherald.com/news/article/7185 Premier Noxolo Kiviet slams protest violence, Zandile Mbabela and Luyolo Mkentane,The Herlad, 6 July 2012
  83. ^ Western Cape's grapes of wrath, Mandy de Waal, The Daily Maverick, 8 November 2012
  84. ^ Neither ANC nor DA seems popular with farm workers, who just want a better deal, Carol Paton, Business Day, 15 November 2012
  85. ^ http://www.saha.org.za/apf/electricity.htm
  86. ^ Cosatu finds a way through the tricky political minefield, Carol Paton, Business Day, 16 May 2012
  87. ^ a b Lydia Polgreen (16 August 2012). "Mine Strike Mayhem Stuns South Africa as Police Open Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  88. ^ The Farm Workers' Strike: It's Far From Over, Anna Majavu, SACSIS, 15 November 2012
  89. ^ Service-delivery protests getting uglier - report, Nashira Davids, The Times, 11 October 2012
  90. ^ Service-delivery protests getting uglier - report, Nashira Davids, The Times, 11 October 2012
  91. ^ Expect more flash-points - half of SA’s metro residents are still not satisfied with service delivery a year later, TNS Research, 4 March 2011
  92. ^ Dismay over service delivery growing, survey shows, CHANTELLE BENJAMIN, Business Day, 2011/05/13]
  93. ^ The broken vows and blocked roads of Kya Sands, by Greg Nicholson, The Daily Maverick, 22 March 2011
  94. ^ Ayikho impunga yehlathi (There is no place to hide in the world), Abahlali baseMjondolo, 9 March 2011
  95. ^ Corruption and Dependence: South Africa’s road to ruin or salvation?, Moeletsi Mbeki, Open Democracy, 31 March 2011
  96. ^ Mucking out the Durban City Hall, Richard Pithouse,SACSIS, 22 March 2011
  97. ^ a b ANC’s tinkering won’t make democracy work, Steven Friedman, Business Day, 4 May 2011
  98. ^ ANC faces fury over candidate selection, Sabelo Ndlangisa, Sizwe sama Sende and Cedric Mboyisa, City Press, 2011
  99. ^ Turmoil in party shows limitations of ‘democratic centralism’, John Kane-Berman, Business Day, March 2011
  100. ^ ANC List Sparks Fury, Sibongile Mashaba, Sowetan, March 2011
  101. ^ ANC lacks internal democracy, William Gumede, Pambazuka, 20/22/2001
  102. ^ What the State's Response to the Anger of Protesting Communities Is Not Telling Us, by Ibrahim Steyn, 2009
  103. ^ A self-written history of Mandela Park: Kwanele! Enough Is Genoeg!, Mandela Park Backyarders
  104. ^ Dismay over service delivery growing, survey shows, CHANTELLE BENJAMIN, Business Day, 2011/05/13]
  105. ^ Dismay over service delivery growing, survey shows, CHANTELLE BENJAMIN, Business Day, 2011/05/13]
  106. ^ March on the Sydenham Police Station: Press Release & Memorandum, Abahlali baseMjondolo, 2007
  107. ^ Ficksburg killing sparks riot, Deon de Lange, Pretoria News, 15 April 2011
  108. ^ Fatal turn in taxi fare protest, By Lungi Langa and Nompumelelo Magwaza, IOL, 8 June 2011
  109. ^ Protest Sparked By Attempt to Cut Illegal Electricity Connections, Nombulelo Damba, All Africa, 2011
  110. ^ ‘We are being deprived’, NIYANTA SINGH, Sunday Tribune, 2011
  111. ^ Tembisa protests and the shadow of things to come, by Phillip de Wet, The Daily Maverick, 21 September 2011
  112. ^ Why SA is burning: Power to the people still a pipe dream, Phillip de Wet, Mail & Guardian, 23 March 2012
  113. ^ Ratanda residents rekindle Heidelberg protests, Phillip de Wet, Mail & Guardian, 20 March 2012
  114. ^ Western Cape hit hardest by service-delivery protests, Setumo Stone, Business Day, 6 June 2012
  115. ^ Ratanda residents rekindle Heidelberg protests, Phillip de Wet, Mail & Guardian, 20 March 2012
  116. ^ Dead kid sparks riot, AMUKELANI CHAUKE, The Times,1 August 2012
  117. ^ Western Cape's grapes of wrath, Mandy de Waal, The Daily Maverick, 8 November 2012
  118. ^ The Enduring Rationality of Revolt, Richard Pithouse
  119. ^ The Witness]=25560 No mercy, no grants, says Mkhize, Nalini Naidoo, Sharlene Packree and Sapa, The Witness, 2009
  120. ^ "The Thoroughly Democratic Logic of Refusing to Vote". SACSIS., Richard Pithouse
  121. ^ The revolt of South Africa’s untouchables, Pedro Alexis Tabensky, Pambazuka, March 2011
  122. ^ Give ANC a sign - but without boycott, Fred Khumalo, Sunday Times, March 2011
  123. ^ The self-limiting politics of the SA people, Mandy de Waal, The Daily Maverick, 17 October 2012
  124. ^ Hotspot voters dump ANC, by Sizwe sama Yende, Lucas Ledwaba, Dumisane Lubisi and Cedric Mboyisa, City Press, 2011-04-24
  125. ^ Charge three senior cops with murder -- ICD, Bate Felix, City Press, 5 June 2009
  126. ^ Dissent Can Still Get You Killed, Richard Pithouse, The Witness, 16 June 2006
  127. ^ Two student protesters killed by police in Durban, South Africa, Trevor Johnson, World Socialist Website, 2001
  128. ^ a b Independent Report into Political Violence Against Landless People's Movement, Jared Sacks, International Alliance of Inhabitants, 2010
  129. ^ Most feel let down by their municipality, Brendan Boyle, The Times, 5 March 2011
  130. ^ Tatane's Death Underlines Need for Government to Deliver by Andile Mngxitama, Sowetan, 19 April 2011
  131. ^ Only police chiefs can end it, David Bruce, Sunday Times,24 April 2011
  132. ^ Police violence in Ficksburg is not anything new, Steven Friedman, Business Day, 20 April 2011
  133. ^ Murdered by the Ruling Classes, by Shawn Hattingh, Anarkismo, 21 April 2011
  134. ^ Police brutality and service delivery protests, by Mphutlane wa Bofelo, Pambazuka News, 21 April 2011
  135. ^ We condemn the murder of Andries Tatane and the securitisation of South African politics, Democratic Left Front, 21 April 2011
  136. ^ Protester's death not an isolated case, ILHAM RAWOOT AND GLYNNIS UNDERHILL, Mail & Guardian, 15 April
  137. ^ The Road to Marikana: Abuses of Force During Public Order Policing Operations, David Bruce, SACSIS, 12 October 2012
  138. ^ A collection of articles and statements on police brutality
  139. ^ The Flames of Phaphamani, by Pedro Alexis Tabensky, LibCom
  140. ^ Profile of a town on fire, Kwanele Sosibo, Mail & Guardian, March 2011
  141. ^ Worries emerge over freedom of expression in South Africa, Jane Duncan, 2010
  142. ^ Activists decry talk of 'third force' at Marikana, by Niren Tolsi, Mail & Guardian, 2012
  143. ^ Media underplaying police, state brutality, Jane Duncan, Sunday Independent, 26 August 2012
  144. ^ The murder fields of Marikana. The cold murder fields of Marikana, Greg Marinovich, The Daily Maverick
  145. ^ Engage citizens to stem rise in violent protests, Karene Heese & Kevin Allen, Business Day, 22 June 2012
  146. ^ Our councillors are vulnerable - ANC, Dominic Mahlangu, The Times, 25 June 2012
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