Willies Mchunu
|
The Honourable Thembinkosi Willies MPL |
|
|---|---|
| Mchunu | |
| 7th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal | |
|
Assumed office 24 May 2016 |
|
| Preceded by | Senzo Mchunu |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Thembinkosi Willies Mchunu 11 May 1948 |
| Nationality | South African |
| Political party | African National Congress |
| Spouse(s) | Dudu Mchunu (d. 2016) |
Willies Mchunu is the current and 7th Premier of the Province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa in May 2016. He was previously the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for the Department of Transport, Community Safety, and Liaison in the province. He is a member of the African National Congress and the former chairperson of the South African Communist Party (SACP) in KwaZulu-Natal and is a member of the Central Committee of the SACP. He is seen as a close ally of South African President Jacob Zuma.
Willies Mchunu's response to the violent attacks on Abahlali baseMjondolo at the Kennedy Road informal settlement was and remains controversial. At the time of the attack, he claimed that the attacks were by a "criminal forum" associated with Abahlali baseMjondolo president S'bu Zikode. Abahlali baseMjondolo and many civil society organizations have called the attack on Abahlali baseMjondolo and Kennedy Road residents politically motivated and blame Mchunu for condoning the attacks by an armed group affiliated with the ANC . Mchunu's response to the attacks has also been criticized by Bishop Rubin Phillip and Archbishop Thabo Makgoba Mchunu refused calls for an independent investigation into the attacks.Amnesty International sent a letter of concern to Willies Mchunu, but there was no response from his office.
On 18 July 2011, the case against the twelve members of Abahlali baseMjondolo arrested after the attacks was thrown out of court. The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa issued a statement saying that the "charges were based on evidence which now appears almost certainly to have been manufactured" and that the Magistrate had described the witnesses as "belligerent", "unreliable", and "dishonest".
According to Paul Trewhela, "The scandal is that this political prosecution was instituted in the first place, and that it was dragged on, month after month, by magistrates, prosecutions and police without a shred of reliable evidence - with plentiful evidence, rather, of manipulation and intimidation of witnesses by the police and local ANC structures."
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