The Citizen reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and Abahlali baseMjondolo (ABM) on Wednesday demanded the immediate release of the deputy president of the shack dwellers movement who was arrested last week in Durban.
Numsa’s Irvin Jim condemned the arrest of activist Mqapheli Bonono last Tuesday, saying he was arrested on a trumped-up charge of conspiracy to commit murder. He said Bonono’s arrest was clearly an attempt by the ANC government to discredit and delegitimise ABM. “It is not a secret that the ABM is a thorn in the side of the ANC government for their independence and also their refusal to compromise on their demand for land, housing and dignity. The arrest of Bonono is the latest example of the relentless attack which this government has unleashed on the organisation and its members,” Jim claimed in a statement. ABM is a non-political organisation with more than 80,000 members in five provinces and is well-known for campaigning against evictions. Bonono was scheduled to appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Thursday for a bail application.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thapelo Lekabe at The Citizen
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