![sibonelo_patrick_mpeku.jpg sibonelo_patrick_mpeku.jpg](https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/sites/default/files/sibonelo_patrick_mpeku.jpg)
Sibonelo Patrick Mpeku was the Chairperson of the local Sisonke Village branch of Abahlali baseMjondolo and a member of Abahlali’s KwaZulu/Natal Provincial Council. Sibonelo Patrick Mpeku worked to defend the rights of shack dwellers to basic services and political participation in Sisonke Village. Abahlali baseMjondolo is a grassroots movement of poor shack dwellers in Durban, Pinetown, Pietermaritzburg and other parts of the province and of the Western Cape. The movement advocates for the rights of people living in shacks including access to decent housing, services and education. Its members have been the targets of ongoing intimidation and physical attacks due to corruption at the local political level, and since 2007, including Sibonelo Patrick Mpeku, seven members of Abahlali baseMjondolo have been killed.