Eusebius McKaiser's criticism of Lekota over Lekotas's support for the court ruling that declared the "shoot the Boer" slogan unconstitutional is unhelpful and lacking in insight (see here). To become entangled in the two issues of the technicalities of the court case and whether Lekota, and thus COPE, is selling out its credibility by appealing to white voters, is a classic case of an ivory tower intellectual missing the point.
In 2008 and while still in the ANC, Lekota courageously objected to Zuma's singing ‘mshini wami'. He regarded it is a provocative song in the context of the new South Africa, where the ‘struggle' was over and liberation had been achieved by means of a settlement at CODESA and eventually the new Constitution. To now revive the singing of a liberation struggle war song which actually mentions the ethnic group which is the enemy that must be killed and calls them rapists and cowards, is completely counterproductive in our South African society which has now had four democratic elections.
Some regard it as a call for genocide. Lekota knows that if the ANC and Malema ignores the court decision, it will set a precedent for other people to starting openly using terms like ‘hotnot', ‘kaffer' etc. Singer Steve Hofmeyr is already on record to the effect of why should Afrikaans speakers (Coloured and white) be embarrassed to use the "k" word if Malema and the ANC are going to insult whites.
Lekota, like McKaiser, knows that words are weapons and that language creates context which can uplift as well as destroy. But he also understands the destructive and poisonous power to produce conflict and a climate of racial tension that slogans and political choruses have, when sung repeatedly by a large gathering. Reviving those songs that promote violence and ethnic conflict is not wrong but simply dangerous and stupid.
McKaiser clearly does not think so, and this despite seeing the xenophobic attacks which, in Gauteng especially, were primarily directed against Shangaans and had songs to go with it. Malema, as a man with a Pedi background, would not go to Bushbuckridge, where there has been recent Pedi/Shangaan conflict, and sing "bulala amaShangaan".
Reading the history of the riots in Durban in 1947, will also give a little insight into the horrors of ethnic violence. Maybe the impact of Terreblanche's murder has done something to bring McKaiser down from his ivory tower and for him to concede that Lekota has better insights into how South Africa works than he does.
Lekota is not appeasing whites. He simply recognises that they are also part of the rainbow nation, are a hugely important part of our society. Deliberately seeking to insult and marginalise them, or any part of our diverse society, is not only wrong but dangerous.
Lekota, like Mandela and Zuma, wants a rainbow nation and a contented and prosperous non-racial society. Zuma in his state of the nation address in February reached out to all South Africans by mentioning, not only his ANC colleagues, but PW Botha, FW de Klerk, M G Buthelezi and the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Indian migrants. Despite these significant gestures, Zuma and the ANC do nothing to control and discipline Malema. Lekota rightly believes that promoting, sixteen years into our democracy, a song and that calls upon people to kill Afrikaners is completely counterproductive.
McKaiser should be commending Lekota for his wisdom, and good sense, not delivering an inappropriate and arrogant homily.
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