EDITORIAL | Divisive politics is the last thing SA needs

Let’s talk about the politics of hate.

The politics of anger. Race baiting? Why, some might ask, are politicians seemingly inciting violence — imitating the sound of a machine gun — encouraging supporters to “kill the boer, kill the farmer” almost 30 years since the election of the country’s first democratically elected government? 

EFF leader Julius Malema’s remarks to this effect during the party’s 10th anniversary celebrations at a packed FNB stadium on Saturday — and what a spectacle it was — have certainly ignited fierce debate and sharply divided opinion about the red beret leader’s perceived threats of violence. 

Filling up the calabash stadium was a coup, symbolically, for Malema, who told supporters that should the party attain power it would end load-shedding, provide free education, fight corruption and incarcerate corrupt ANC leaders. His populist rhetoric resonated with the crowd.

Who can argue that the governing ANC — while initially making significant strides to address inequality in SA — is largely to blame for our perilous situation in 2023, having one of the most unequal societies in the world, an epidemic of corruption, stunted economy, high rate of unemployment and a string of broken promises made before the last general elections? 

The EFF quickly pointed out that singing “Kill the Boer” at the weekend did not amount to hate speech — the Equality Court had ruled to that effect in 2022. Malema, then, argued that liberation songs should not be interpreted literally but recognised as a critique of a system of oppression. 

The party, at the time of the court ruling, welcomed it as a victory against racists who wanted to fly the apartheid flag and sing “Die Stem”. 

Adam Habib, former vice-chancellor of Witwatersrand University, summed up what critics took away from the tone of this weekend’s birthday celebration. 

“There is a lot of nonsensical defence of this as being part of our liberatory cultural heritage. Singing this today is pure racial baiting,” he wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). 

“It is an attempt to make some citizens feel as if they do not belong. Its (sic) juvenile reactionary politics at its worse & will destroy SA.” 

Opposition party the DA was swift to lodge an official complaint at the United Nations Human Rights Council. The charges relate to Malema’s perceived calls for “genocide”. 

Former DA MP Phumzile van Damme dived into the debate, saying DA leader John Steenhuisen’s reaction to the weekend bash amounted to manipulating fears and using racial polarisation to galvanise the white vote.   

And therein lies the catch. With the next national elections looming in 2024, we should all expect to see and hear politicians promise a better life, embark on door-to-door visits kissing babies and gogos under the glare of television camera lights. And, in the case of the EFF, agitate, threaten to unleash “ground forces”, divide and conquer. 

Let’s cut to the chase. SA needs a government after 2024 that unites, builds and empowers citizens.

This is not a time for the politics of hate and sowing division. Don’t fall for that ruse. 

Circumstances demand that it should be a time of collaboration, innovation and hope. Not a nation divided and angry. 

A time of action. Not hurtful words.