“We Are Still Not Counted As Human”: Contesting Unfreedom from Below in South Africa

This interview with S’bu Zikode, cofounder and current leader of Abahlali baseMjondolo, the largest popular movement to have emerged in South Africa after apartheid, was conducted a month before the 30th anniversary of the formal end of apartheid. Zikode gives an account of the arc of his life, and that of the movement, illuminating the costs of progressive political commitment in Durban, a city where political violence is routine. Zikode also explains some of the key elements of his political thought, which centers around a radicalized African humanism in which the idea of dignity is central.