FreePalestine | Houdini

[ADVOCACY] In April, SERI, the SPCDF & partners marked 10 years of the Melani High Court judgment with a month of reflection & advocacy though a commemorative event, launch of the #SlovoPark Digital Archive & an op-ed series published by @GroundUp_News. bit.ly/3P6F7FR

[OP-ED] SERI's @_Thato_ Masiangoako has written an op-ed reflecting on the 10th anniversary of the landmark 2016 High Court judgment (Melani case) & #SlovoPark's experience of engaging the City over the past decade to see their settlement upgraded. bit.ly/4dElZcl

Gaza: ▪️A peer-reviewed study in The Lancet Global Health estimated 75,200 violent deaths between October 7, 2023, and January 5, 2025. ▪️Over 65,000 additional deaths from starvation. ▪️Women and children comprise approximately 60% to 70% of total fatalities. ▪️An additional 10,000 people are estimated to be missing and presumed buried under rubble.  ▪️Over 80% of buildings in Gaza are reported to be damaged or destroyed, with an estimated 320,000+ housing units affected and over 60 million tonnes of rubble created. Hell on earth. And there is absolutely no justification for this scale of atrocity whatsoever.

BREAKING! Amid widespread bombing across Arab regions, Israel approves its largest-ever colonial expansion. Under the "fog of war'', what I warned on 14 Oct 2023 is unfolding: the largest ethnic cleansing/land grab in Palestine, since the Nakba. It’s happening. Under our watch.

lsrael's goal is to attack everyone separately, Israel is massacring Lebanese constantly for 2 and a half years!

This is a massive victory for Mr Qomoyi and his #farmworker union @csaawu! The Labour Appeal Court has found that his 2021 dismissal was unfair. In the judgment, the court also clarifies how to determine racism, affirming that calling someone racist is not in itself racist.

[WATCH] 10 years ago, the High Court found that the UISP is binding on municipalities. In 2016, @malungelob interviewed Mr Frank Mapara for @eNCA on the victory. He passed away in May 2019 at the age of 80 & #SlovoPark's upgrade is yet to be realised. bit.ly/4tCsCRf

I’ve had the privilege of working with Slovo Park’s leadership with partners at Wits’ CUBES & @1to1_AoE to see the Melani judgment implemented & #SlovoParkInformalSettlement upgraded. It’s been 10 years since the judgment still poor access to water & sanitation. #Upgrade4Dignity

[SLOVOPARK] A decade ago today, in Melani v @CityofJoburgZA, the High Court found in favour of Slovo Park informal settlement residents, finding that the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP) is binding on municipalities. #Upgrade4Dignity #10YearsAfterMelani

As the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, we remember the fearless comrades who were killed at Sharpeville on this day in 1960. Thousands of Black South Africans came together in a peaceful protest against the “pass laws” that controlled every aspect of their lives under apartheid. The protesters’ plan was to march to the Sharpeville police station without their passes in an act of civil disobedience. What unfolded was a brutal act of state violence, when police opened fire at close range on a crowd of protesters who were singing and dancing while demanding an end to restrictions on where they could work, live or travel. Sharpeville revealed the truth of apartheid to the world, but more importantly, it demonstrated that ordinary people, when united, have the capacity to challenge the systems designed to silence them. In the days that followed the Sharpeville Massacre, demonstrations against the killings spread across South Africa and the world. The leadership of the African National Congress (ANC), including Nelson Mandela also burned their passes in solidarity with the people of Sharpeville. As protests spread across the world, the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly for the first time condemned the killings and called for an end to apartheid. Read more about the significance of the Sharpeville Massacre and how it resonates with the Palestinian struggle at our new blog. Link in bio.

JUSTICE FOR SOBUKWE – CASE OFFICIALLY OPENED The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) confirms that a criminal case has been formally opened following the disgraceful vandalism of the gravesite of our founding President, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe. Case Details: • Date Registered: 18 March 2026 • Police Station: Graaff-Reinet SAPS • Reference Number: CAS 140/3/2026 • Contact: 049-8071100 This act is not just vandalism, it is a direct attack on African dignity, history, and resistance. We call on law enforcement to act with urgency and ensure that those responsible are swiftly arrested and brought to justice. We further call on the public to come forward with any information that may assist the investigation. Sobukwe’s legacy will not be desecrated. Sobukwe lives. The struggle continues. #JusticeForSobukwe #PAC #SobukweLives #HandsOffSobukwe

‼️Bad Words (w/ @susanabulhawa)‼️ "I think we're the only people in the world, maybe in history, who are expected to experience our own genocide and then be expected to watch what we say so we don't offend the people who did this. So I resent that, & I reject it completely. Which is why I double & triple down. Because I do -- I think they're demons." patreon.com/posts/153406730

VIDEO PREMIERE NOW‼️:youtube.com/watch?v=vT8s8V… "I'm not obligated to be polite to them. In fact, to be true to my people, I should say even more than I'm saying. Frankly, they deserve more. They deserve harsher words. I just don't have a vocabulary that's terrible enough to describe what they're doing...So I have bad words to give them, & that's what I'm going to do, and I think everybody should do it. I think no words, no terrible words should be spared for these monsters. Because they are monsters." - @susanabulhawa

Eid Mubarak, especially to those under genocidal occupation and apartheid. To those under the fire of aggressors, and to those under the fire of those who retaliate. Nothing justifies harming civilians: subjecting children to violence places us outside the bounds of civilization.

Boycott @NamaquaWines until they apologise for this cartoonish contempt of workers.

This is an extremely important case brought by @SERI_RightsSA on behalf of trade union @csaawu & Mr Vuyani Qomoyi. It has massive implications for free speech in the workplace, particularly the #farmwork context where workers’ rights are frequently curtailed. Read more below👇🏾

Empire never stops at one place. Gaza was the test. Greenland, Venezuela, Iran now loom as the victory's bounty. [Is this the beginning - of a new world (dis)order?] What goes around comes around, and fools are those who didn’t see it coming.

[OP-ED] Today marks #InternationalHumanRightsDay & SERI's Boitumelo Mabogoane has written an op-ed examining the role of PILS orgs in advancing human rights at a time when civic space is shrinking & human rights defenders face increasing hostility. dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/20…

[1/2] Johanna Philander, Chairperson of the Matzikama Farmworkers & Farm Dwellers Forum, and Marguerite Jacobs from Shaloom Paralegal highlight the prevalence of GBV on farms and explain how law enforcement often fails women living and working on farms. #VoicesFromTheFarms

[INFORMAL TRADE] A functional, transparent permit system for informal traders is long overdue. While traders are committed to working with the City to ensure orderly and lawful trading, they remain frustrated by the ongoing lack of clarity and consistency from officials.