Now the third land activist murdered in Cape Town – Philela Gilwa

Another land activist and leader of the group of backyarders from Town 2 who are occupying land next to Khayelitsha Magistrate court has been killed. Philela Gilwa, 23 was stabbed in Khayelitsha on Saturday night. According to a facebook post by Kilombo Village, “Philela Gilwa fell in the hands of knife wielding angry Black men”. Philela was the leader of backyarders from Town 2 who occupied about 120,000 square metres of land and named it Zwelethu before they were removed by the Anti-Land Invasion Unit of the City of Cape Town Metro Police.

Gilwa is the second land activist and leader of the occupation who has been murdered. On the 28th of May, Mthunzi ‘ Ras Moziah’ Zuma, 40 was shot and killed after he and other activists barricaded the road next to the land they were occupying. The eyewitness claims that a car approached the barricade and the driver of the car came out and shot Zuma. The accused was granted bail and will appear in court in August.

In a separate incident, Songezo Ndude a land activist in Imizamo Yethu was shot and killed by the police during a protest in Hout Bay.

Arrests for Gilwa’s killers are expected soon.