Statement on the Justice for Kabelo Thibedi Campaign and the 'Know Your Neighbourhood'!

28 November 2006

The Young Communist League (YCL) had a resounding and successful launch of the Justice for Kabelo Thibedi Campaign which included a Know Your Neighbourhood Campaign. This launch took place at Zone 9, Meadowlands in Soweto, Johannesburg. The launch was attended by more than 100 members of the community, who later joined in as volunteers, visiting houses and finding information.

The launch was addressed by both Buti Manamela and Kabelo Thibedi, who then listened to the problems and grievances of the community, helped them fill in forms and collected data around these problems.

Through this campaign today, 28 November 2006, we were able to reach out to 65 households to identify certain needs that the community is still awaiting from government agencies, and 55% of these households visited by the National Secretary of the Young Communist League, Cde Buti Manamela, and Kabelo Thibedi are still awaiting their ID´s, social grants and food parcels etc.

We believe this campaign will play a role in appealing for leniency in the sentence imposed to Kabelo Thibedi and secondly it will recoil the spirit of community service amongst the people of our country as we address the socio – economic challenges facing the majority of our people especially the working class and the poor.

The campaign is expected to go on until 11 December, stretching throughout Meadowlands and Soweto. The campaign will be launched in Gauteng in January, concurrent with Thibedi´s first appearance in court. The National Congress of the YCL in December will discuss further details of the Campaign.

The campaign is meant to also touch on youth access to public service as a right and address juvenile delinquency; especially those young people whom we believe were failed by the system.

Issued by the Young Communist League.

For more information contact:
Castro Ngobese
Mobile: 082 567 3557