Rotten soul of a dream gone sour

The Dalai Lama debacle is final proof that the rainbow over our nation has been destroyed by our leaders' moral turpitude

There is an insurance advertisement on television. The guy who played Mahatma Gandhi, Ben Kingsley, appears in it along with several other men who bear a resemblance to him.

The ad is all about the "real deal" - how to distinguish between the genuine article and a poor imitation.

This week, many people were wondering about the genuineness of the ANC and what has become of the real deal - the liberation movement that now appears to be a morally sleazy political party.

As the debate raged about the Dalai Lama's visa and Archbishop Desmond Tutu's subsequent outrage, one question stood out starkly: who owns the ANC's heart?

Maybe an Eastern Cape gogo looking after a household of pre-school Aids orphans while she gathers wood in Lusikisiki does not give a hoot about a levitating spiritual leader and whether he is able to attend Tutu's 80th birthday bash.

But she would care about her ANC. In all likelihood, the Lusikisiki gogo kept the faith during apartheid by believing that the ANC was the real deal and that the party would liberate her and her grandchildren.

After all, this is a party that lives by the words "A Better Life for All".

But what would this hypothetical gogo make of her real deal these days?

Would she tell her grandchildren that they too must wait like her, that the government of President Jacob Zuma will eventually bring the economic liberation wagon around?

What has caused the ANC to become rancid from within, a party whose leaders have - to cannibalise former Financial Mail editor Nigel Bruce's words - one eye on the clock ticking down to Mangaung and a thumb in the till?

The true identity of the ANC is the fundamental problem highlighted at Tutu's Tuesday press conference. He was not saying that the ANC is worse than the National Party in the most literal sense.

His anger was rooted in the fact that he had expected so much more from the ANC, perhaps due to naïvety stemming from wearing the clerical collar too long; that its rule would be marked by moral steadfastness rather than the venal greed of men who prefer dancing with Chinese dragons and offering safe havens to Africa's dictators.

What Tutu said he would pray for - the demise of the ANC - will materialise if the ruling party's heart is not subjected to major reconstructive surgery.

Because the selfishness of the men who lead the post-revolution ANC will eventually be defeated by the anger, disappointment and impatience of the gogos and their children - certainly before Jesus comes back.

While this week's events might be viewed by those in power in the Union Buildings and Luthuli House as the whimpers of old men who will soon die and whose voices will be silenced forever, our leaders should know that the rest of the nation listened attentively.

When Tutu - and subsequently Ahmed Kathrada - expressed disillusion about the party they had loyally served, their almost bewildered sadness struck a chord in a nation filled with bile at the sight of the feasts enjoyed at the expense of the poorest.

Before the heart of the ANC is further torn asunder, it's worth remembering the words of another struggle hero.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy," said Martin Luther King jnr.

Thankfully for many of us, Tutu stood firm in his moment of challenge and controversy, but we need more people like the Arch.

Isn't it ironic that this is the same Tutu who coined the rainbow nation phrase to describe his delight in South Africa's first fully democratic election?

President Nelson Mandela enlarged on the theme when he said in 1994:

"Each of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld - a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world."

Our nation is not at peace with itself and the world. And our rainbow has faded from sight a long time ago.