Bandile Mdlalose was the general secretary of the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n shackdwellers' movement

Abahlali baseMjondolo Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM, , in English: "the residents of the shacks") is a socialist shack dwellers' movement in South Africa which organises land occupations, builds communes

. She is now the President of the Community Justice Movement which operates in some informal settlements of

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

and

KwaZulu Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locat ...

. She is the National Working Committee member of the United Front, elected in December 2014.The Political Arrest of bandile Mdlalose
, ''Africa is a Country''; accessed 30 July 2018. She was listed in the ''Mail & Guardian Book of Women for 2012'' and was labeled one of South Africa's top 20 youth in 2013.

Arrest in 2013

In October 2013, Bandile Mdlalose was arrested on a charge of public violence at the Marikana land occupation in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. The arrest was riddled with controversy as Abahlali baseMjondolo and commentators labeled the arrest as politically motivated and without merit. She was arrested for showing solidarity with a family whose child had been killed in the protests. She was held at

Cato Manor Cato Manor is a working-class area located from the city centre of Durban, South Africa. It was formed when Indian market gardeners came to settle in the area some time after it was given to George Christopher Cato in 1865, who was the first m ...

police station, groups such as

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

and War on Want petitioned for her release. She had difficulty getting bail set but eventually was granted bail of R5,000 on the condition that she not return to Cato Crest.

Philosophy

Bandile Mdlalose wrote that South Africans "live in a Democratic Prison" because democracy sends police and private security to evict poor people and "smash" their struggles. She also wrote an article after her arrest called "Seven days in Prison". She is also critical of electoral politics and has argued that: "Once you become a political party or when you contest the elections, you then become like them (the politicians)."Cato Crest housing war, By BHEKI MBANJWA, ''Daily News'', 7 October 2013
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mdlalose, Bandile Living people South African activists South African women activists Shack dwellers Squatters Squatter leaders Housing in South Africa Year of birth missing (living people)