BRENDA MADUMISE-PAJIBO | Chris Brown concert is a test to walk the talk and one we’re failing

Perpetrators of intimate-partner violence and abuse frequently sail to ever higher levels of success and praise, case in point Chris Brown and others. The upcoming Chris Brown concert in South Africa has exposed the pretences of some among us who claimed to support the fight against gendered violence, while enabling a convicted abuser, by not only planning to attend his concert scheduled for mid-December but employing social media to rubbish, troll and abuse those who are walking the talk about the scourge of gendered violence in South Africa.

This is not entirely unexpected or shocking. In South Africa, patriarchy and misogyny are entrenched and embedded, the abuse of women and girls is widespread; while those who perpetrate these vile, obscene and heinous crimes are shielded, protected and are not held accountable.

Our justice system “talks left and walks right”. Though the South African government has repeatedly and loudly said gender-based violence is a crisis/pandemic, it has not treated it as one, and those who continue to abuse women are not held accountable but are indeed celebrated.

Thus the “Chris Brown concert” has become a teachable moment for all of us. We cannot seriously tackle the abuse of women and girls and be excited to welcome a convicted abuser who continues to visit harm on others, and when he is exposed, a barrage of insults and threats are meted out against those who stand firm and are principled about the fight against gendered violence.

We enable those whom we like while we pretend to be against the conduct that such persons perpetrate. It is a case of spinelessness and hypocrisy. 

I had a personal encounter of this sort about a year ago at a birthday celebration of a deceased colleague. The R Kelly Step in the Name of Love song was being played by a DJ, as his wife indicated that it was his favourite song. I went to the DJ and told him that R Kelly is a convicted abuser and a predator, and as such his music should not be played. Almost everyone at the party was furious at me and some told me to take a chill pill. My husband told me that since we were invitees, we had two choices: “either we leave or we keep quiet”. I was disturbed, upset and mostly disappointed. We had to leave the party sooner than I wanted. This is the dilemma we must deal with in this country. We talk left and walk right. We enable those whom we like while we pretend to be against the conduct that such persons perpetrate. It is a case of spinelessness and hypocrisy.

At times, one may want to look another way when young people are giddy about a “Chris Brown concert”, but when it’s those who cast themselves as leaders, influencers and indeed learned, it is hard to do so. A case in point is the recent post on the social Platform X by the former vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town, Dr Mamokgethi Phakeng. She points out that she is attending the concert and that is fine, she has that prerogative but she does not have the capacity to link her attendance at the concert with handing Chris Brown the resources to muzzle women who might be victims of his abuse.

She chimed that she is against GBV, and that attending the concert is “not mutually exclusive”. Indeed, attending the concert is in support of Chris Brown, it is recognising the courage it took from some of his victims to speak out, it is knowing that sometimes victims often accept money as a form of reparation, in exchange for silence, it is accepting that Chris Brown is a convicted abuser and is clearly a violent person, it is knowing that power gives authority credibility and the ability to dismiss the words of others.

There is ample evidence to support this assertion. His concert is reportedly sold out, and while he was supposed to be here for just one appearance it has now become two. He will certainly make good money, money he may use to protect himself against those whom he has abused or pay others to keep quiet. This is not unheard of in the entertainment business. In fact, there are reports that he may have done so in the past resulting in several cases being dropped.

For those of us who are fighting GBV in this country, we need all the support we can get. Calling for the cancellation of the “Chris Brown concert” in South Africa is a moral imperative. We can be sure that after his concerts, if they were to take place, young women who would attend may be assaulted afterwards by their intimate partners. These things do happen in our country.

That is why Wise4Afrika supports the petition to have the concert cancelled. We are the ones who are in courts trying to have perpetrators held accountable, we are the ones who see and hear on a daily basis the abuses women face. We are the ones who have to contend with inept and incompetent enforcers of the law. We are the ones who have to deal with men who believe that women are “punching bags” and that men have the right to treat them accordingly.   

Brenda Madumise-Pajibo is the director of Wise4Afrika