Why Oscar's "My Lady" offering SA vs Philip's Waka Waka; how the nation gets talking
Advocate Gerrie Nel Is probably a lot of people's favourite prosecutor in South Africa and the world at the moment. Max du Preez in a recent article, looks at a time when Nel made the news when he was arrested while he was still the head of Scorpions in Gauteng. Important as this may have been, it did not earn him his current status in social commentary.
Those who closely followed the legal proceedings in the prosecution of President Zuma and the unfortunate dismantling of the Scorpions would know a thing of two about this man who was described as the Pit Bull in The New York Times. The arrest of Nel is a 2008 incident.
It may be relevant to remind those of my generation, who were probably just starting to notice the beauty of the opposite sex, when Nel was involved in the prosecution of Janus Waluz and Clive Derby Lewis in the early 1990s. The two were eventually convicted of the murder of Chris Hani. Volatile as the times may have been, I do not think he made the news in the way he did in April 2014 (I stand to be corrected by my seniors). Twitter and Facebook were not there anyway.
Here is a prosecutor who is grilling an accused who keeps on breaking down as he relates the events of the night of the 14th February 2013. This is the prosecutor who was handling the levers of the gear that saw the accused alternate from defensive to sincere and apologetic responses in his relentless pursuit of the truth, a truth he was hell bent on revealing.
As the accused responded (through the sobs) with "I can't remember", "I am not sure", "I do not understand" in between the periodic break down, it did not seem like the State Prosecutor was buying it. At some point when the accused got emotional, a point where an average person would expect sympathy, Nel went on to ask why the accused was getting emotional.
This was not a question that was articulated out of sympathy but one that followed a number of provoking questions, some of which I would not even wish on an enemy. Alan Cowel did a better job at shedding light on Advocate Nel in the The New York Times article that is linked above, I will thus not spend a lot of time on him, but appreciate a job well done.
The trial of Oscar Pistorius is one that has got people who would not be interested to follow important national issues, like the former Minister Kasrils' advocacy for the spoiling of votes in protest against the ANC. The trial takes place at a time when political parties are campaigning vigorously towards the May 7th elections.
This being one of the most important elections in the history of the democratic South Africa, it would also make sense that the threatened integrity of the elections takes priority in the minds of South Africans. The recent utterances by the Multi-Party Forum (made up of UDM, AgangSA, the EFF among others) about the need for the Independent Electoral Commission's Pansy Tlakula to step down from her position as the chairperson of the commission have not earned the same amount of mental nor heart space among South Africans. This trial has effectively challenged or even won against a number of other issues in making the news. Whether it is viewed from a public interest or interest to the public lens is not clear.
Someone noted that it looks like every South African is currently a legal expert with a number of opinions of whether the accused is guilty or not. This is much like spectators at a lively soccer game where comments around what the referee or the coach should have done usually fly like rain drops. It's important to share that I do not find anything wrong with an opinionated and engaged public. It is in fact one of the important elements of an active citizenry which I am an advocate for.
And so, through the trial we may be looking at an increased intake of matriculants who decide to go into the legal discipline in the coming academic year. As one interested in issues of social and national relevance, I found myself wondering what exactly it is about some issues that allow them to make the news in ways that other events would only dream of. Philip had the hearts of South Africans just four years before Oscar and Nel. We then take a quick look at Philip's contribution.
Philip, is here
It's the 15th May 2004. South Africa is announced as the host of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. An opening of the flood gates of euphoria in South Africa. The years between 2004 and 2010 saw a lot of infrastructure investments, advertising companies made a lot of money, South African Tourism was the number one institution in the country in addition to the FIFA led Local Organising Committee. It was not very rare to hear people relating how the economic condition would change with the arrival of Philip. Philip is here is how some played around with the world cup theme; feel it, it's here.
One has to admit that the hopes of a number of South African's in anticipation of the arrival of Philip were justified. These South Africans range from those who traded in the ideas of Ubuntu, sculptors who would be selling their products in Dollars, Pounds and Marks, in the process ensuring maximum profit during the tournament. A number of entrepreneurs also popped up and sold anything from flags and scarves to beanies in South African colours. This was great, though I wish it was sustainable. The e-tolls is a story for another day.
Without getting side tracked, it is important to note how Philip relates to Oscar. They both had a similar effect; they got the nation talking, about the same thing. It is probably fair to argue that Philip brought with him a sense that South Africans gathered around the same goal and were proud to be South African.
This worked well with the perennial need for what it is that defines the South African Rainbow Nation in the face of its history and the socio-economic inequalities that still sees the economic status of South Africans linked to the race issue. We are yet to understand what Oscar's contribution will be, but I would like to share my wish on what we can take as his contribution.
The law unveiled
In addition to the fact that this is probably the biggest trial in South Africa's legal system, bigger than the prosecution of those who were accused and later found guilty in the murder of Chris Hani, a number of other things also stand out. Oscar is a relatively wealthy white Afrikaans man (Apologies to Martin Luther King's dream). He is accused of killing a white woman.
Defended by a white man. Prosecuted by a white State Prosecutor before a black female Judge. I would not like to imagine what the reaction to this piece would be If the author was to stop here. In as much as the individuals involved in this case are interesting, they are not the crux of what I consider to be the important lessons from the trial.
This view is not because I am blind to racial connotations in how the law is applied and whether the law is usually just to both the poor and the wealthy. I steer away from this issue because it is simply not the focus of this piece.
The opening of the legal system to the public, especially when a relatively wealthy individual is the accused, is what I think is the biggest contribution of this trial to South Africa. At some point as I listened to the cross examination of the witnesses (including the accused), I thought to myself; how some of our politicians could learn a thing or two about standing one's ground, what it takes to be a spin doctor and possibly how to "tailor evidence". What a lot of us may not be so clear about is the actual process that leads to conviction. What usually reaches the public is of course the analytical offering of commentators and the reports of journalists and media houses.
Here was a trial open to the whole world, which managed to get everyone talking. It was not only the summary or the important turns in the trial that were presented to us, but every point in the trial was broadcast and even when some may have held an opinion of the guilt or innocence of the accused, the actual trial may have actually enlightened us on why even when people are seen to be guilty in the public eye, they are sometimes acquitted on the basis of the presentation and use of the evidence or its lack thereof. It actually makes one think about the idea of mob justice.
It is in this context that we should expect higher downloads of the actual judgement when Judge Masipa finally delivers her judgement. It will also be this context which will help us understand why journalists may have to give a bit more for what they earn. It is not rocket nor gravity science that readers will not buy a paper to be fed what they saw.
Legal experts may also wonder to themselves what their legal training was in aid of, if anyone (almost everyone in this trial) will have a legal opinion, which they are convinced matters. We should probably be glad to see a higher intake of university students into the legal studies. Positive spin offs from a very unfortunate event in two people's lives.
May the law take its course and the accused be judged justly. May we learn a thing or two as it's always the case with cases that set precedents in addition to euphoria that treads somewhere between public interest and interest to the public.
Khomotso Ntuli is facilitator of Bush Dialogues and can be reached at [email protected]
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