Death of Nqobile Nzuza explained

Nqobile Nzuza was a resident in the Marikana Land Occupation in Cato Crest, which is part of Cato Manor in Durban, South Africa. She was a member of the shack dwellers' movement Abahlali baseMjondolo.^{[1] [2]}

Death

On 30 September 2013, at the age of 17 years, Nzuza died when a police officer shot her in the back of her head during an anti-eviction protest organised by Marikana residents. She was the third member of Abahlali baseMjondolo killed that year.^{[3] [4] [5] [6]} The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) later opened a case of murder against the Cato Manor police.^[7]

Police admitted to shooting Nzuza besides another resident who was wounded, but claimed they were acting in self-defence. Representatives of Abahlali baseMjondolo said it was the fault of the police.^[8]

Aftermath

The death caused significant controversy. When Bandile Mdlalose, then General Secretary of Abahlali baseMjondolo, visited Nzuza's family, she was arrested.^{[9] [10]} There were a range of letters and statements on the matter by well-known US based academics such as Noam Chomsky^[11] and Anglican Bishop Rubin Phillip.^[12]

Chomsky wrote a letter to the Mail & Guardian newspaper in Johannesburg along with other signatories, which included Slavoj Zizek, Judith Butler and John Holloway. They urged Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa and James Nxumalo, the local Mayor to put an end to the violent attacks on activists and their homes.

Conviction

In 2018 a Cato Manor police officer, Phumlani Ndlovu, was convicted of murder and was sentenced to ten years in prison. The trial lasted 5 years. Nzuza's family declared themselves unhappy with the verdict.^{[13] [14]}

See also

• Nkululeko Gwala
• Political repression in post-apartheid South Africa
• Protests in South Africa

Notes and References

1. http://aq.gwu.edu/v88-4-articles.html Sacrifice After Mandela: Liberation and Liberalization Among South Africa’s First Post-Apartheid Generation
2. https://www.seri-sa.org/images/CPN_Abahlali_Report_FINAL_WEB.pdf Abahlali baseMjondolo: Living Politics
3. https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/EJC-a3fa3100c No place for the poor : the governance of removal in Zulu and SAITF
4. http://abahlali.org/node/11990 Nqobile Nzuza, a 17 Year Old School Girl, Shot Dead with Live Ammunition by the Cato Manor SAPS
5. Web site: Cop awaits sentence after killing teenager. 2020-07-14. www.iol.co.za. en.
6. https://www.seri-sa.org/images/CPN_Abahlali_Report_FINAL_WEB.pdf Abahlali baseMjondolo: Living Politics
7. https://idl-bnc-idrc.dspacedirect.org/handle/10625/56491 Poverty, inequality and violence : a case study of Cato Manor
8. http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-10-01-in-durbans-cato-manor-death-by-protest-death-by-dissent In Durban's Cato Manor: Death by protest, death by dissent
9. News: Mdlalose . Bandile . I will not be silenced . 24 April 2019 . IOL . 10 October 2013.
10. Web site: 2024-05-30 . The political arrest of Bandile Mdlalose . 2024-05-31 . africasacountry.com . en-US.
11. http://chomsky.info/letters/20131004.htm Letter from Chomsky, Zizek, et al
12. http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-10-01-in-durbans-cato-manor-death-by-protest-death-by-dissent In Durban's Cato Manor: Death by protest, death by dissent
13. https://www.groundup.org.za/article/10-years-prison-not-enough-punishment-taking-my-daughters-life-says-mother-teen-shot-dead-police/ Ten years in prison not enough for cop who killed my daughter, says Durban mother
14. https://www.seri-sa.org/images/CPN_Abahlali_Report_FINAL_WEB.pdf Abahlali baseMjondolo: Living Politics