In more ways than one, Professor Kader Asmal should rightly be regarded as an elder. He turned 75 approximately two weeks ago; he is regarded by many as an "eminent citizen"; his role and leadership within the ANC and the struggle for black liberation is well documented.
"Eldership" is one of the most studied subjects in social anthropology, with many a study tending to favour the structural location of elders within African societies. In particular, most praise the manner in which Africans observe elders as "reservoirs of wisdom" - unlike in the Western culture, where elders are largely treated as dependents and locked away in old age homes.
In a study titled "Ancestors as elders in Africa", Igor Kopytoff writes that "[an elder] can curse his junior in the name of the lineage, thereby removing from him the mystical protection of the lineage. The curse can be formal and public, but it can also be secret and even unconscious...An elder's curse, always implicitly made in the name of the lineage, can only be removed by an elder - one to whom the previous elder is a junior."
How then should we understand Professor Asmal's comment that "he hopes that he is not be alive" when Fikile Mbalula "ever becomes the ANC Secretary General (SG)"? Some would argue that the statement constitutes a legitimate criticism against the so-called "millitirisation of the police", but to me it sure sounds like a curse, more so because it has been phrased in the name of the ANC, which boasts a lineage of highly respected leaders, or SG's for that matter.
Following on Kopytoff's particular finding above, there could be no better elder to remove this particular curse on Mbalula than former President Nelson Mandela. Notwithstanding the fact that both "Madiba" and "Mbaks" are former presidents of the ANC Youth League, an assessment of Mandela's early days with the youth wing would further put the squabble between Mbalula and Asmal in context, while simultaneously removing "the curse".
It is a well-known fact that the YL was formed as a reaction to what Madiba's generation perceived to be a conservative old guard leadership of the ANC, who were "reared in the tradition of constitutionalism and polite petitioning" of the status quo. They held that these tactics were "inadequate" for the task at hand, and thus needed to be replaced by more radical and militant positions.
Soon after the juniors won against the elders, words like "defiance" and "disobedience" replaced the "polite vocabulary" of the old guard and the passive policies of "appeasement". The victory also triggered an influx of "young blood" and "militants" in the ANC's National Executive Committee - A. Lembede and A.P. Mda (1945), O.R. Tambo (1947), the election of W. Sisulu as ANC SG (1949), and N. Mandela (1950).
In my view, Professor Asmal epitomizes the conservatives and constitutionalists whom the Madiba generation displaced, with an added bonus of a neo-liberal ideological outlook. His clarion call and petition for (ANC) leaders to pledge their respect for the constitution further attests to this. In fact, the professor's concern is primarily semantic - "[police] service vs. [police] force" - in which he seems to prefer the former. Similarly, he argues that it would be "a joke" for the constitution to be amended just to introduce or replace a word.
On the other hand, Mbalula and the new guard - just like Madiba - believe that the idea of a police service is too soft, and that the police must become a force if SA is to defeat the scourge of crime. It is precisely this radicalism which does not sit well with Asmal, coupled with haunting memories of the past (policing under apartheid).
In a nutshell, this particular squabble is nothing new or unusual in the ANC. It only represents the tendencies of a generational clash whenever the party undergoes major transformation from the old to the new guard.
However, there is more to Professor Asmal's newly found dimension of popularity than it meets the eye. I'm referring here to an apparent vulgarised notion of eldership. This vulgarised notion generally seeks to promote two narrow objectives: 1) to stifle radical criticism and policy positions, particularly from the younger generation and 2) to project a fallacy of "absolute wisdom" bequeathed on certain individuals, and masqueraded as intellectualism.
When Julius Malema pointed out that (in his opinion) the single most destructive problem in the ANC is Thabo Mbeki, some responded by condemning Malema's "lack of respect for the elderly". It comes as no surprise that some of those who lashed at Malema held Mbeki as the alpha and omega of absolute intellect and absolute wisdom, and that many of them subscribe to such a cult.
There is no record of Madiba projecting himself as a reservoir of "absolute wisdom", and Asmal could use this quality. In fact, what separates Madiba from many other leaders of his generation is that he knows when to shut up.
It is no surprise that Madiba has also never sought to silence either Mbalula or Malema. It could be because he is well aware that he was once in their shoes. In Setswana we say: "Botlhale jwa phala bo tswa phalaneng", which aptly means that "the elderly can always learn from the young ones".
Setumo Stone is a writer, social commentator and youth activist.
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