PHUTI MOSOMANE
LOYISO Nkohla, the former Ses’khona People’s Movement leader who rose to prominence in 2010 for leading “poo protests” at the Cape Town International Airport in the Western Cape, was shot dead on Monday at the Philipi Railway Station.
Nkohla, 41, succumbed to gunshot wounds and died at the scene.
According to the police, Nkohla, dubbed the ‘poor thrower’ by the media, was attending a political meeting as mediator between Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) and the local community in Philipi, a low-income settlement on the Cape Flats in Cape Town.
Former ANC councillor, Thembinkosi Pupa, was also wounded during the shooting.
Nkohla was in Philippi, at the behest of PRASA, to engage the community who had occupied the Philippi Railway Station and the railway corridor, in the hopes of negotiating their relocation.
The Nyanga police are investigating cases of murder and attempted murder at the Philippi Railway Station.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer, Joseph Swartbooi confirmed that two women and a man were injured in the shooting that killed former Ses’khona People’s Movement leader in Philippi, Cape Town.
The injured victims were transported to the hospital for treatment, while the motive for the attack remains unknown.
Nkohla was born in Alice and began his political activism as a student at Matomela High School in Peddie (Gcinisa) in the Eastern Cape.
He later joined the ANC Youth League in the 1990s.
Nkohla gained notoriety in 2010 for leading the ‘poo protest’ in Cape Town, which involved transporting portable toilets from informal settlements and dumping faeces at the entrance to the Western Cape Provincial Legislature and the Cape Town International Airport.
Nkohla was suspended from the ANC in 2012 for three years but the sanction was suspended for three years.
In 2014, the ANC Dullah Omar Regional Disciplinary Committee chairman Faizel Moosa announced that Nkohla was expelled from the party following the famous protests.
At the time of announcing his expulsion, Moosa said Nkohla was expelled because he stated that he will not apologise for what he did and will not place mitigating factors before the disciplinary committee.
He helped establish the Land Party in 2019 and became a Councilor candidate for the Patriotic Alliance in the 2021 local government elections before announcing his departure from politics in February 2022 to focus on personal development and community work.
“I have taken a personal decision not to continue being active politically under the banner of the Patriotic Alliance or any other political organisation for my personal development and my community at large,” said Nkohla.
“This decision comes at a time when I am demanded by communities throughout many areas — from disadvantaged communities, particularly the informal settlements, backyard dwellers and social housing communities — which continue to face illegal evictions and unlawful arrest and victimisation by some individuals who work for security agencies.”
Since May last year, Nkohla represented Langa and Philippi railway occupiers who vowed not to move until they had been shown the land they will be moved to.
Nkohla told the then Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula: “It is a failure from your office. Minister, we have watched you many times announcing that by November last year people would be moved. Then you said next year in July. Now this is May 2022, and you are repeating the same announcement as last year.”
The ANC spokesperson, Sifiso Mtsweni, expressed shock at Nkohla’s passing and raised concerns about the level of violent crimes in the Western Cape.
He acknowledged Nkohla’s activism through the Se’skhona People’s Movement, which used various methods to highlight the issues facing communities on the ground.
“We are shocked at what happened. This raises a number of concerns about the level of violent crimes in the Western Cape. We hope the murderers will be apprehended by law enforcement. Nkohla was an activist who used all sorts of method to highlight the issues of the communities on the ground through Se’skhona People’s Movement,” Mtsweni told Inside Politics.
DA MP Emma Powell acknowledged Nkohla’s complex character and deep anger towards injustice. She also praised his sense of humor and expressed her condolences to his family.
“Loyiso was a complex man, who lived a big and meaningful life. He was deeply angered by injustice and spent his life fighting for the rights of those who had no voice. He was never able to find a permanent political home, because he couldn’t stand convention and structure,” she said.
“He had a sense of humor second to none, and was so proud of his children, one of whom was a young chess champion. May his soul rest peacefully. He deserved better than this.”
Nkohla celebrated his 14th anniversary with wife Nyameka Mguzulo six days ago.
INSIDE POLITICS
