Hani and truth telling

Martin Thembisile "Chris" Hani was a charismatic and popular leader, but he certainly was no populist demagogue.

Over the last three years of his life, which he spent back in South Africa after the unbanning of the ANC and other liberation movements, Hani was often unfairly portrayed as a dogmatic militarist who was unenthusiastic about the multiparty negotiations process championed by the likes of ANC president Nelson Mandela.

Second only to Mandela in terms of popularity among the country's black working class communities - and given his prominent roles in the South African Communist Party and the ANC's military wing uMkhonto weSizwe - perhaps it was only natural that Hani would come to be known as a "hawk" in opposition to Mandela, the alleged "dove".

But you needed to go beyond screaming newspaper headlines and unhelpful labels to fully appreciate what Hani stood for.

That he espoused radical politics and propagated economic policy approaches that he believed would be pro-poor cannot be denied.

His great oratory skills and the mysticism that came with him having been one of the leading lights of the ANC's guerrilla warfare made him a favourite among the youth - from young lions in poverty-stricken townships and squatter camps to the socialist-oriented students at the country's ivory towers of higher education.

What distinguished Hani from populists was his courage and ability to tell the truth even when it was not something his audience was ready to hear.

I remember once as a high school pupil skipping school with friends to go and listen to Hani speak at the nearby University of Durban Westville (sorry, mom).

The atmosphere was electric, with university students singing militant songs and denouncing the ANC's decision to suspend the armed struggle while it sought a negotiated settlement with the National Party government and other political parties that participated in the apartheid system.

The radical students certainly expected Hani to join them in condemning this supposed treachery by Mandela and other members of the ANC national executive committee.

With state-sponsored violence continuing to claim the lives of ordinary folks each day, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, the crowd expected Hani to defy Mandela and declare that armed action would continue.

To their disappointment, he didn't. Hani devoted much of his speech to explaining how the NEC had arrived at the decision and why, since it was binding to all ANC structures, it should be respected.

There are many other instances where Hani, despite his reputation as a firebrand, stood in front of his followers to tell them what they were not ready to hear.

As South Africa commemorated the 19th anniversary of Hani's assassination yesterday, it struck me that we are in desperate need of a leadership of his calibre today.

Many among the current crop of political leaders confuse being popular with populism. W hat ought to be sensible public discussions and debates about policy options available for South Africa as it seeks to become a more equal and wealthier society are being reduced to empty rhetoric and opportunities for grand standing.

So when our political leaders should be chastising teacher unions who disrupt classes at the slightest provocation and frustrate state efforts to improve schooling, our political mandarins keep quiet for fear that they will lose the teacher union vote at the next elective conference.

Political youth formations, who should be leading us all in the search for creative solutions to the high youth unemployment rate that has become a time bomb, hide behind empty sloganeering and fail to come up with a firm stance on the proposed youth wage subsidy as they fear offending one potential ally or another in the run up to the ruling party's elective conference.

Luthuli House is today bemoaning the fact that the party's youth wing is showing no respect for its leaders. But they would not be in this situation today had they acted against ill-discipline within their ranks as early as 2008, when the same ANC Youth League leaders publicly ridiculed Luthuli House's perceived and real opponents.

Some of the party's leaders are repeating the mistake as we speak. The party last year took a decision to ban any lobbying for positions ahead of its Mangaung conference, saying the nomination process will only be opened in October.

It was a decision that had many detractors both within and outside the party. It was a binding decision nevertheless.

Yet we see some leaders turning a blind eye when their supporters openly campaign for their re-election while they tell everybody else to hold their horses until October.

When the others start defying the decision, out of frustration, the same leaders accuse them of ill-discipline.

What all of this demonstrates is that many of our current political leaders lack Hani's courage and conviction to speak truth, however unpalatable, to their own supporters.