On 21 November 2025, SERI's Musawenkosi Cabe spoke on a panel entitled, 'On the Right to the Imagination and the Right to the City'. The panel formed part of a day-long event, the Joburg Revival, which was hosted by the Creativity for Social Change Hub and the Moleskine Foundation.
He spoke alongside Melusi Mhlungu (Creative Director, Jozi My Jozi), Thomas Coggins (Senior Lecturer and Researcher, University of the Witwatersrand), and Noluthando Mdayi (Co-CEO, Makers Valley). The panel discussion was facilitated by Lwando Xaso of the Creativity for Social Change Hub. Panellists reflected on what the 'Right to the City' means in the context of Johannesburg's inner-city, and a revived Johannesburg would mean for them and the work they do.
Musawenkosi reflected on SERI's work with inner-city residents and informal traders, who are often on the receiving end of efforts to exclude them from Johannesburg's inner city. He also shared his own reflections on what he observed of the Usindiso Building fire that claimed the lives of 76 people in August 2023 and recounted how quickly various politicians tried to blame the fire on the victims themselves. He discussed how important the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry has been for dispelling the prevailing narrative of building 'hijacking' that sought to criminalise inner city residents—much like how informal traders were blamed for the current state of the inner city, which served as justification for their unlawful removal by the City of Johannesburg in the lead up to the G20 Leaders Summit. Instead, the Commission found that dire poverty and the shortage of affordable housing are what drive people to live in the unsafe conditions of the inner-city and that the widespread assumption of large-scale “hijacking” of inner-city buildings is misplaced and not supported by the evidence uncovered by the Commission of Inquiry. He emphasised the important role that the Constitution plays in enabling the struggle waged by marginalised communities and groups for greater equity and inclusion in South Africa.