Violence, repression is the norm in Egypt

TODAY saw a train crash at Cairo’s main railway hub, Ramses Station, which subsequently caused a massive fire at the station in Cairo’s downtown district – a hub of activity and arguably the heart of the city.

Now 25 people have been confirmed dead and many more are in hospital with severe injuries.

This was not just a simple train crash, though; it was the lethal outcome of maladministration and neglect on the part of the treacherous El-Sisi regime.

A friend of mine in Cairo wrote to me and said that

when he drove past the black smoke coming from the site of the station he did not even give it a second look.

He says Egyptians have become desensitised to violence, repression, terrorist attacks and just general abandonment by the government.

We must remember that Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is a man who has twice held unfair and unfree elections, intimidating and exiling political opponents to the extent that in the last election last year, his only competitor on the ballot sheet was one of his cronies.

His government has become notorious for mass trials and arrests of political dissidents, the LGBTQI+ community and anybody else it may arbitrarily identify as a “terrorist”.

They routinely coerce confessions out of the incarcerated, and last year gained the title of “Africa’s leading executioner”. This should worry us, firstly because of our apartheid past, and secondly because El-Sisi is chairing the AU this year.

Our government needs to confront this dictator and be a leading force in bringing justice to the Egyptian people, in return for all that the Egyptians did for our liberation movement during apartheid.