Mcebisi Jonas delivered this address at the Pravin Gordhan Memorial, held on 13 September 2025, a year after Gordhan’s passing.
A few years ago I spoke at a memorial event for another of our struggle stalwarts, Comrade Ahmed Kathrada. It is well known now that some of my comments were weaponised and used to stir controversy.
This is the inherent danger of doing national duty with an activist mindset. Considering the hullabaloo, one could become circumspect about what to say on such occasions and therefore remain firmly in the safe zone.
But this is an event to honour the life and memory of Comrade Pravin Gordhan (PG). It requires all of us to bear testament to his legacy – that of standing up to defend the interests of the people of South Africa, being truthful, confronting corruption and racism head-on, and not being cowed when under attack from bullies.
PG was in fact disdainful of the safe zone and anyone who opted to remain neutral when we are in battle. He rightfully called such people what they are: cowards.
In any event, I doubt [Gordhan’s wife] Vani would have asked me to speak here unless I stayed true to my relationship with PG, which was based on us being our authentic selves and the issues that bound us as comrades and fellow travellers in this lifetime and whatever lies beyond.
Hollowing of the state
PG and I did not agree on everything, actually; we disagreed on a few big issues and had vigorous debates about the state and about our movement.
One of the things we disagreed on was whether being part of the state was the only way for us to serve the people of South Africa. I believed this was not the case, for many reasons I will not go into now.
One of these, however, is my belief in social mobilisation for public accountability as central to strengthening democracy. But PG had an appreciation for statecraft that is almost unmatched in the current generation of political leaders. He was a firm believer in a strong state as the main lever for change in society.
As we witness the hollowing of the state and the increased involvement of private interests in political decision-making, I must say that I have a greater appreciation for PG’s side of the argument. Once you open the door to unelected people taking control of key decision-making, it is difficult to wrestle it back.
On reflection of the Guptas’ partial takeover of the state, it is obvious that everyone recognised the abnormality of their actions – even those who participated in and protected their project.
But today, there are some political parties, commentators and sections of the media, even those who joined the fight against State Capture a few years ago, who welcome the usurping of state functions to private actors. To be clear, support from business can help capacitate the state, but there is a line that is crossed when private interests take hold of policy and state appointments, and influence the awarding of state contracts.
While the Guptas had no ideology beyond grubby self-interest, today’s would-be state capturers are connected to a right-wing campaign to undermine our sovereign standing.
On the other hand, organised crime has become embedded in our politics and institutions, weakening the state even further. Our security establishment remains at war with itself and nobody seems to know how to remedy this.
Leadership failure
I sometimes wonder whether the pain and high price PG and I paid to take a stand against State Capture was worth it. Have we internalised and understood the nature of State Capture, its underlying causes and how to insulate the country from this constant threat?
Perhaps I would feel differently if South African society was better able to recognise the red flags and oppose these tendencies, irrespective of the race, class or creed of the perpetrators.
Read more: Pravin Gordhan 1949-2024 — A servant of the people who connected the dots of State Capture
Reflecting on PG and his life, I question why the state appears so vulnerable and without defences. The hard truth is that those who have the authority to lead are not leading. Far from correcting course, the behaviour of our political elites has got worse.
Today’s weaknesses and lethargy in our politics are in sharp contrast to the bold and firm leadership that PG epitomised. Unless progressives act to fill the vacuum as PG did, it will inevitably be filled by populists, opportunists or reactionaries.
Threats to democracy
Since PG’s passing there have been unprecedented changes in the world. Geopolitical power games and trade wars are the sign of the times, redefining alliances and political and economic relationships.
A few years ago, issues like the promotion of human rights, multilateralism and global peace, countering climate change, support for healthcare, particularly the fight against HIV/Aids, and condemnation of racism were universally accepted. Now, frighteningly, they are not.
The atrocities of war have numbed our collective consciousness and no longer provoke outrage. Nationalist sentiment is on the rise, and support for the developing world has been replaced by greater investment in military capacity. Cooperation and coexistence have been replaced by a fight for survival.
In South Africa, society is more fractured than any other period post democracy. There is increasing despondency and voter apathy arising from state failure and incapacity, wasteful expenditure and corruption scandals.
This is likely to have major consequences in next year’s local elections. As with last year’s national and provincial elections, the balance of power is likely to shift. The Government of National Unity remains fragile, although more settled, and the National Dialogue has so far been unable to unite South Africans in a quest for a new vision. Systemic problems still beset our economy and inhibit growth.
Read more: The GNU has failed the only test that matters: growing the economy and delivering jobs
PG had the tendency to call me out of the blue to ask: MJ, what’s your reading? My response now would be that the democratic project is under threat. The politics of fear has eclipsed the politics of consensus and hope that defined our movement.
The number of people opting not to vote outnumber those who do vote; populists have more space and opportunities to undermine the constitutional foundations; people pin their hopes on authoritarian symbols; and heightening battles in the security agencies could lead to political collapse.
Deepening divisions
South Africa is also in the grip of a dangerous information war that many people are either unaware of or underestimating. Others have become acquiescent participants.
The divisions in our society are palpable, with the most worrying feature being the brazen rise of racism and apartheid nostalgia on social media. There is an offensive trend that anyone who is black or associated with our liberation movement is cast as inept or corrupt or both.
What started out as political differences over equality and transformation laws has mutated into a regime change campaign. People are so scandal-fatigued and frustrated by domestic conditions that they do not see the inherent danger of inviting foreign interference in domestic affairs and punitive actions against the country.
I have just returned from India where I was amazed by the patriotic spirit informing their response to increased tariffs on exports to the US. The trade issues have seen the media, commentariat and society rally, critically engaging on the issue and defending their country’s interests.
In South Africa, we have seen the opposite happen. South Africans, including political representatives, have sponsored anti-South African sentiment in foreign capitals and on social media, taking perverted pleasure from false accusations against our country and its democratic government. They openly align with other countries’ agendas and interests while condemning ours.
Read more: Mcebisi Jonas is a deeply principled man and a good choice as envoy to the US
These campaigns have aggravated historic divides in our country, infusing fear, misinformation and conspiracy theories into the national discourse. I wish I had the patience and energy PG had to confront and call people out when they did such things.
PG was always ready for a fight, particularly to correct what was wrongly represented – whether publicly or within the secrecy of government structures. But this came at a cost, with all manner of accusations against him and even his family. PG’s contributions to the country were never adequately appreciated and were instead distorted to impair his legacy.
I struggle to make peace with how this played out. I came across something on the Salem witch trials that had resonance. The essay noted that the events in colonial Massachusetts in the 17th century had nothing to do with witches but was about instilling fear and controlling the public mind.
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More than 200 people were accused of witchcraft, resulting in the execution of 19 people by hanging and one by being pressed to death. The trials relied heavily on supernatural evidence and testimony about visions or dreams of the accused causing harm.
You find this same pattern in the politics of the moment – fearmongering, disinformation, scapegoating and conspiracy theories are used to heighten divisions and distract people from surreptitious agendas. A pervasive information war seeks to redefine our national identity. The advent of social media and AI means the safeguards have weakened the line between what is real and what is deepfake.
We must persevere
The past year flew by quickly but has also been long and torturous. I feel PG’s absence profoundly. I constantly muse about our strategies to wriggle out of tight spaces or tackle explosive political problems.
A few weeks before his passing, we had a rather heated debate that remains fresh in my mind, particularly as I contend with current challenges. He was of the firm belief that we could not throw our hands in the air about the state of the country.
He argued, or rather scolded, that we needed to get involved and “help out” with some of the intractable problems. He had the last word, which was: “You are not allowed to give up.”
I would offer that as PG’s command to all of us gathered here in his memory, but the reality is that throwing yourself into battle the way he did is not for the faint-hearted. It was a special calibre of leader who would go into the warzone repeatedly with strategic intent and shoulder the blows for a greater good – even if that remained elusive. Courage and selflessness are not common traits in our politics anymore.
To Vani and the family, I know your pain is unrelenting. As a group of his comrades and loved ones, we can only take heart from the memories and lessons of PG’s life of struggle and service.
I wish I had answers on how we keep alive his passion and commitment to a strong and performance-driven state, clean governance and an engaged nation. I do not. This remains one of my unfinished conversations with PG.
But let us not give up hope or adopt a defeatist attitude. PG was right that we cannot give up. We need to put our heads together to find ways to build and defend our country. DM