Willies Mchunu
Willies Mchunu was the 7th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. He was previously a Member of the Executive Council 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 in KwaZulu-Natal and is a member of the Central Committee of the SACP. He is seen as a close ally of former South African President Jacob Zuma.
Controversies
Violence at the Kennedy Road informal settlement in 2009
Willies Mchunu's response to the violent attacks on Abahlali baseMjondolo at the Kennedy Road informal settlement in 2009 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 was also criticised 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 noting that the Magistrate had described the state 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."