Our current ANC leadership is like partially blind people trying to find their way in a dark building. Where are the John Dubes, ZK Matthews, Luthulis, Tambos, Naudes and Mandelas?
In 1935, Chief Luthuli gave up four fifths of his income to serve his people as a traditional chief. Mandela gave up a lucrative career as an attorney to serve his people, including putting his life at risk in his decision to take on the NP government.
The ANC has always encouraged robust debate, where one can feel free to agree to disagree. A good example was Madiba’s stance on retaining the Springbok emblem for the game of rugby.
He opposed his own party’s stance on the matter and won out, as only he could, being a maestro in the art of persuasion.
We South Africans mostly believe in democracy, and we have a Constitution which protects the rights of the individual. Have any of the ANC hierarchy raised their voices in protest against the policies of our new friends, China and Russia?
Let me remind our present government leaders of the policies of these two countries, just in case they have conveniently forgotten.
In China, the religious Uyghurs are sent to brain-washing centres to be re-educated, and in Russia, if you raise your voice in criticism against the “bosses”, at best you are arrested and detained on trumped-up charges, or at worst, you are poisoned or thrown out of a six-floor building.
Does this not sound familiar to the ANC hierarchy when, not long ago, the same thing was being done to their own members by agents of the National Party government, known as the Bureau of State Security (BOSS).
Democracy is under threat throughout the world, including the flagship of democracy, the United States. We have recently been warned by Salman Rushdie that freedom of speech is under threat throughout the world.
South Africa has a legacy of courageous people standing up for their rights, including those of others whose lives were cut short. We need to continue to honour them by speaking truth to power. If we do not, the ultimate sacrifice they made will have been in vain.
* Patrick Dacey, Northwold.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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