Molato ga o bole.
This Sesotho proverb, meaning “a crime never expires”, lands with piercing clarity as we see a wave of apartheid-era cases clawing their way back into the courtroom and public discourse. This proves that time has not forgotten them, even though some members of society would like us to, and the justice system appears to have just moved on.
The families, followers and lovers of Chief Albert Luthuli, human rights lawyer Griffiths Mxenge, Fort Calata, Matthew Goniwe, Sicelo Mhlauli, Sparrow Mkonto (Cradock Four), Ahmed Timol, Neil Aggett and many others deserve not only closure but to see the fruits of the freedom they paid a heavy price for by getting justice for their murders. If we are being honest, the South African government and, I dare say, the activists, have been operating with much selective amnesia and took a somnambulistic approach with the so-called reconciliation project, or the rainbow nation to the uninitiated.
The families, friends, relatives and community have not forgotten and are demanding that these cases be re-examined, and rightfully so. South Africa has for decades failed to settle its moral and legal debt to the victims of apartheid, almost as though it is hoping the silence should pass as peace. But with time, we have come to appreciate that was the great lie and a betrayal that comes with transition without atonement and repatriation. It taught us that forced forgiveness without accountability creates resentment and renders all parties vulnerable to the unknown: a ticking time bomb. Point in case: the racist attacks that have continued to be meted against victims of apartheid over the years post the post-1994 euphoria.
But impi ya madoda ayipheli (the struggle of men does not end). In this context, until such time that the debt is paid, we remain embedded in a war as silent as the graveyard. Just because we ignore the past, it does not mean it will vanish, particularly one that deals with sanctioned killings, mass cover-ups and the traumatisation of an entire nation.
It is understandable when justice is delayed due to a technicality, but it is completely unacceptable and indeed a miscarriage of justice for it to just be completely ignored for decades.
The fact that it has taken so many years for the cases of men who shaped the political emancipation of the people of this country signals a betrayal. But it is also an admission that the calibre of men who led them is no longer in our midst. The likes of Luthuli had a cause, a mission and a reason to fight. They have left us in such an insane vacuum that all we have are swindlers and gangsters in suits who actively affirm stripping the country of its dignity, its resources and lives through rampant crime and poverty beyond the horrific state that the apartheid government left us in. It’s a shame.
Justice has been mostly performative and not actively pursued. It’s almost as if the ANC-led government, under the guise of the so-called Government of National Unity, is willing to continue letting the perpetrators off the hook. So meek is the government that 30 years into the aftermath, there is no talk of reparations or serious consequences for continuous blatant racism.
It is understandable when justice is delayed due to a technicality, but it is completely unacceptable and indeed a miscarriage of justice for it to just be completely ignored for decades. That’s an entirely different ballgame, a testimony to a nationwide amnesia. It was left in the hands of the families to keep the memories and receipts alive. They are calling for a reckoning, forcing South Africa to face itself for what it is. To remind us that it’s only been a few decades, we should still be fighting for justice for apartheid. More families should come forth and demand justice because there is no hierarchy to pain; many have lost their loved ones who were not in the ranks of political parties.
It is not enough to simply keep the memory of our heroes and loved ones as a distant fairy tale. We build museums and monuments, name streets and buildings after these great men and women of our struggle, but we forget the very fundamental things they fought for and died for. We forget that they died for justice. But where is the zeal for their justice? Comrades, is it too much to ask to be seen ezweni lobaba mkhulu?
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