MARCEL KING WILL REMAIN A HERO IN OUR HEARTS. : IMC-SA

The King family has had their electricity supply cut-off on several occasions. This is common in this community where 75% of the residents in Rinkgreen Walk have had their electricity cut off. This defiance against disconnection of services is supported by other townships and communities across Durban i.e. Chatsworth, Wentworth, Mpumalanga, Sydenham Heights, Mount Moriah, who have had also endured disconnections of basic services as well as being evicted from their homes. These communities have responded to the states assault on the poor with massive mobilsation against the disconnection of their services.

Alemaine King was defying the cut-offs and called on the community to come together and fight off the cut offs. The council officials together with their security force removed electricity cables and threw them on the ground. The community then approached the officials and security and asked them to wait until the media arrived. They refused to do this and started to leave. Alemaine then sat at the back of one of the vehicles and refused to move. The security officer then took off, dragging Alemaine behind him. To her own amazement, this tiny woman did not fall off the vehicle. He then started to reverse the vehicle trying to smash her against another vehicle. The security officer then stopped the vehicle, got off and proceeded towards Alemaine. He grabbed a hold of her and started to assault her. Marcel witnessed this and approached this guard. As he approached the officer he cocked his gun and pointed it at Alemaine King. Marcel then stood in front of his mum, serving as a shield and willing to give his life for her. Little did Alemaine know that Marcel had been shot, all she remembers is seeing Marcel fall to the ground and blood oozing from him. Marcel was shot in the mouth at point blank range. Official reports say that 17 rounds of live ammunition was fired into the community that had gathered around to stop the killing and the disconnections.

Marcel's death comes at a time when South Africa is celebrating its 10 years of acclaimed democracy as well as the ANC governments landslide victory in the recent elections. This is the first time in the history of Kwazulu-Natal that the province has an ANC-led provincial government.

They [the ANC] are responsible for this! They promised us jobs and free water and electricity,shouted Alemaine King, We only see them during the elections. They think that they can buy us off with their breyani and parties.

The King family laid a charge against the security officer. More than 24 hours have passed and still no suspects have been arrested. Weapons have yet to be confiscated. None of the Sunday newspapers bothered to cover this killing. In fact, the Sunday Tribune went so far as to cover Rajbansis new wig (this made headlines all over the city of Durban) yet the newspaper that claims to represent the people of Kwazulu-Natal didnt find the killing in one of the poorest parts of urban Kwazulu-Natal a worthy story to cover. This further proves how unfairly the poor and marginalized are treated. They are continually made to disappear into the background invisible, shadows that no one pays attention to.

The security guards, dressed in black uniforms and some in blue, are known to many poor communities as the Blackjacks. They were all transported in vehicles that had the registration NDM, which is Natal Durban Metro. The municipality tried to cover this up by claiming that they were private security, shifting the blame completely. This is not the case, after speaking to many residents in the community it was reaffirmed that this was most certainly municipality security and they are totally responsible for this heinous crime. For this reason there was no excuse for why no suspects will be arrested. There is certainly a record of who was on duty.

Communities across Durban and South Africa have come out condemning this vicious attack on the poor and marginalized. The Concerned Citizens Forum has made every attempt to support the family both emotionally and politically. Many community organizations and social movements have come up strong against this cruel behavior against the poor. At the funeral service held over the weekend, community activists from all over Durban, representing the CCF, made their commitment to the community of Phoenix known. Many of the activists have had experiences with evictions and disconnections and shared these experiences with the community of Phoenix.

Alemaine King gave a moving speech at her sons funeral. She thanked the activists for being there at her sons funeral and said that now she knew she will not have to face this struggle alone. Alemaine berated the political parties for trying to buy off the community with breyani and food and all kind of promises that have only resulted in her losing her son. Where will you be, Thabo [Mbeki], on Judgment Day? Where will Nelson [Mandela] be on Judgment Day?she asked. For a woman so emotionally battered by her loss, Alemaine showed incredible strength. People around me just shook their heads and said What a woman!.

Marcel mum has been very strong through all of this and continues to be so. She wanted to reassure people all over the country that they should continue this fight: Dont give up and dont be afraid because Marcel lost his life. He died a hero. He was protecting me and standing for his community. We must not live in fear because we think they are going to shoot us. We are stronger. They may have killed Marcel but that is only one, they cannot kill all of us.

She has come out strong against the ANC government for making false promises and for the ignorance that they have shown in this matter. The municipality refuses to respond deferring their comments and further stating that they will not comment as there is an investigation that is taking place. None of the ANC councilors have visited the family with the exception of one who bore boxes of chicken and vegetables, as if this is what will be used as compensation for the life lost. I suppose the ANC has a policy has to how much of offerings (food) one will qualify for, for the loss of a life. The only offering the DA could make were claims of how the area is so filthyin terms of keeping their environment clean. The DA added that the area was unhygienic and it wouldnt be surprising if any epidemic should break out. So thats what the political parties offered the King family : chickens and an insult of being filthy.

Marcels memorial service was held on Monday, 28 June 2004. Over 200 people filled a run-down hall that functions as the meeting place for the aged. People from the Rinkgreen Walk community got onto busses to come to the service. Community activists from Bayview and Westcliffe paid for the hire of their own taxis to come to the memorial. These activists came to Phoenix as a symbol of solidarity of the poors.

At the service, The King family was given an opportunity to speak about the death of Marcel. A very distraught, yet incredibly strong mother, Alemaine King, vented her feelings about the premature death of her son : As a mother I will steal your [council] lights and steal your water and you will do me nothing! They can kill one but they cannot kill us all. Christabelle, the younger sister of Marcel, fighting back her tears, said, in a highly emotional speech : My brother suffered. You (council) are going to pay. I dont care who is listening, you are going to pay!.

Orlean Naidoo, Chairperson of the Westcliffe Flat Residents Association and member of the Concerned Citizens Forum said :
Marcel is a king in the true sense of the word. In Chatsworth the very same security guards face us. Marcel was powerful and we must never think that we are weak.

The one concern that this raises is that Marcels death will be used as a political football. This may be an opportunity for other political parties not aligned to the ANC to jump on the issue and claim to be representing the poor people of Phoenix. The very same DA councilor, Roy Moodley, who said that the people of Rinkgreen Walk are dirty, was also at the memorial service. On that day he claimed to love the people of Rinkgreen Walk. He also said that he is the only one looking out for the community, for the poors, and often walks around ignoring the reconnections that people have done. He told the packed hall that he is going to the full Council Meeting on Wednsday, 30 June 2004 to represent the community of Rinkgreen Walk. He will ask for a full investigation into Marcels death. He also added that he would ask for the council flats to be given to the people living there at no charge.

Roy Moodley ended of his wish list with : I will also ask the council for pre-paid water meters to be installed here. And that sent shivers down the spine of every activist sitting there. The people of Phoenix didnt know what that meant. But we know. And comrades in Orange Farm, Johannesburg know what that means. The logic behind pre-paid water meters is that gaining access to water is each persons individual responsibility, for which they have to work to earn money to pay. And as Marcels mother pointed out : I had three sons who are skilled in a trade but they cant find any jobs. How then are poor people with no access to jobs going to be able to pay for water through Roy Moodleys pre-paid water meters?

At the end of the service, Ashwin Desai from the Concerned Citizens Forum reminded people that no-one was arrested for the death of Marcel. And to deal with this takes strength and unity, he reminded everyone. The community came away from that service stronger and with a strong desire to form a community movement or organization within this community. The council must never dare to come back here. We will never be quiet. We will stand together and we will fight! We will organize ourselves and now we have the support of people from Chatsworth and other areas. We will win!claimed Marcels older brother. Alemaine King also urged people to use those lights, they are yours! Use that water. It is no longer the governments. Its ours!

As social movements we are standing strong against this incident and will continue to do so. We will fight this battle come what may. The municipality has tried this in Bayview and Westcliff and was unsuccessful because of the resistance that they came up against. They chose to attack a community that was barely organised and took a life. This must and will be dealt with. This incident serves as a wake up call to many of us. How many more people will have to lose their lives in the struggle until we, the poors, are taken seriously? How many more young people are going to be robbed of their livelihood and how many more families have to be torn apart before receiving our victory and the DEMOCRACY that this countrys government so blatantly celebrates?

MARCEL KING WILL REMAIN A HERO IN OUR HEARTS. He died for the sake of the poor. He will be sadly missed and always remembered.

The battle that we are in we will fight till we drop!!!!
BRANDON PILLAY Bayview Flats Residents Association and Concerned Citizens Forum. Durban

this is crazy. I am an activist living in JHB and would like to send my love and respect to the family and comrades in durban still fighting. It is not certain that we can win and that why we have to fight.

I saw only part of this info before on Znet and find this news very disturbing. I am amazed by the courage of his mother , Alemaine King , and his still young sister to stand up and say that they will continue the struggle against the government with even more determination than before despite of what happened to her son!. They seem to have developed a conviction deep down that we can overthrow the might of this well organised , militarily sophisticated state. And yet they have no weapons at their disposal but this conviction. They don't even seem to have had much of an organisation then. These people were totally defenceless , and yet the security police found it necessary to kill one of them. This policeman who killed this young man , must have been primed beforehand by his superiors to use all necessary force at his disposal. He of all of them had the guts to go ahead and kill this young man in full view of not only his own colleagues but also that of the community. It is clear that he must have been convinced that he was acting within his powers , by following orders. Otherwise , why the blanket silence from all quarters? Why no defence or attempt at justification from the ranks of his superiors?. This blanket silence concerns me even more , because if this killing can get swept under the carpet and the killer and his superiors escapes punishment then that will give the other policeman - who did not have the guts before - the guts to start killing people who struggle against oppression. The person on trial here is not just this scapegoat policeman but also his superiors and you can take it from there. If you follow it to its logical conclusion hen you can actually hear Tabo Mbeki say to this policeman " kill them if that is what is necessary to protect the state against anarchy!" That is why there is this blanket silence. Marcel would not have been killed if the state did not take up an official position and came out to deprive him and his family of what in modern times has become a basic necessity of life - electricity- period.

I think the media must be exposed for their complicity in covering up this crime. We are no fools not to know that over the last few years in particular , the media has acted as an unofficial jury in almost all significant criminal matters right up to the top desk inside Thabo Mbeki's office. Why all of a sudden do they decline to be jury in this case of a severe human rights abuse?. Why the double standards? The media seem to have taken up a position of passive bystander which unfortunately for them contradicts their previous and ongoing role in other cases of social conflict. The fact that they had to report on Rajbanzi's new wig , implies that they were not kept busy with an excessive amount of critical news somewhere else. Did anyone approach DEBRA PATTA of E- TV ? She has lately become a public spokeperson for the unheard voices...it is worth giving it a try!

I think the media must be told so and exposed for what they are ...a significant force against the oppressed peoples struggle and acting on the side of and protecting the oppressive laws and machinery of this oppressive state. As I said last time , when it comes to drawing class lines , then this should be an example to help teach our fellow oppressed that what some left Marxists call and teach as the class struggle is not written in Black and White!. The policeman who killed Marcel is probably a member of the working class but despite of this he acted against this class. Who knows , tomorrow he may behave differently and act against the state. The media and the town councillors , the same thing , they are the slyest of all jackals , they keep changing their behaviour. The one day they appear to come out in defence of the oppressed the next day they act and promote forces who work against the interest of the oppressed. Tomorrow the oppressed people might appeal to this same treacherous media to publish their story and I won't object to this. This can be very confusing to the uninitiated. We need to make the oppressed conscious of the fact that in life and in our struggle our friends and enemies will keep changing colour or if I may say , the leopard will keep on changing its spots so that it may or may not look like a leopard. In such circumstances We need to make sure that we build the type of organisations that can help us deal with this kind of difficulty. We cannot keep running around looking for spies all the time...this can only backfire against ourselves as most of the time we will get it wrong.

Our organisations must be set up in such a manner that mechanisms are in place that ensure that these organisations remains under the control of the oppressed. These mechanisms must be discussed by the people who form or who are members of that orgainsation.

There is one particular item that I thought of. It is concerned with the problem of defense and in particular the constantly rising thraet of Government Spies in our organisations. I have not thought it through completely though. These are some of my ideas.

No person must be allowed to attend a meeting - except for mass marches and picket lines - including a public meeting without completing a register at the entrance door stating name , address , contact telephone number , who referred him to the meeting , and what his nearest contact organisation is. This register must then be worked through and categorised by area and a copy of this register must then be send to the local organisation or partner organisation in that attendee's area. If they pick up any inconsistencies they can correct that and if they have any concerns they can either deal with it themselves and inform the centre that they have done so or else request the centre to deal with the issue. It sounds tedious, unpractical, and a break from what we are used to but If we are preparing to overthrow the state and govern this country then we have to start and accustom ourselves with the tedious tasks now and not try to only master them after the fact. In this way we make sure that we know who attends our meetings and we can feel free to discuss all the issues openly. We cannot worry about someone who may be a trusted member today but maybe will become a spy tomorrow. All we should be concerned with is that we know who attends our meetings and that at the time the attendee has references and that we are truly in complete control of our organisations. It does not make our organisations immune to spies , but makes it much more difficult for spies to infiltrate and operate from within our organisations.

There are a lot of issues of to raise here. Apart from the problems of organisation there is the problem of physical defence - we cannot talk of attack yet - against the state but they form part of a much more thorough discussion.

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