The post was initially inspired by Sisonke Simanga’s Ted
Talk with the same title. Sisonke expressed her frustrations with our
democracy, the pace at which we are making progress as a country as well as the
benefits (or lack thereof) that black people are enjoying from this so called
freedom. What she said resonated with me, the fact that black people still have
to put up with people like Penny Sparrow and Steve Hofmeyr. The fact that we are still
fighting to be included in public spaces, platforms and the workplace makes you
wonder (even though it may be blasphemous) if Mr. Mandela failed us and our
fight for freedom. It makes you wonder if he was wrong in encouraging a
peaceful transition from the apartheid government to a democratic government
and if our frustration with the current economic and political standing should
be in fact be directed at him (rest his soul).
There are scores of articles, videos and debates on whether or not Mandela was a sellout. Malema is repeatedly quoted saying “The Mandela we celebrate now is a stage-managed Mandela who compromised the principles of the revolution…” I assume these principles include radicalness (I dont think this is an actual word). Winnie Madikizela-Mandela expressed similar sentiments in 2010. “Mandela let us down... He agreed to a bad deal for the blacks, economically we are still on the outside. The economy is very much ‘white’. It has a few token blacks, but so many who gave their life in the struggle have died unrewarded.”
Some of my sisters agree with Malema and others that are of
the opinion that Mandela was a traitor. One of my sisters argues that he could
have done better with the redistribution policies, she argues that the willing
buyer willing seller land redistribution clause was not justified, especially
considering the means by which white people acquired the land in the first place. I
tried arguing this point with her but she shut me down and I didn’t even get to
ask what I wanted to ask (cons of being a last born). She further argued that
Mandela traded peace for justice, the perpetrators and facilitators of the
apartheid regime were not held accountable for the crimes they had committed.
The fact that some of the apartheid leaders did not appear before the TRC
(Truth and Reconciliation Committee) and of those that did appear before the
committee there were those that were not given amnesty yet were not persecuted.
What then was the point of appearing before the TRC? She further questions the fact that de Klerk
is still celebrated today, for what?! Mandela did little to correct the 1913
Land and Employment acts that reduced black wages and stations…
Although I find the above statements to be true (we are
still minority stake holders in the economy despite the fact that we make up majority
of population, the economic struggles that we face today are a direct result of
apartheid laws and colonial laws before that) I don’t think it’s fair to be mad
at Mandela nor do I think he was a sellout. Sure, progress is slow and the
freedom we hoped to achieve in 1994 remains elusive and incomplete, but we
cannot blame one man for the progress of a whole country.
Freedom, both political and economic was a cause he was not
only willing to die for but also willing to kill for (I think). With this in
mind, I think he calculated that a civil war was not worth twenty-seven years
he spent in prison (we can argue that it wasn’t just about him, but he was a
man and by virtue of that fact alone, he was flawed) and also that it would
delay the freedom of black people in general. I know it’s not right to compare
South Africa to other African countries but we are doing better than most, even
though our country’s democracy and economy is not in perfect health.
Furthermore, we have to understand that the ANC was working
towards the right for the black body to vote in a democratic structure which
would give black people political power. Political power has the potential to
open many doors, one of those being the door to economic freedom. With
political power you are able to implement land expropriation laws, and many
social grants that are meant to empower the previously (or currently)
disadvantaged.
Freeing the black man
was not (and still isn’t) one man’s task. We’ve got political freedom, what are
we and our current political leaders doing with it? It’s easy to blame Mandela
for our economic oppression and forget that current political leaders are also
responsible for continued fight for black man’s freedom. It’s not just Mandela,
current political leaders have also failed us in introducing effective
redistribution and justice policies. But at the same time we have to realize
that the one reason that the apartheid system worked so well for so long was
the fact that it crept up on us, if they had done anything drastic in
facilitating the oppressive and discriminatory laws black people would have
revolted (I’d like to think).
Great things take time, it’s not right and it’s not fair
that we have to be so nice and lovey dovie to the same system and people that
oppressed us for centuries. But I think this peaceful transition that they
enjoy is not just for them but also for ourselves. We have given too much of
our lives, time, blood and our energy to dedicate any more of it to the same system.
The fight for freedom should not be an emotional one but one that needs to be
fought strategically and hopefully with little emotion in order to remain
objective and focused.
I may be wrong in my analysis of the situation. I may be
“captured” by the other side, I don’t know. But I really think we’ve made
progress since 1994, the cost at which this progress has come is yet to be
determined. Twenty years from now I might be writing a post or an article about
how wrong I was, or I could be writing about even greater strides South Africa
has made since I wrote this post. But I don’t think the anger directed at
Mandela is justified.
E.o.P.
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