Dark days mirror Biko era
THE unprecedented recognition and commemoration of Bantu Steve Biko’s death this year was impressive. For the greater part of the 40 years since his death, before 1994, Biko memorial services were always characterised by police disruptions and intimidation on the one hand, and mired in confusion among the organisations of black people on the other.
This year, for the first time, the entire nation stood still and paused to give this gallant son of the soil the respect he deserves. The media, both print and electronic, have never dedicated so much attention to Biko since his death, especially inside South Africa.
Even the embattled head of state, Jacob Zuma, attempted to extract some political mileage out of this commemoration. He was part of a function that sought to dilute the impact of the spotlight, focusing on Biko’s philosophies and deeds, and the circumstances of his brutal killing at the hands of a heartless regime.
On this 40th anniversary of his murder, our people woke up from their political slumber and started to connect the dots. These dots are that South African activists are foreseeing the same murderous and brutal patterns repeating themselves in the new order.
Like the apartheid government, the current one is losing its tight grip on power, hence dark clouds are forming in our infant nation and the nightmares of the past are being replayed in our minds. People are anxious.
Connecting the dots means that the nation is grappling with the past they wanted so desperately to forget. A lot of people who experienced the past are best qualified to connect the dots.
The ANC government is dropping all pretence of respecting the rule of law and the protection of all the citizens of the country.
They seem to be so besotted with their ever-shrinking fanatical inner clique, politely called “faction”, to the extent that they have taken off the velvet gloves, and are showing anyone who dares challenge them their iron fist.
All of this is done to ensure everyone and every institution is on their side, or else they are going to perish. The creeping, low-key, politically fomented assassinations have woken people to the horrendous apartheid days.
People should remember that Biko was not the first person killed in police custody. By the time they killed Biko, more than 35 detainees had already lost their lives.
Once they were on a roll, killing apartheid opponents, Biko’s death, though widely condemned, was followed by more than 40 further deaths in detention. That does not include the clandestine assassinations, such as those of Griffiths and Veronica Mxenge, the kidnapping and murder of the Cradock Four and the Pebco Three. In the tactics and failed attempts of reducing the dissenting voices, the regime embarked on poisoning and massacres such as the poisoning of Siphiwo Mthimkhulu and the Uitenhage Massacre.
The armed ambush and death last week of councillor Sindiso Magaqa, the former ANC Youth League secretary, has heightened the fear and insecurity across the board. Magaqa’s death, like Biko’s, has highlighted the state of lawlessness and political madness in the country.
The shocking killings in KwaZulu-Natal and other parts of the country have instilled a terrifying fear in the population. The nation is feeling insecure from both politically and criminally motivated murders, as they soar on a daily basis.
The ANC might have come to power through a clean democratic process. Nonetheless, its antics are getting similar to those of other African brutal dictators who came to power through political intrigue, corruption, military coups or brutal suppression of their critics.
The bottom line is that if the government is allowed by society to neglect its constitutional duties, no one will be safe. Factionalism, corruption and state capture exclude the majority of people from accessing normal mechanisms of redress and legal remedies.
Such a dereliction of duty opens up opportunities for criminals and perpetrators of corruption and state capture abuses, and gives them confidence that they will never be held to account for their actions.
The killings with impunity in KwaZulu-Natal show that violence inflicted on the “wrong” faction does not count. In simple language, state inaction, as well as state action, may be influenced by factional considerations.
If the state is so powerful, that is, it can murder, kidnap, hijack and assassinate its critics, then what is the point of speaking up?
Well, when Biko and scores of other martyrs died for freedom, they were wide awake to the brutal capabilities of the evil racist regime, hence he is quoted as having said, “I am going to be me as I am, and you can beat me or jail me or even kill me, but I am not going to be what you want me to be. You are either alive and proud, or you are dead, and when you are dead you can’t care anyway.”
‘ Sindiso Magaqa’s death, like Steve Biko’s, has highlighted the state of lawlessness and political madness in the country