We have learnt from our African counterparts and can arrogantly say that we have better navigated the pitfalls of post-colonial democracy. It has been 27 years and we are still going strong, albeit amid many pessimistic murmurings.

The ANC, for obvious reasons, given the history of our continent, has been vehemently anti-tribalism in all its forms over its 109-year existence. Contrary to popular opinion, the ANC does not allow overt tribal practices to take root in the organisation. The reason is that we only have to take a cursory look at the continent to observe the ills of tribalism, whether in the Rwandan genocide, the Sudanese conflict, the Ethiopian conflicts, the Zimbabwean massacres and indeed here at home.

We can talk of the Mfecane era or the days when hunting the San people like animals was fashionable in the Cape Colony. Or indeed the ANC’s 2007 Polokwane conference when T-shirts were branded stating “100% Zulu Boy”. 

My good friend Mongane Wally Serote narrates the story of his arrival at this conference, when while waiting at the gate to enter the venue, he observed a vendor selling his goods wearing one of the T-shirts. He was astounded and inquired of the young man where he got this shirt. To his horror, the young man said he was given it by some of the delegates to the ANC conference. This, Wally says, was the first indication of a serious problem arising in the ANC. Fortunately, and though it took some time, this undesirable phenomenon was defeated once and for all at the Nasrec conference in 2017. 

So, having established a rules-based environment and a law-abiding citizenry on the one hand, and on the other actively fighting against any form of tribalism and cultural insensitivity, why then the political killings that are on the rise in our beautiful country?

Politics! Yes, that tool of democracy that gives us power. And power is sweet like honey, isn’t it? What do you expect when unemployment is so very high, any job and I mean any job is contested among ordinary persons. You only have to observe when a job is advertised for, let’s say, 200 individuals, you will end up with more than 3,000 jobseekers and a snaking line of applicants outside the employers’ offices. Our people are desperate for the dignity of work. 

Now, a councillor position that not only is way above a living wage but far, far more than that per annum, and also sets you up for greater things within the political realm, is most enticing. This is at the most basic level of our government, a local level. Imagine how fierce our interaction with each other becomes at provincial and national level.

We are no longer partners in self-government, instead our politics has become a form of war.

And then there is the politics of the stomach, as they say. If only it was simply a meal you want to place on your table, perhaps this would be understandable, but in so many cases it’s about gluttony. Obese individuals who simply cannot get enough and so they must eat and eat and eat. And if anyone stands in their way, they kill to have that feast, as we have seen with so many being killed in cold blood. The latest tragedy is the Ekurhuleni official who was shot 28 times, making very sure he did not survive to either expose corruption or for not being willing to participate in it. 

Political killings have been with us over the years, but they are only going to intensify over time, I’m afraid. So, the question is how do we put a stop to it?

One route is that of electoral reform and perhaps also taking a look at our current constitutional order and how we could possibly reform our laws so that political killings do not stand anyone in good stead. I would propose that if there is a killing in any ward during the list process and candidate elections inside any political party, legally no one can stand in that ward for one electoral term (five years), period. That ward and its people simply will not have any representation in the legislature locally, provincially or nationally.

Or perhaps better yet, the party in whose meeting such attacks and or killings happened is disqualified from participating in the upcoming elections, instead of punishing the people.

Second, perhaps there must be a specific law that prohibits any weapons to be carried to all political gatherings. Frisk people at the door, and if they refuse, no entry; if they are found to possess a weapon, please take it home and come back again, etc. All this in a cordial and respectful manner before any high tensions develop. Perhaps these are just musings from a naïve brother, but something has to be done to halt this political carnage or else it will get worse and become the norm.

Our national legislature must become more active with regards to protecting not only us as citizens but also the integrity of the entire elections process. If you think factionalism is a problem, political killings definitely are. The apartheid-era Koevoet unit in Namibia who maimed and killed our comrades used to wear T-shirts stating “Killing is our business and business is good”. Let us not allow ourselves to degenerate to this level, not in our beautiful country. Let us find creative ways and means to put a halt to any such behaviour, especially in our ranks.

Yes, we have learnt from the rest of the continent with regards to tribalism and its consequences, but we are equally aware of the impact of political killings and its consequences. Democracy is a finicky thing and if we indeed value it, then this is a phenomenon that cannot be allowed to thrive in South Africa.

I know, political parties will go public and condemn in the strongest terms and distance themselves from any such actions by some in their ranks, but you know and I know this will not be enough. We have to act decisively if we are to be true to our democratic dispensation. Hit where it hurts the most, the pocket. If you or some hired guns are prepared to kill for any job, you will simply not be allowed to get it in the final analysis, and of course the law must take its course. 

Should we ask whether democracy is possible here? Or will we fight for this inalienable right for which so many have died? DM