The problem with an election that seems closer with each passing day is that politicians, either with microphones or on social media, seem to lose their marbles.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula took a R3m car to campaign in impoverished parts of KwaZulu-Natal last week. You’d think he would pretend to be sympathetic as he explains how 30 years of democracy has not translated into a better life for the poor of Inanda. But that’s assuming he does pause to apply his mind — something that doesn’t seem obvious.
And, to add insult to injury, ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe said those not happy with Mbalula’s choice of bling wheels must get on horseback when campaigning. But Mantashe knows he is disingenuous at best, and insulting at worst. He knows the fact that many complained about electricity didn’t mean they hankered to a past of candles and kerosene for energy. He is saving his gaffe-prone comrade from embarrassment a few days ahead of a crucial election.
But the worst of indiscretions comes from Gayton McKenzie, leader of the Patriotic Alliance. McKenzie, after the harrowing deaths of 27 people when a multistorey building imploded in George, Western Cape, said survivors — most of whom are foreigners — should seek counselling in their countries of birth.
“They should go get trauma counselling in their own countries. We can’t further waste money on people who broke our laws,” said the sanctimonious leader after a call by the Western Cape government seeking translators to assist in communication with the victims' families. The government had asked for trauma counsellors who spoke Chewa, Portuguese and Shona to help survivors and families of those that died.
His comments were distasteful and, on the face of it, xenophobic. We know that McKenzie has blamed foreigners for many of the country’s ills before.
Last year, for example, he threatened foreigners in hospitals. “After we have been sworn-in, I am going straight to the Rahima Moosa Hospital, where we are going to switch off the oxygen of illegal foreigners,” said McKenzie. “The devil sent other devils here to sell drugs to our children, to take the jobs of our children,” he said.
“They are going to go home, mabahambe (they must leave). We don't want illegal foreigners here.”
One of the pillars of our country has been the spirit of ubuntu or botho. It undergirds what, for us, it means to be human. It foregrounds our empathy in various battles — on the sporting field, courts or business. We are because others are. Even important, precedent-setting cases in the Constitutional Court emphasise transformational constitutionalism with ubuntu as a vignette of our pursuit of justice. When the Constitutional Court set aside capital punishment and abolished the death penalty, part of the court’s reasoning was that even those who have wronged society deserve a certain minimum level of ubuntu.
And so how is it that we can extend ubuntu to South Africans who wronged us and were facing the death penalty, but can’t extend the same ubuntu to poor people who perished while trying to eke out a living in harsh conditions then faced the biggest construction tragedy in this country?
And so how is it that we can extend ubuntu to South Africans who wronged us and were facing the death penalty, but can’t extend the same ubuntu to poor people who perished while trying to eke out a living in harsh conditions then faced the biggest construction tragedy in this country? How do you say to people praying for the recovery of their loved ones’ bodies that they must cross the border to get counselling? It’s mental wretchedness beyond description. It’s fanning the flames of hate against people battling human loss. When humanity escapes us, we become like wild animals.
It’s easy to see that McKenzie is playing to the gallery. He’s hoping for votes from the anti-foreigner lobby as the May 29 elections draw closer.
The issues may be a little more complex than McKenzie appreciates. He displays ignorance about the origins and legitimacy of borders on the African continent, for example. He also displays ignorance about the migration of African communities during the precolonial years. But he’s a former prisoner, after all. Part of his reintegration back to society should have included history lessons.
In the end, as politicians criss-cross the country in search of empathetic ears, may the desperate search for votes not gnaw away at their sense of ubuntu. Even the poorest people deserve dignity.
That the above statement is necessary is indicative of the depths to which we have plunged.
Nkosi sikelel'iAfrica.
