The top 10 bogus ANC conspiracy theories

27 May 2016 - 11:52 By GARETH VAN ONSELEN
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now

Under pressure the African National Congress (ANC) has historically relied on one red herring above all others to negate responsibility and divert attention from dissatisfaction with its own performance: a "third force", be it the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or white supremacists, is supposedly the root cause of its many and varied problems.

A school desk used to block a road during protests in Mashau villages in Vuwani on 6 May 2016.
A school desk used to block a road during protests in Mashau villages in Vuwani on 6 May 2016.
Image: Simphiwe Nkwali / Sunday Times

Always unseen, never proven and yet constantly alluded to, its claims to this effect are the ultimate abdication of agency. The implication is that, inside and outside of the government, secretive foreign forces are at work, manipulating the South African people and causing mayhem and instability.

The end game is always "regime change" and more often than not, "agents of the West", "western forces" or "western imperialism" serve the "agenda" of the hostile ideological architect behind it all.

In this way the ANC is nothing but a victim. And if anything sells in SA, it is victimhood. We fairly revel in the stuff. You can see it on every level; if not pure, unadulterated conspiracy, then the sublimation of it.

This past weekend student leader Malaika wa Azania wrote "the greatest responsibility for the torching of universities and other forms of violence must be taken by our government…" (Burning of universities is counter-revolutionary) No one is really responsible for anything in SA. It’s always someone else. We are all victims of some third force, in some form or other, acting on us.

Of course, the irony is that, if true, it is a complete and utter indictment of the South African security forces. Routinely our highest security structures are set to work to uncover and investigate these elusive yet omnipresent influences. Routinely, they turn up empty-handed.

If ever one needs proof SA’s security agencies are fundamentally useless, one need only measure their performance against the ability to deliver on the primary problem their political masters set them: a ubiquitous set of saboteurs who are everywhere, manipulating everything, and yet who can never be found.

But then again, that’s not the point. The point is to distract and evade. And it often works a charm. If anything, ours is a land of conspiracy and paranoia, and many indulge these fantasies as great truths. We have no Area 51 in SA, no fake moon landing, instead we have "the West". It is our unidentified flying object, and it is seen hovering in the night skies on a regular basis.

Little wonder, too, that words like "sabotage" and "treason" are bandied about so frequently these days. They are the product of the same kind of paranoid hysteria. When "the nation" is under attack, "patriotism" becomes the ultimate test of any citizen. So the ANC relies heavily on the ideas of treason and sabotage to sow suspicion and distrust.

But there is a greater irony still. If you’re looking for evidence of a third force, look no further than the surreptitious and destructive influence of the Gupta family, one of its own. Their tentacles are everywhere. . More to the point, their influence is not the product of mere speculation but is well documented and extensively recorded. The real third force is in plain sight. So, naturally, the ANC would have everyone look to the horizon for something more sensational still.

Here follow ten examples of the ANC’s bogus conspiracy theories.

1. The CIA’s agenda to suggest HIV causes AIDS

At the height of his HIV/AIDS dissidence, it was reported former president Thabo Mbeki had addressed an ANC caucus meeting in October 2000 to declare, among other things, that the US’s CIA was part of a conspiracy to promote the view that HIV causes AIDS.

At the time, the Mail & Guardian reported (Mbeki fingers CIA in AIDS conspiracy) that Mbeki had claimed "the CIA is working covertly alongside the big US pharmaceutical manufacturers to undermine him because, by questioning the link between HIV and AIDS, he is thought to pose a risk to the profits of drug companies making antiretroviral treatments".

Mbeki wasn’t alone in this kind of paranoia. One of his favourite surrogates, the late ANC Youth League (ANCYL) leader Peter Mokaba, had claimed the link between HIV and AIDS was part of an "international western plot" to kill black Africans. No evidence for their claims was ever provided by either of them.

2. #FeesMustFall protests driven by white supremacists

"White supremacists are the third force behind this. They enjoy the strikes and disruptions because they think we can’t govern and keep things civilised."

That was the considered view of Unathi Mtshotwana, ANCYL convener for the Dullah Omar region, who had called a press conference in January 2016 to claim, among other things, that the ANCYL was "the champion of education" (White supremacists 'third force  behind fees must fall.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) later gave credence to the idea. Acting National Police Commissioner Khomotso Phahlane told Parliament, "Surely it could not have been students on their own?" But, as ever, SA is still waiting for any actual evidence to this effect.

3. "The West" is plotting to assassinate Jacob Zuma

Such is the size of Zuma’s security detail you’d be forgiven for thinking every second person was planning to assassinate him. But, for ANCYL KwaZulu-Natal secretary Thanduxolo Sabelo, the real threat is The West.

"I want you comrades to know that we have uncovered such a plot (to assassinate Zuma).… We must start to build the capabilities of the (defence force) to the capacity and capabilities of a world superpower. We must have one million well-trained young soldiers," he said after a provincial executive meeting in April this year (West plotting Zuma assassination‚ claims KZN ANCYL).

A world superpower? Perhaps just focus on providing electrical power first. It’s remarkable that a provincial youth branch uncovered a plot that has evaded all our national security forces. Not just the champion of education, then, but the champion of international foreign intelligence too. As ever, we await the details.

Read the other 7 bogus ANC conspiracy theories at BDlive

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now