The Socialist Movement of Ghana (SMG) stands in solidarity with Abahlali baseMjondolo (ABM) following the assassination of Comrade Zweli Khabazela Mkhize the evening of Thursday, 12 February 2026, in the eNkanini settlement, Allandale, Gauteng.
We extend our deepest condolences to his family, comrades, and the broader ABM community. Comrade Khabazela, Treasurer of ABM’s eNkanini branch, a participant in political education, and a principled working-class leader dedicated his life to advancing the social value of land against its commodification. He led efforts to prioritise housing, water, sanitation, and the dignity of the poor, he embodied the best of our shared socialist tradition.
For this work, he was threatened, vilified, and ultimately murdered. His assassination is not an isolated event but part of a brutal pattern, at least 26 ABM members have been killed since 2009 for organising the poor in defense of land, livelihood, and dignity. We note with grave concern the political context in eNkanini, where the majority of residents, led by ABM rejected both the commercialisation of occupied
land and the imposition of tribalist authority over land allocation, insisting that social
and community needs must prevail. The reported forcing of community leaders into hiding following this assassination shows an escalating attempt to silence the democratic will of the people. In the face of this injustice, SMG joins ABM in making the following demands:
- Justice and accountability for the assassination of Comrade Zweli Khabazela
Mkhize, including an independent, credible, and time-bound investigation, the
protection of witnesses, and the prosecution of those responsible, both
triggermen and intellectual authors. - Immediate protection for ABM members and elected community leaders in
eNkanini and elsewhere who face threats for advancing majority-backed
mandates. - An unequivocal end to the use of assassination, intimidation, and
criminalisation as tools to silence working-class organisation and dissent. - Recognition in practice and policy that land must serve human need and
collective dignity, not private profit or authoritarian patronage.
Comrade Khabazela’s life and work remind us that the struggle for land is inseparable
from the struggle for socialism, democracy, and life itself. His vision, water and
sanitation for all, land organised for social use, and collective leadership accountable
to the majority will not be buried by bullets. We honour him by defending the gains
he helped to build and by redoubling our commitment to the poor and working class
across our continent.
To ABM, to the comrades in eNkanini, and to all who continue the fight despite the
intimidation of the State, you do not stand alone. From Accra to Durban, our struggles
are one. We offer practical solidarity, including political education, and mass
mobilisation to end impunity and defend people’s power.
Long live the spirit of Comrade Zweli Khabazela Mkhize.
Long live Abahlali baseMjondolo.
Land, dignity, and socialism by any just means, for the many, not the few.
In solidarity,
Signed.
Blaise Tulo
For General Secretary