Download PDFMnguni was a powerful intellectual with a mind like a razor. He was a young man with vision and commitment, a brave man whose will to struggle was not broken by six months in prison, long periods in hiding and having to bury two close comrades this year. He was already interested in radical ideas while in high school. He read Biko, Fanon, Malcom X and Marx. Mnguni ran a reading group in prison with books such as The Wretched of the Earth and Pedagogy of the Oppressed and various pamphlets that we were able to smuggle into the prison at his request. He was a communist and an internationalist. Meetings at the Commune always started with the Internationale. The Communist Manifesto was studied line by line in the Frantz Fanon school along with writers like Fanon and Freire. Even while living under constant threat Lindokuhle was in solidarity with the struggle against the monarchy in Swaziland.
Mnguni’s vision and commitment was central to the achievements of the Commune including the struggle to occupy and hold the land, the model of democratic self-organisation developed in the Commune, its militant commitment to oppose patriarchy, the successful urban farming projects, the collectively managed shop and kitchen, the crèche, the poetry project and, the Frantz Fanon School, which attracted militants from around the country and beyond. It was his vision that the school would become a place of learning and building solidarity for the international left. The next step was to build accommodation for visitors to the school.
The land on which the eKhenena Commune was developed was first occupied in 2018. The Commune developed collective projects including the successful food sovereignty project, started with seeds donated by the MST in Brazil.
There were regular arrests and periods of imprisonment on fake charges, people’s homes were burnt. Ayanda Ngila, another leader of the Commune who spent six months in prison with Mnguni on bogus charges, was assassinated on 8 March. Nokuthula Mabaso was assassinated on 5 May. Mnguni was a fearless leader and stood for his community. He always dedicated his time to the people. Mnguni is 24th leader of our movement who has died at the hands of the.
Our hearts are heavy. We have lost a real leader with a very bright future. We have lost someone who was prepared to lay down his life for the Commune, the movement and the struggle for a world where land, wealth and power are shared and the humanity of all is recognised. He believed that we must fight without compromise against capitalism, imperialism, racism and the thieves and thugs in the ANC.
We are Mnguni and we are socialists. We will continue the struggle.
Hamba kahle qhawe lamaqhawe
Uyibekile induku ebandla
This press statement was released by Abahlali base Mjondolo on 20 August 2022.
