Siyanda is a young Black woman serving a four-and-a-half year sentence for defending herself from a racist attack.

On 25 May 2019, what started as a joyous bank holiday for Siyanda ended as a nightmare and changed her life forever. Without any provocation, Siyanda was racially abused and physically assaulted by adults much older than her.

Siyanda and her family expected the police to investigate the incident thoroughly but what they experienced was a litany of failures. To their horror Siyanda who is also disabled, was arrested and then charged with GBH, and she was convicted and sentenced to four and half years on 13 March 2020. 

Siyanda’s solicitors have lodged an appeal against her conviction. The grounds include the failure by the police to present crucial forensic evidence during the trial; the admission during the trial by police that it failed to investigate the race hate crime against Siyanda; and the complete undermining of the assailants versions of events as evidenced by the injuries sustained by Siyanda. Moreover, they argue that the jury failed to properly understand the directions of the sitting Judge in his summing up. The appeal is likely to be listed for a hearing towards end of 2020. 

A national campaign ‘Free Siyanda‘, has been launched to right the wrong and ensure that justice prevails in this case. 

You can help by:

• Signing the petition
• Writing a letter to your MP asking them to support the campaign
• Affiliate your trade union branch or organisation to the campaign
• Invite a speaker from the campaign
• Write a supporting letter to Siyanda Mngaza
• Donate towards the campaign costs