Philani Zungu
Encyclopedia
Philani Zungu was the Deputy-President of the South African shack
dwellers' movement Abahlali baseMjondolo
in 2006 and 2007 and continues to play a key role in the movement. He is also the chairperson of the Pemary Ridge Development Committee. He has been arrested on 3 occasions for his political activism and was very badly assaulted on one occasion suffering permanent damage to his left ear. He is currently suing the South African police for assault with the support of Amnesty International
.
He has written a number of important articles about democracy and the poor and in late 2007 his work was discussed at a special meeting at Harvard University.
He is also a well known public intellectual who often comments in the local and international media.
He is currently awaiting trial on a charge of illegally connecting shack dwellers to the national electricity grid.
Shack
A shack is a type of small house, usually in a state of disrepair. The word may derive from the Nahuatl word xacalli or "adobe house" by way of Mexican Spanish xacal/jacal, which has the same meaning as "shack". It was a common usage among people of Mexican ancestry throughout the U.S...
dwellers' movement Abahlali baseMjondolo
Abahlali baseMjondolo
Abahlali baseMjondolo , also known as AbM or the red shirts is a shack-dwellers' movement in South Africa which is well known for its campaigning for public housing. The movement grew out of a road blockade organized from the Kennedy Road shack settlement in the city of Durban in early 2005 and now...
in 2006 and 2007 and continues to play a key role in the movement. He is also the chairperson of the Pemary Ridge Development Committee. He has been arrested on 3 occasions for his political activism and was very badly assaulted on one occasion suffering permanent damage to his left ear. He is currently suing the South African police for assault with the support of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
.
He has written a number of important articles about democracy and the poor and in late 2007 his work was discussed at a special meeting at Harvard University.
He is also a well known public intellectual who often comments in the local and international media.
He is currently awaiting trial on a charge of illegally connecting shack dwellers to the national electricity grid.