From the moment the results were out and it was apparent that the ANC was to form the government, I saw my mission as one of preaching reconciliation, of binding the wounds of the country, of engendering trust and confidence.
'' I quote these wise words from the book , ' Long Walk to Freedom' (1994) written by none other than the iconic Nelson Mandela. An internationally celebrated statesman now in the sunset of his life, Mandela must be deeply disappointed and annoyed by the buffoonery of one Julius Malema.
It is a fact that the ANC is arguably Africa' s oldest liberation movement that, in the past, has been very ably led by luminaries such as Chief Albert Luthuli, Oliver Reginald Tambo and Mandela.
One of Africa's biggest challenges is the scourge of demagogues, pretenders, looters and dictators. This is an unfortunate breed of men and women who are solely driven by lust for absolute political power as well as the paranoid pursuit of self-enrichment and self-aggrandisement.
When challenged by democratic forces seeking the adoption of good governance and the rule of law, these rabid dictators and tyrants will huff and puff ; screaming that they are Africa's '' liberators and revolutionaries''. Alas! These men and women are Africa's disgrace; a shameful grouping of looters who are corrupt to the core; ruthless and absolutely tyrannical
.A certain boy called Malema recently visited Zimbabwe during the Easter holidays; as a guest of the terminally ill and moribund former ruling party; ZANU(PF).Excitable and effervescent as ever; this boy wasted no time in showering praises on the disintegrating political party called ZANU(PF).
Adorning the infamous ZANU(PF) regalia, this boy literally blew his top and ran short of adjectives to eulogise his guests and to simultaneously lambast the most popular and largest political party in Zimbabwe; the Movement for Democratic Change.
To students of political science and to all right-thinking people the world over, this did not come as a surprise at all. Some of us have carefully followed the rise of Malema within the ranks of the ANC Youth League.
We all know that he succeeded the very able and sober Fikile Mbalula who is now an ANC member of parliament as well as the Deputy Minister of Police. We know that for some reason, Malema now regards himself as the kingmaker in the ANC ; riding on the wave of success of President Jacob Zuma's faction at the last ANC congress held in Polokwane, South Africa.
Post Polokwane, Malema has grown to be very boisterous, stubborn and downright unruly. He falsely thinks that he was personally responsible for the rise of Zuma to be President of the ANC as well as the Republic of South Africa. Malema is wrong. To begin with, there were bigger forces at play at the ANC congress at Polokwane. Admittedly, Malema is very noisy and loud but he is certainly not a political strategist. He needs someone to handle him.
Malema justifiably felt cosy and comfortable in the company of ZANU(PF) functionaries. I am one of the ANC's greatest admirers. Some of my political role models are found within the ANC. Born to a Zulu domestic worker, Zuma has rose to become the President of Africa's strongest and biggest economy; South Africa.
Whilst Zuma was openly humiliated by Thabo Mbeki by being fired as the Deputy President of South Africa in 2005 in the wake of the Shabir Shaik corruption scandal, he has never publicly lambasted nor demonised Thabo Mbeki and all those ANC leaders who were fighting in Mbeki's corner; such as Terror Lekota, Mbazima Shilowa and Bulelani Nqcuka.
For all his other shortcomings, I admire Zuma for being a man who calmly and maturely weathered the storm of his obvious persecution by the Mbeki faction in the ANC. Zuma never publicly lost his cool and shouted at his political detractors; real and/or imagined. To me; that is the hallmark of a revolutionary and a true democrat. Contrast Zuma's charm and coolness with Malema's rabid and increasingly incoherent public outbursts, then you will realise why the ANC has to urgently reign in this loose and foul-mouthed political waif.
Lest Africa be fooled; Malema is not and has never been an exponent of genuine broad-based black economic empowerment. He claims to be representing the poor, marginalised and unemployed black youths of South Africa most of whom stay in impoverished townships. He drives the latest Range Rover and owns properties in Sandton. He wears a watch worth R 250 000 and wines and dines in some of Johannesburg's most expensive joints whilst the majority of black youths of South Africa are wallowing in abject poverty.
Who is Malema to label the MDC a party of '' puppets''? Does Malema look down upon the majority of Zimbabweans who justifiably see that real change can only be brought about by the MDC? I have absolutely no problem in having Malema associate with whomsoever he wants in his tormented life. However, all true democrats and fighters for good governance and the rule of law will have serious issues with a hare-brained demagogue coming over to Zimbabwe to spread heresy, hate and intolerance.
Besides spreading hate and intolerance, can Malema tell us what he has done to practically empower the poor and marginalised black youths of Kwamashu in Durban, Mamelodi in Pretoria and the Cape Flats in Cape Town? We need a serious paradigm shift in the manner in which African politics is run. The politics of hate, anger and intolerance can only bring more strife and poverty to the toiling masses of Africa.
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