Death of Nqobile Nzuza

Nqobile Nzuza was a resident in the Marikana Land Occupation in Cato Crest, Durban, South Africa. She was a member of the shackdwellers' social movement Abahlali baseMjondolo.[1]

Death

On 30 September 2013, at the age of 17 years, Ms. Nzuza was shot dead in the back of her head during an anti-eviction protest organised by Marikana residents.[2][3]

Police admitted to shooting Nzuza, and another resident who was wounded, but claimed they were acting in self-defence. Representatives of Abahlali baseMjondolo said it was the fault of the police.[4]

Aftermath

The death caused significant controversy. When Bandile Mdlalose visited Nzuza's family, she was arrested.[5] There were a range of letters and statements on the matter by well-known US based academics such as Noam Chomsky[6] and Anglican Bishop Rubin Phillip.[7]

Chomsky wrote a letter to the Mail & Guardian newspaper in Johannesburg along with other signatories, which included Slavoj Zizek, Judith Butler and John Holloway. They urged Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa and James Nxumalo, the local Mayor to put an end to the violent attacks on activists and their homes.[6]

Conviction

A Cato Manor police officer, Phumlani Ndlovu, was convicted of murder and was sentenced in 2018 to ten years in prison. The trial lasted 5 years. Nzuza's family declared themselves unhappy with the verdict.[8]

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See also

References
  1. Sacrifice After Mandela: Liberation and Liberalization Among South Africa’s First Post-Apartheid Generation, Kerry Chance, Anthropological Quarterly, 2015
  2. Nqobile Nzuza, a 17 Year Old School Girl, Shot Dead with Live Ammunition by the Cato Manor SAPS, Abahlali baseMjondolo, 30 September 2013
  3. "Cop awaits sentence after killing teenager". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  4. In Durban's Cato Manor: Death by protest, death by dissent, Khadija Patel, Daily Maverick, 1 October 2013
  5. Mdlalose, Bandile (10 October 2013). "I will not be silenced". IOL. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  6. Letter from Chomsky, Zizek, et al to Jacob Zuma, President, Republic of South Africa, 4 October 2013
  7. In Durban's Cato Manor: Death by protest, death by dissent, Khadija Patel, Daily Maverick, 1 October 2013
  8. Ten years in prison not enough for cop who killed my daughter, says Durban mother, Nomfundo Xolo, GroundUp, 17 January 2018
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