[DEBATE] : (Fwd) Rumbling protests across SA: Witbank, Khayelitsha, Cape Tech, Rhodes, E.London

[Patrick Bond]

Residents protest lack of water

May 07 2009 at 06:33PM

Residents of Phola township in Witbank burnt down a municipal office 
during a protest against a lack of running water on Thursday, Mpumalanga 
police said.

They also damaged two councillors' houses and four of the water tanks 
supplied by the local municipality and blockaded roads, said 
Superintendent Abie Khoabane.

Police had to use rubber bullets to disperse a crowd after residents 
threw stones at passing cars.

"The situation is now under control as it seems municipal officials have 
entered into negotiations with the residents."

No arrests were made and no injuries reported. Police were monitoring 
the area. - Sapa

***

Big clean-up after days of protest

May 07, 2009 Edition 2

ELLA SMOOK, NOMANGESI MBIZA AND FOUZIA VAN DER FORT

ABOUT 100 municipal workers today began the job of clearing the debris 
strewn across Lansdowne Road in Khayelitsha today after more than a week 
of violent service delivery protests in the area.

With no interference, and no sign of any further protests, Lansdowne 
Road, between Solomon Tshuku Avenue and Capital Road, was closed off by 
city traffic officials at each end as the repair work began.

Police from Khayelitsha's Crime Control Unit were on high alert and 
monitoring the situation.

At the time of going to press today, the municipal workers were sweeping 
the streets while bulldozers were being used to clear the piles of 
rubbish strewn across the road.

The city, which has called the damage "extensive", announced yesterday 
that it would start the repairs with the damaged stormwater drains which 
had led to an increased risk of flooding.

Residents agreed yesterday to halt protests for a month to give the city 
time to deliver on its promises.

Acting mayor Grant Haskin told the Cape Argus the city received an 
assessment of the damage late yesterday. It indicated that "extensive" 
damage had been done to toilets, electricity connections, roads, 
stormwater systems and water connections. The cost of the necessary 
repairs had yet to be determined.

Khayelitsha residents packed the Site C sport complex hall yesterday to 
listen to Adelaide Tambo sub-council chairman Trevor Trout, who told 
residents he was there to build a relationship and friendship with them, 
with the aim of solving their problems.

He asked residents to elect a committee to communicate with the city 
council.

***

CPUT protest turns violent

May 07 2009 at 06:24AM

By Natasha Joseph

Riot police and students clashed violently at the Cape Peninsula 
University of Technology's (CPUT) Bellville campus on Wednesday as 
protests over service delivery, facilities and fees continued for a 
third day.

On Monday, CPUT's Cape Town central campus was the scene of a mass 
demonstration which turned violent on Tuesday with police firing rubber 
bullets and stun grenades at students who had attacked them with stones. 
Tuesday's events culminated in the arrest of five people, four of whom 
were charged with public violence and one of whom was held on suspicion 
of trespassing.

Yesterday, the protests moved to Bellville and, by noon, 1 000 students 
were gathered outside the institution's main administration building 
demanding answers from CPUT vice-chancellor Vuyisa Mazwi-Tanga about 
what they described as high fees and poorly-maintained facilities.

'We will then outline our programme of action'
Mazwi-Tanga, surrounded by police officers and red-jacketed security 
officials brought in by the institution for major events and protests, 
told students that she had received a copy of the memorandum submitted 
to her on Thursday.

However, she had "not made time" to read the memorandum - a statement 
which was greeted with roars of derision by the crowd - because Friday 
was a public holiday and she had been engaged in meetings on Monday and 
Tuesday, Mazwi-Tanga said.

She said a meeting would be held between senior managers and student 
leadership yesterday afternoon, although she would only be able to join 
the meeting later in the day.

"We will then outline our programme of action, and the (Student 
Representative Council) will consult you (about our decisions)," she 
told the crowd. Before moving back into the administration building, 
Mazwi-Tanga said: "I always treat the students at CPUT with respect."

The assembled students jeered and booed in response to this.

Some students dispersed, but the majority moved away from the 
administration building and blocked the main entrance of the campus, 
overturning dustbins and using potato crisp packets or black bags to 
cover security cameras which had been recording their every move.

Cars which tried to leave the campus using the main interchange were 
turned back by students.

Student leaders attempted to keep the demonstrators from leaving campus, 
but a large group defied these instructions and continued to move 
towards Modderdam Road, just outside CPUT's main gates. When police cars 
with flashing lights and sirens pulled up outside the institution, some 
students ran towards them before stopping and turning back towards the 
campus.

At 2.30pm, a student leader announced that Mazwi-Tanga had refused to 
meet a delegation made up of representatives from several student 
political groups which had asked to join the SRC group.

Students then started pelting the administration building with naartjies 
and rushed towards the building, which prompted the red-jacketed 
security guards to retaliate with truncheons and teargas.

An hour later, staff were evacuated from the administration building.

At 4pm, the protest turned violent: a police riot vehicle drove slowly 
towards the students. It was pelted with rocks, and police retaliated 
with rubber bullets and stun grenades.

Students scattered in all directions, many screaming, and at least one 
woman was knocked unconscious in the chaos. A female student was treated 
for a minor injury to her stomach.

The SRC issued a statement late yesterday in which it vowed that 
"commotion, brouhaha and 100 percent breach of peace are going to rule 
the day until management deliver on our demands".

University spokesperson Norman Jacobs said late on Wednesday that the 
institution would issue a statement today, as the meeting between 
Mazwi-Tanga and student leaders was ongoing.

natasha.joseph at inl.co.za

***

MEDIA RELEASE: Rhodes University One in Nine Campaign Sexual Violence 
Silent Protest
Category: Top Stories
Date Added: 7 May 2009

On 08 May Rhodes university students & staff will turn out in record 
numbers for the day-long silent protest against sexual violence 
undertaken in conjunction with 1 in 9 Campaign.
On 08 May Rhodes university students & staff will turn out in record 
numbers for the day-long silent protest against sexual violence 
undertaken in conjunction with 1 in 9 Campaign.

On 08 May Rhodes university students & staff will turn out in record 
numbers for the day-long silent protest against sexual violence 
undertaken in conjunction with 1 in 9 Campaign. This protest is part of 
a week long programme of Anti Sex & Gender Based Violence Events 
organised by the Dean of Students office at Rhodes University from 27 
April � 09 May.

The rationale behind these events is to raise awareness within the 
Rhodes community about sex and gender-based violence and its ill-effects 
on South African society as a whole. Rhodes is a member of the One in 
Nine Campaign which was established in 2006 to ensure solidarity with 
woman who speak out against rape and sexual violence.

410 volunteers have signed up to participate in the 3rd annual �sexual 
violence = silence� protest, which serves to highlight both the high 
incidence of sexual violence in our country and the way rape silences women.

The protest has grown over the past years, beginning with 75 volunteers 
in 2007. 2009 marks a change in the format, with 3 different kinds of 
participation on 08 May:

290 Silenced women: wearing T-shirts with 'sexual violence = silence' on 
the front and an explanation of the protest on the back. They will be 
gagged from 07h00 � 18h00, with no food, water or talking

60 Rape survivors: women who have survived rape and sexual violence will 
wear T-shirts with 'rape survivor' on the front and an explanation of 
the protest on the back.

60 Men: wearing T-shirts with 'solidarity with women who speak out� on 
the front & explanation of the protest on the back.

The message on the back of the shirts reads:
�55 000 rapes were reported in SA last year. Only 1 in 9 rapes were 
reported to the police and of those only 4% were successfully prosecuted.

My silence affirms my solidarity with survivors silenced by rape and 
sexual violence.

Freedom of Speech is denied to victims of sexual violence. I call on all 
men to break the cycle of sexual violence. RHODES UNIVERSITY in 
Solidarity with the 1 IN 9 CAMPAIGN.�

ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS:
� Protesters will gather at 7 am in Eden Grove Red for the silencing, 
where the volunteers will all be gagged with gaffer tape. They will then 
move through the day as normal, distributing flyers explaining our 
actions while still attending lectures, tutorials and practicals.
� The men and rape survivors will not be gagged.
� Congregate in the library quad from 1 - 2 pm for silent vigil & �die-in�
� Gather back at Eden Grove Red at 6 pm for symbolic �breaking the 
silence� and debrief, followed by a �take back the night� march through 
town at 7.30 pm

We will graphically demonstrate how the voices of rape survivors are 
effectively silenced. All participants have chosen which t-shirt they 
will wear and their level of participation.

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN:

The One In Nine Campaign was established in February 2006 at the start 
of the rape trial of Jacob Zuma, to ensure the expression of solidarity 
with the woman in that trial as well as other women who speak out about 
rape and sexual violence. The Medical Research Council (MRC) study on 
sexual violence (2005) indicated that only one out of every nine rape 
survivors report the attack to the police. This statistic prompted the 
name: �One In Nine�. Furthermore, statistics indicate that of the cases 
that do reach the courts, less than 5 % of the rapists are convicted. 
This highlights the serious need for reform of the institutional 
framework for responding to women who speak out. The Campaign aims to 
mobilise support for survivors of sexual violence; to educate and change 
attitudes about sexual violence and to monitor the criminal justice 
system and court processes in rape cases.

MEMBERS OF THE CAMPAIGN INCLUDE:

AIDS Consortium; AIDS Law Project; AIDS Legal Network; Centre for 
Applied Legal Studies (CALS); Centre for the Study of Violence and 
Reconciliation (CSVR); Engender Health; Forum for the Empowerment of 
Women (FEW); Gender AIDS Forum; Gender Health and Justice Research Unit; 
Gender Links; Masimanyane Women�s Support Centre; Open Disclosure; OUT 
LGBT Well-Being; Positive Women's Network; People Opposing Women Abuse 
(POWA); Rape Crisis; Rhodes University; South African NGO Coalition 
(SANGOCO); Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT); 
Sinethemba Shelter; Sonke Gender Justice; Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment 
Programme

***

May 7 2009 10:55AM
Protesters demonstrate over bail for child-rape suspect


HUNDREDS of protesting community members and their children blocked the 
street in front of the East London Magistrate’s Court yesterday after 
the court granted bail to the alleged rapist of a toddler.

The group from Duncan Village, transported to court in about 30minibus 
taxis, waved placards and chanted songs against rape and the release of 
the alleged rapist before handing over a memorandum.

Their spokesperson, Ncumisa Yoyo , who runs a day care centre in the 
area, said they had had enough of men raping children and getting away 
with it.

Yoyo said the protest was over the case of a 21-month-old child who was 
raped at her home in January. “The suspect is free and walking the 
streets because he was granted bail by the court” she said.

The baby’s mother, who cannot be named, said she had not yet seen the 
alleged rapist in the streets, but knew that he was out on bail.

“If I were to see him I would kill him with my own bare hands,” she said.

The woman said she fell asleep after changing her baby’s nappy and 
putting her to bed next to her after 10pm on January 15 but was woken by 
dogs barking outside.

Then she heard her child’s voice “coming from far calling for me”.

“She was not screaming but crying in pain; it was as if she could not 
scream,” she said.

She went to the front room of the shack and found her covered in blood 
and faeces. The woman also noticed that her door had been broken and her 
couch covered in blood.

“I screamed as I could not believe what had happened to my child right 
under my nose in her home. I felt so helpless and useless because I had 
failed my child.”

The mother said: “For the court to release him on bail makes me feel 
even more like I failed her.”

She said the man confessed to his friends in the community and said he 
was fleeing to Amalinda.

“He told them he had raped a child as small as a puppy and that is how 
he was arrested in Amalinda.”

Yoyo said the alleged rapist was released on R1000 bail after the case’s 
investigating officer failed to attend the bail hearing.

“When the investigating officer was called he said he was attending a 
training course in Johannesburg on the day of the bail hearing,” said Yoyo.

Chief magistrate Valeri Gqiba and East London Police Station 
commissioner Sandile Hloba accepted the memorandum.

Gqiba said magistrates could not keep suspects in prison when the police 
were not present to oppose bail.

“The investigating officer should have made arrangements for either the 
case not to be heard on that date or sent another officer to tell the 
court why that person should be kept inside,” she said. - By SIBONGILE 
MKANI, Court Reporter