[Debate] Ayanda Kota

Fri Jan 13 07:33:21 GMT 2012

I see refers to herself as a Marxist: "My main ideological approach is Marxism. I have been a political activist for the last thirty-five years, in both Argentina and South Africa. My main pursuits include: the struggle for the structural transformation of society and for an equal redistribution of wealth among the population; as well as political education and the possibility of institutional education for all."

Given her seeming willingness to utilise the cops, maybe her Marxism is confined purely to the lecture theatre? 

From: gonzostig at gmail.com
Sent:2012-01-13 09:19:19
To: grinker at mweb.co.za
Cc: 
Subject: Re: Re: [Debate] Ayanda Kota
There is personal animosity towards UPM on the lecturer's side stemming from a dispute over participation in the May elections, she has been accusing Ayanda Kota of theft for months now. Ayanda also offered to replace said books.On Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 9:05 AM, grinker at mweb.co.za> wrote:

Is it normal for Rhodes lecturers to report non-return of borrowed books to the cops? Or is there more to this story?

From: gonzostig at gmail.com
Sent:2012-01-13 08:38:47
To: debate-list at fahamu.org
Cc: 
Subject: Re: [Debate] Ayanda Kota

 The academic is Claudia Martinez-Mullen from the Rhodes sociology department.

 On Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 10:40 PM, Anna Majavu annamajavu at gmail.com> wrote:
Who is the academic? Name and shame please.

On Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 4:36 AM, Benjamin Fogel gonzostig at gmail.com> wrote:
> if you want to call the police here is the Grahamstown police station's
> number  046 603 9100
>
> On Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 5:12 PM, grinker at mweb.co.za> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 12 January 2011
>> Unemployed People's Movement Press Statement
>>
>> Ayanda Kota Assaulted in the Grahamstown Police Station - Under Arrest
>>
>> About 40 minutes ago Ayanda Kota was seriously assaulted by a group of
>> police officers in the Grahamstown police station. He was dragged, bleeding
>> from at least two wounds, and with his clothes torn from his body, to the
>> holding cells.
>>
>> For some months he has been under open police surveillance and at times
>> has been threatened and insulted by the police. The police have been
>> watching his mother's house and have searched it looking for him. Their
>> behaviour has been very rude, threatening and aggressive.
>>
>> Today Ayanda was summoned to the police station. He popped out of a
>> meeting organised by Masifunde and the Rural People's Movement with his six
>> month old son and a comrade. He was called to the police station because a
>> lecturer at Rhodes, who has publicly engaged in strange and aggressive
>> behaviour on a number of occasions, laid a charge of theft against Ayanda
>> after he misplaced a book that she had leant him. Ayanda did not steal the
>> book - he mislaid it. This is something that happens all the time to people
>> that share books. Perhaps another comrade picked it up and forget to return
>> it. Perhaps it was left in a taxi. These things happen. Ayanda has made it
>> quite clear that he is willing to replace the book.
>>
>> As soon as Ayanda met Constable Zulu, the officer that had summoned him to
>> the station, Constable Zulu said that he was taking him straight to the
>> cells. Ayanda said that he wanted to show the officer text messages on his
>> cellphone to the lecturer at Rhodes offering to replace the book but the
>> officer insisted that Ayanda was going straight to the cells. Ayanda then
>> asked to be able to take his son home first. At that point Constable Zulu
>> lunged at Ayanda very aggressively. Ayanda raised his arm in an instinctive
>> gesture of defence following which Zulu began to assault him with blows to
>> the head. Three or four other police offices then joined the assault. Ayanda
>> was on the floor for most of the duration of the assault which went on for
>> some minutes. This happened in the presence of his six year old son who of
>> course was traumatised.
>>
>> The assault was brutal, entirely unnecessary and accompanied by, in
>> Constable Zulu's case, an obvious sadistic delight. A police secretary who
>> witnessed it all burst into tears.One of the police officers made a
>> sarcastic remark about Ayanda being the newsmaker of the year in the local
>> paper. This was plainly no ordinary arrest.
>>
>> This is a bogus charge that most certainly does not justify arrest. There
>> was nothing to justify the assault. This is a simple attempt on the part of
>> the police to misuse a ridiculous charge laid by someone well known for
>> strange and erratic behaviour in order to intimidate an activist and the
>> movement that he represents.
>>
>> The police are not here to protect society. They are here to protect the
>> ruling party from popular dissent. This is not an isolated incident. Poor
>> people's movements have been constantly subject to this sort of behaviour at
>> the hands of the police for many years now.
>>
>> UPM will try to visit Ayanda in the holding cells and will mobilise to get
>> him medical attention tonight and to support him in court tomorrow. The
>> movement is currently looking for a lawyer. Of course civil and criminal
>> charges will be laid against Constable Zulu and all the other police
>> officers who joined this assault.
>>
>> For more information please contact Xola Mali on 072 299 5253.
>>
>>
>>
>>
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