Stop with knee-jerk violence already
TWO incidents in recent weeks underscore the reality that ours is a violent nation. The first was the ugly scene that erupted after the Nedbank Cup semi-final match between Kaizer Chiefs and Free State Stars at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
The second was the looting and damage to property that started in Mahikeng in mid-April and spread across other parts of North West by individuals protesting against the presence of Premier Supra Mahumapelo.
At Moses Mabhida, Kaizer Chiefs fans invaded the pitch after their team suffered a humiliating loss by two goals. A security guard was kicked, camera equipment was smashed, stadium seats were burnt and general mayhem was caused.
It would seem these ardent fans just could not accept that their team lost to Free State Stars fair and square, and so resorted to making a nuisance of themselves. The liquor bottles – clearly visible to television viewers – lying around near the pitch after the ugly scenes, summed up what was an entirely inauspicious night.
Over in North West there have been increasing calls for Mahumapelo to step down amidst allegations linking him to several incidents of corruption.
He is, among other things, accused of having donated a herd of cattle meant for the poor to former president Jacob Zuma.
He is also accused of having awarded a tender for the supply of health equipment to the Gupta-linked Mediosa company and pre-paying it R30-million. Cabinet last week placed the province’s health department under administration.
Beyond that the Auditor-General has taken the North West government to task over its rising levels of irregular expenditure and deteriorating audit outcomes. Included is the premier’s office, criticised for its repeated qualified audits.
To make things worse for Mahumapelo, criminal charges of fraud and corruption have been laid after his son was granted a pilot’s bursary of R1.1-million by Denel CEO Zwelakhe Ntshepe who reportedly “bent the rules” in order to award it.
Mahumapelo and his supporters however, claim he is being targeted for backing former ANC presidential candidate Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma in last year’s ANC election race. The beleaguered North West premier also claims there are people in his province who appreciate his leadership and want him to stay.
As is often the case with obdurate people under pressure, Supra is not budging.
Indeed things got so ugly in North West that President Cyril Ramaphosa had to cut short his trip to the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in London and rush home to put out fires.
Ramaphosa immediately appointed a 10-member inter-ministerial task team to probe governance and the possibility of risk in North West. The team, led by Dlamini Zuma, now minister in the presidency of planning, monitoring and evaluation, had two weeks to report back.
Both incidents have shown the worst of us, the people of South Africa. Some among us seem to have a knee-jerk response to use violence when things don’t seem to be going our way. In all of this logic is absent. As is maturity.
Let’s return to the football match. Every fan of football knows that in a knockout competition such as the one played at Moses Mabhida, only one team can win. The odds of your team losing or drawing a match somewhere a long with line are high. And ultimately the final outcome is determined by the players themselves, through their dedication, style of play, hunger to win and maybe a bit of luck.
On the night in question, Free State Stars played to win and Kaizer Chiefs came off second best. That is a fact and no amount of trashing the stadium, burning chairs and kicking security guards will change it.
The best option, one would think, would be to do what all adult sports fans usually do the world over – simply leave the stadium, go home and commiserate.
That’s what other Kaizer Chiefs fans started doing at Moses Mabhida from 15 minutes before the referee blew the final whistle. But as I write this, three other people have appeared in court and more arrests are expected related to the post match violence and damage to property and Chiefs face a possible heavy fine.
There is also the not so small fact of the team having been fined R500 000 for a similar incident just two or so weeks earlier when Chippa United beat Chiefs three goals to nil at the FNB stadium. Fans pelted the coach and players with objects. The PSL suspended 50% of that sanction.
Why nobody saw Moses Mabhida coming and took preventative action is another question. But at the end of the day the number of own goals scored by everyone involved is staggering.
Moving on to the illogic of North West. Protestors took it on themselves, not only to protest, but to target the shops of foreign traders. TV news had footage of looters making off with mattresses, food and other goods stolen from these shops.
How exactly foreign shopkeepers fit into the equation of Premier Mahumapelo’s alleged misdemeanours is beyond me! Certainly these shopkeepers did not vote for him. Instead, those who did were the very same people now apparently looting the shops in opposition to him. Maybe, this irony was lost on the hooligans as they burnt, stole and destroyed. But pity the foreign nationals unwittingly caught in the crossfire around Mahumapelo’s continued tenure.
Some may try to justify bad behaviour with excuses about people having reached the end of their tethers. Or say the many appeals for Mahumapelo to be “recalled” fell on deaf ears.
Ditto for the Kaizer Chiefs fans, who of course, will say they’ve been calling for the sacking of the coach but the bosses ignored their calls.
Whilst elements of these arguments may seem plausible, the bottom line is that there is no justification for resorting to violence when you are faced with challenges or differences.
Surely, SURELY, the time has come for us as a nation to deal with our proclivity for violence and to change this pattern.
Perhaps South Africans need to be reminded that ours is a democratic country, where we have the power to peacefully make changes. Residents of Mahikeng can easily exercise that power by choosing an alternative to the party that gave them Mahumapelo.
Resorting to violence implies you do not understand that you have the power accorded to you by democracy. But the fact is, when politicians realise their constituency is aware of its rights, the politicians start listening.
For football fans it’s very simple – your voting power lies in your feet. If your team or its bosses do not listen to your pleas, get organised and stay away from matches. That will hit them in the pocket and force change.
The idea that violence is okay because it compels people to listen should be repudiated. Violence begets more violence, it’s that simple. And if we model violence for our children, what kind of a future should we expect them to create?