AEC march on Gugulethu Social Services

(a) Thousands of Gugulethu AEC residents to march on social services Wednesday morning

(b) Gugulethu AEC go to town in numbers for meeting with Housing MEC

(c) 'Public violence' charges against Delft AEC member and two others get thrown out of court

(d) Rasta's in Delft, with the support of COREMO and Delft AEC march against police brutality

(e) Solidarity: The Slums Act Judgment in the Durban Hight Court Today

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(a) Tomorrow at 7am, thousands of Gugulethu Anti-Eviction Campaign supporters will converge on the local Social Services office to confront officials about the so-called "Social Relief of Distress Grant" which is being politicised and made available only to certain ANC members via the local ward councillor.

The Gugulethu Anti-Eviction Campaign will be handing over a list of thousands of poor residents whom we have spend hours registered. We are demanding that we too are included in the grant because (as poor people from Nyanga, Gugulethu and Manenberg) we qualify and deserve equal treatment as ANC supporters.

We expect Zola Skweyiya, Minister of Social Development, to respond to our demands for equal access to government grants regardless of political affiliation. This action will lead towards the launch of our No Land! No House! No Jobs! No Vote! Campaign which seeks to remove party politics from the delivery of services and convince residents to hold all politicians accountable to their communities.

For comment, please call Mncedisi at 078 580 8646 and Speelman at 073 9825 725

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(c) At noon earlier today, the Gugulethu AEC traveled in numbers to the offices of the Provincial Housing Department in town to meet with the MEC for Housing.

In our last public meeting with MEC for Housing, Mr Whitey Jacobs told our community that, for the past 15 years, there has been "no provincial housing plan for backyard dwellers in Cape Town". After consulting with the communities of Gugulethu, Langa and Nyanga, Jacobs promised to meet our demands and come up with a strategic plan for backyarders in our communities that took our own views into account. As media from the Argus, Times, the Sun, the Daily Voice and the Sowetan witnessed, he further promised that if he did not come up with a plan that satisfied residents within 2 months, he would resign from office.

At the report-back meeting today, the Jacobs promised to come to the Gugulethu Sports Complex on Sunday the 15^th of February at 14h00 for the AEC's weekly mass meeting.

· He also claimed that his department was taking management of the N2 Gateway Project and allocation of houses over from Thubelisha Homes because of mismanagement. This contradicts what his office told Delft-Symphony AEC last week.

· He promised that Gugulethu backyard dwellers will be accommodated in the N2 Gateway as well as in projects in Khayelitsha.

· The MEC futher stated that the land backyarders have attempted to occupy in Gugulethu (ELF# RR448 on Lansdowne Road) is owned by the City and is slated to be developed into housing for the backyard dwellers.

· Finally, he had previously promised to come up with a plan to house backyard dwellers in Mowbray, Muizenberg and Constantia and promised to provide more details of the plan on 15 of February.

We look forward to participating in ironing out these plans with the MEC at our mass meeting. As backyard dwellers, we hope that this is not just another promise that politicians make just before elections. If he is unable to fulfill these promises, we expect him to honorably resign from his position.

For more information, contact Mncedisi at 078 580 8646 and Speelman at 073 9825 725

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(c) Today, Delft AEC member, Riedwaan Davids, and two other individuals accused of public violence during the violent mass evictions on the 19^th of February, 2008, had their case thrown out of court.

For the past 11 months, Riedwaan Davids has had to worry about the pending case in which police accused him of throwing rocks at the Sheriff of the Court. Riedwaan was arrested immediately after police, without warning, opened fire on residents. They arrested him when they found him hiding inside an N2 Gateway house with other residents and members of the media. Despite the charges, everyone present in Section 2 that day knows (and can testify) that not a single stone was thrown before the police shot over 20 residents and three children.

As part of their defense, Riedwaan had planned testimony from an children's NGO worker who took this video footage. The footage (video 1), shows Riedwaan (in a white t-shirt and blue hat) attempting to calm down angry residents about 10 seconds before the police opened fire.

While relieved that the case was thrown out, Riedwaan was upset that the case was postponed four times without any reason. Anti-Eviction Campaign members were also disappointed that they did not get a chance to show the clear aggression of police in this matter (video 2).

The Anti-Eviction Campaign sees the constant arrest of its members (with the matter either never making it to court or getting thrown out of court) as a violation of people's rights. It is an intimidation tactic that police officers use punish activists all over South Africa and make residents scared to protest in the future.

The AEC welcomes Riedwaan Davids back and hopes he will continue to fight with others in the community for land and housing!.

For comment, contact Aunty Jane at 0784031302

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(d) In a related issue, Delft's many Rastafarians took to the streets earlier today and rallied at Delft Police Station.

The issue at hand is the many instances of police brutality and abuse Rastas suffer because of their way of life. The most common abuse is when police single them out and searching them so that they can find them in possession of Dagga (Marijuana) and extract a bribe from them.

The Delft Police are known for widespread brutality especially of poor residents and those they feel do not belong. The incident that sparked the protest was the arrest and brutal beating of 9 Delft Rastas on the 13^th of January. According to residents, Captain Basson and a number of other police officers approached a group of Rastafarians who were buying food on the street. Basson immediately searched them and could not find anything on them. Basson then proceeded to yell racial slurs at them claiming the Rastas wanted to control Delft and that he would get rid of all of them. After some arguments back and forth, the police erupted, beat the group and arrested them. They were hurt so bad that many of them went to the hospital the next day when they were released.

When the 9 Rastas went to lay a charge against Basson, Delft Police refused to entertain their complaint. As a result, The Rasta Working Council, with the help of COREMO, organised todays march which took place from 13h30 until 14h30.

Members of the Delft Anti-Eviction Campaign were there in support of the rally as they have also had a number of distasteful experiences with local police officers.

For more information please contact Makhwenkwe 0835943945 or Ben at 0729271924 (COREMO)

-WC Anti-Eviction Campaign