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- Prof Peter Linebaugh joins ZACF and TAAC comrades, 21 August 2015
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- Tokologo African Anarchist Collective after a workshop
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- ZACF organised Saturday Struggle School workshop, Johannesburg,18 January 2014
Khutsong
Working Class Livelihoods: Struggle against Each Other, or Revolt against the System?
by Bongani Maponyane (TAAC, ZACF)
Rising inflation means increases in food and petrol prices. Inflation is a global problem, driven partly by conglomerates maximising their profits at the expense of ordinary people. The state plays its role, continually raising prices for services.
The pressure of capitalism has impacted on our lives. It has caused clashes within the working classes, resulting in discrimination and prejudice. Ruling class elites – the political and economic elite – benefit from these struggles between people who compete for scraps from their tables.
Tokologo supports the Khutsong community march on the Teba offices, Carltonville
The Tokologo African Anarchist Collective supports the protest march held by members of the Khutsong community – where we have active members – to the Teba Bank offices in Carletonville.
We support, albeit critically, the Khutsong residents’ demand that local mining companies should provide them employment and job opportunities by sourcing labour from the surrounding community instead of busing in workers from the Eastern Cape and other provinces; workers who can be more easily exploited and oppressed by the mining bosses due to their status as migrant workers. While we do not want to deny our Eastern Cape brothers and sisters employment opportunities we also recognise that this practice perpetuates the legacy of the super-exploitation of migrant black labour as practiced under apartheid and further entrenches the inequalities created by that system of racial capitalism.
Khutsong Community fights Gangsters
Khutsong anti-crime protests late 2013
by Mzee (TAAC)
Members of the community of Khutsong chanted struggle songs, and demonstrated outside the Oberholzer Magistrate’s Court on the 14 January 2014. They were in support of fellow community members arrested following an infamous incident of mob justice that occurred in Khutsong in 2013. This mob justice led to the death of five people believed to be gangsters, and of one traditional healer to the gangsters. The gangsters had terrorised the community.
The community members were arrested in 2013, but the court hearing was remanded to 14 January 2014 for the bail applications, which were granted. Jack Magagabe, Willy Jongilanga, Andrew Langa, Happy Leyakane and Metsela Kgosane are being charged on twelve counts, including public violence, destruction of public property, murder and arson. The accused are being represented by a pro-bono (free) advocate.
More than 85 flying squad police cars were deployed in Khutsong in late 2013 on a “peace-keeping” mission. Many cases of police brutality were reported by the community. The township of Khutsong is not happy with how the police have been handling matters so far.
Khutsong: Pre-emptive “crime-stopping” leads to police brutality
by Bongani Maponyane (TAAC, ZACF)
Khutsong has not been at peace, facing a high police deployment, supposedly to combat crime. The government was adamant about cleaning up the streets in Khutsong. This followed certain brutal crimes.
Police Rapid Response Teams were put in place, monitoring the usage of alcohol and drugs, and the illegal trade in goods, to try to combat and eradicate crime. The Technical Response Team was also a big part of the crime bust.
The Khutsong Tragedy
by Lucky Sumione (TAAC, ZACF)
Residents in Khutsong location were neglected by the police many times, and that is why they ended up taking the law into their own hands in late 2013.
It all started when gang members killed some people, and cut off their body parts. Some then killed each other too. When the gang members attended the funeral of their fellow members, the police escorted them to the graveyard. But the gang members managed to rob people of their belongings on the way to the graveyard — in front of the police. The South African Police Services (SAPS) is failing us.
Soon after the incidents, many police were deployed to raid the location. But they arrested many innocent people for nothing, yet the gangsters remained free.
In South Africa the police are among the ones doing crime. As we have seen in the past, our senior police officials have been facing corruption charges, including two former National Commissioners, Jackie Selebi and Bheki Cele. And look what happened at Marikana, but the current police Commissioner Riah Phiyega is defending the acts of the police in the massacre.
The police shoot people, so it is clear that the police are against us. They are not here to defend us in our new so-called democracy.
zabalaza.net 