Nkululeko Gwala (died 2013) originally from

Inchanga Inchanga is a village in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, approximately halfway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Schools Inchanga has several schools, including Rietvallei Combined School, Siphesihle High School, Inchanga Primary School In ...

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 ...

, was a resident of Cato Crest, which is part of

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 ...

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 ...

and a supporter of the

Marikana Land Occupation (Durban) In March 2013 around a thousand people occupied a piece of land in Cato Crest, Durban and named it Marikana after the Marikana miners' strike. Mayor James Nxumalo blamed the occupation on migrants from the Eastern Cape. He was strongly criticis ...

. He was also a prominent member of the shackdwellers' social 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

and chairperson of their Cato Crest Branch. He was assassinated on 26 June 2013.

Activism

In the wake of the assassination of Thembinkosi Qumbelo, a prominent ANC housing activist in Cato Crest, Nkululeko Gwala came to the forefront as the primary leader of that community. He, along with Cato Crest community members then decided to leave the ANC and join the shack-dweller's movement Abahlali baseMjondolo. He then became a leading figure in the struggle against housing corruption in the area which resulted in him being targeted by the ANC.

Death

Gwala was assassinated on June 26, 2013 after unnamed gunmen opened fire and he was shot 12 times. This was following a controversial community meeting with eThekwini Mayor

James Nxumalo James Sikhosiphi Nxumalo (born 12 February 1965) is a South African politician who has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature since 2019. He was formerly the Mayor of eThekwini from 2011 to ...

and ANC regional chairperson Sibongeseni Dhlomo in which Mr Gwala was singled out as a trouble maker. Abahlali baseMjondolo claims that Dhlomo also announced at the meeting that Mr Gwala would be "sorted out". The movement says Nkululeko Gwala was assassinated for exposing corruption in Cato Crest and that the community knows the identity of the gunman who they say also killed housing activist Thembinkosi Qumbelo. They claim the gunmen are associated with a local ANC councillor named Ngiba. No one was ever arrested for Gwala's assassination. However, nine years later, Councillor for Ward 101, Mkhipheni Mzimuni Ngiba, was arrested for the murder of Siyabonga Mkhize who had won the ward, displacing Ngiba from that position. Gwala was buried in his home town of Inchanga in a politically charged funeral. No one has been arrested for the murder of Gwala.Abahlali baseMjondolo: Living Politics
Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa, September 2022

Activism

Death

See also

Notes and references

See also