Grahamstown's social justice movement used the strongest possible gesture of anger, short of physical violence, to make their point on Saturday 15 October 2011. But with their intended targets safely at home, it was instead a church group on retreat who were subjected to the mayhem. Marchers in front of the city hall suddenly picked up the three buckets of human excrement and stormed into the building, pushing aside the security clerk at the front door. They flung the stinking buckets of waste into the entrance, spreading the mess as widely as possible, leaving a putrid stench in the grand tiled area. This disgusting act of defiance was the culmination of a day of protest action organised by the Unemployed People’s Movement (UPM) and the Students for Social Justice (SSJ). Dubbed the “Occupy Grahamstown” demonstration, it was part of the international campaign for global change held all over the world on 15 October. 

Full story in 18 October 2011 edition.