Amnesty International
Annual Report 2012
The state of the world's human rights
Harassment of human rights defenders
and criminalization of their work continued. Those affected included
journalists, staff from the Public Protector’s office, anti-corruption
investigators and community-based organizations promoting economic and social
rights.
- In July, 12 supporters of
the housing rights movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo, were acquitted of all
charges in the state’s case against them. These included murder, attempted
murder and assault relating to violence in the Kennedy Road informal
settlement in September 2009. In its ruling the court noted “numerous
contradictions and discrepancies in the state’s case” and the lack of any reliable
evidence to identify the accused. The court also found that police had
directed some witnesses to point out members of Abahlali-linked
organizations at the identification parade. At the end of the year,
Abahlali supporters who were displaced after their homes were looted and
destroyed in 2009 were still unable to return safely and rebuild their
homes. In October, at a meeting with the Executive Mayor of the Ethekwini
Metropolitan Municipality about this issue, a senior official allegedly
threatened Abahlali’s president, S’bu Zikode, with violence. A police
investigation into his criminal complaint against the official had made no
progress by the end of the year.
