Freedom of Expression Institute 5Th Floor, Argon House, 87 Juta Street
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T h e r i g h t t o d i s s e n t Freedom of expression, assembly and demonstration in South Africa Freedom of Expression Institute 5th floor, Argon House, 87 Juta Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg Tel: (011) 403 8403/4 Fax: (011) 339 4109 E-mail: [email protected] www.fxi.org.za Freedom of Expression Institute (c) 2003 All rights reserved This document is published by the Freedom of Expression Institute with copyright 2003 as open content . That means that the information herein can be freely copied and used as is, as long as the publisher is credited and prior permission is obtained. Distribution of any modified versions of this document is prohibited. Distribution of any modified versions of this document is prohibited. Distribution of the work or derivative of the work in any standard (paper) book form is prohibited unless prior permission is obtained from the copyright holder. If you have any questions about copyright of FXI materials, please contact us at [email protected] ISBN 1-919855-24-6 The editor would like to thank Jane Duncan for her assistance in preparing this book, and Seipone Productions for the pictures. The FXI is grateful for the funding provided by the Open Society Foundation - South Africa which has made the publication of this book possible Cover photograph: Members of civil society groups plead with a police officer after being evicted from the Sandton Convention Centre Photograph by Henner Frankenfeld/PictureNet Africa Sub-editing: Laura Grant Indexer: Mirie van Rooyen Cover and book design: STE Publishers T h e r i g h t t o d i s s e n t Freedom of expression, assembly and demonstration in South Africa Crucified Thabo Lehlogwana (Aka ‘Righteous the Common Man’) I heard strange voices say left to drip dry solitary confinement creates on the surface of the cruel earth enough space for I and I to meditate born and raised in the dungeons I survived the death the lokshin surrounded of my beautiful dreams loneliness surrounded me in darkness my name became peace darkness my only true friend A child yet to be born moments of sadness But already crucified I have seen giving birth to the bright light I rose came back multiplied of hope a little child cursed by midwives to throw stones before thrown into the rivers and seas of blood and after I wrote books swam with crocodiles and sharks whose contents got stolen escaped onto the wicked lands infested stories about the wisdom of my being with these poisonous snakes stories about how they raped who sometimes pose as friends my rich mother betrayed comrades and warriors stole her children and wealth who aimed to lead us forced her to conceive to a home called freedom beasts possessed by greed crucified they called me a savage I was but always came back to rise I was made a slave beyond the darkest stars and skies millions of hard lashes before I lived I had to survive left my broken back open hurtful entrapments drippin’ gallons of blood of this womb oh! my forgotten thorny past licked by these hungering scavengers My name was truth A child yet to be born who conspired with vultures and vampires But already crucified sucking every drop out of my starving thirsty veins Yes I have lived many lives just to gain their strength and died too many deaths before spreading my blood like a red carpet in Rwanda, Hiroshima, Ethiopia for the rich to walk on it Soweto, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico, using it to build great monuments Congo, Angola, Boipatong, Ghana, and and slave ships Tanzania, Sharpeville, Seattle and Genoa Even the oppressor’s lies makin whips ‘n gunz and teargas smoke building prisons and shackles failed to keep me choked shackles that bind my mind in fear’s oppression wrists and ankles to their greed ‘n wickedness where violence gave me hope living in the womb for solace ‘n redemption of my troubled presence watching sad smiles rested my name changed on the bloodline of an axe it became justice dripping deaths of generations a child yet to be born born into the bloodline of hope but already crucified 4 they failed to keep me whom I failed to reach in time buried in a shallow grave before my siamese twins of grief and hatred justice and peace where I lived many lives started to breathe and survived countless deaths hunger, starvation to rise beyond the darkest skies suffocating in a can of coca cola but still they had me crucified new age imperialism like Christ, Spartacus and Socrates celebrated in style but I came back once again and rose to throw stones As I watch fools tryin’ to mute the truth after and before I wrote books preserving battlefield whose stories were never told for sheer mediocrity stories about how children hypocrites preaching of my stolen lands about the beauty of democracy are turned into cannibals revolutionary thoughts arrested caged up in concentration camps in development and filthy drains called prisons of reformist politics I came back to sing along politricks of desperation with a sad song of freedom polishing the rusty chains a song whose melody used to be blocked of grave enslavement by mad bombs in Gaza while keeping the lid on in Nagasaki and Lebanon the bottle of resistance forces a song that rhymed exploitation and oppression ignored with beautiful names like Fanon by these mad, crazy, insane dogs Guevara, Sobukwe, Trotsky, scheming and mating with cats Mumia, Biko, Lumumba, that give birth to snakes and rats Shabazz, Garvey, Lenin, competing in a freedom race Tsietsi Mashinini, Dennis Brutus biting each other’s tails Stompie and Hector Peterson prizes are lost no battles are won Like all of them As I see the finish line I got crucified before my swollen eyes killed died to live beyond my times asking myself can I enter in the womb of my uncertain future this rat race my name became people’s liberator a voice from within responds a child yet to be born definitely not!! but already crucified so I stop and reminisce about my previous triumphs over death I have lived many lives I came back and died too many deaths coz my spirit that fights I came back this time to live forever still refuses to die in the womb of the future before I lived I had to survive my name has now become freedom robbin islands that colonised a child yet to be born the minds of freedom fighters but already crucified 5 Contributors Mandla Seleoane Mandla Seleoane is the director of the Promotion of Access to Information and Planning at the Technikon North West. Previously he was a research specialist at the Pretoria-based Human Sciences Research Council. He served as the chairperson of the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) from 1998-2000 and, since 2000, has been the chairperson of the Trust Fund Board of the Media Institute of Southern Africa. He has served on a commission of inquiry into racism in the South African Police Service appointed by the Minister of Safety and Security, and was a joint winner of the Don Caldwell Unconventional Hero Award. Seleoane has written and published extensively on the subjects of democracy and governance as well as on general and topical issues relating to law and society. He is also the author of a popular column in The Herald titled “No holy Cows”. Yasmin Sooka A lawyer by training, Yasmin Sooka is the director of the Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa. She served as the national president of the World Conference on Religion and Peace and was a member of the legal task force in the National Co-ordinating Committee for the Repatriation of South African Exiles. In 1995 she was appointed a commissioner for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated gross violations of human rights committed by the apartheid regime, and became the head of its Human Rights Violations Committee. In May 2002 she was appointed as a commissioner for the Sierra Leonean Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Salim Vally An intellectual and political activist of note, Salim Vally has been researching and lecturing at the University of the Witswatersrand for the past six years. He is the acting director of the university’s Education Policy Unit. Prior to that, he worked for 10 years as an education officer with the labour movement. He did his undergraduate studies at York University, Canada, after which he returned to South Africa and taught for a while at a high school in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg. His extensive involvement with the liberation struggle led to his expulsion from the school and constant harassment by the apartheid regime. Vally has an extensive publications record and has written and published several books and articles in academic journals and treatises. He is a board member of numerous organisations including the FXI, Khanya College, Soul City and the Palestinian Solidarity Committee. He holds two masters degrees and is in the process of completing a PhD on social justice and education. Mzwandile Christopher Ngcobo Mzwandile Christopher Ngcobo (Chris Ngcobo) has been the chief of police of 6 the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) since 2000. He studied at Meadowlands High School and Fort Hare University where he became a member of the Azanian Student Congress. In 1983 he was expelled from the university and was later detained by the apartheid regime in 1986. He completed his BA Law degree while in prison. In the 1980s he was active in many community initiatives and political activities, including the United Democratic Front.