Lest we forget, reinstatement of JZ charges is hardly cause to celebrate

ON FRIDAY March 16, charges of corruption, money laundering and fraud were reinstated against former president Jacob Zuma by embattled National Prosecuting Authority head Shaun Abrahams.

It was a historic moment many South Africans never thought would happen, especially after Abrahams has religiously protected Zuma for years.

However, this was not a moment of celebration. Rather it was a moment of great sadness.

The innocence and the hope carried by the 1994 dispensation has been wiped way. The sense of uniqueness of South Africa has been rubbished.

Now, a former president, appointed by an organisation which was given an overwhelming mandate by the people of this country, will stand trial for common thievery and corruption.

It is a spectacular reversal of all we had hoped for.

For some time, maybe even years, we will be forced to look at ourselves in the mirror every time news of Zuma’s trial hogs the headlines.

We will need to look squarely into the mirror because Zuma rose in our time under our watch.

We will need to look at ourselves because ultimately, it is woefully inadequate for any of us to seek to blame each other for the depraved story of the last decade.

There are those who sat and felt they were too light-skinned to speak up, yet the colour of one’s skin was hardly the issue.

All they seemed to care about were their possessions and the “hard” work they were having to do to retain and perhaps even increase those possessions.

Then there were those who sat cheering and with their overwhelming votes, ushered in a man who apparently had no trace of the so-called “Western demeanour” which they too did not possess.

With this assumption, and the badge of a darker skin, they felt vindicated that a man who was one of them was in power.

And of course, there were those who sat, clapped and cheered in parliament, watching a president clowning around and making a joke of everything this nation stands for.

And there were those who hoisted Zuma to power with loud voices, even proclamations of being willing to “kill for him”.

But all of them were, in fact, us. Despite all of that, while we are not fully clear about what our emotionally charged populist political atmosphere will kick up in the coming years, we stand with hope.

We hope the populist racist rhetoric of foreign nationals such as Australia’s home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, will not move us away from the duty of building a nation here; our own nation.

We hope the hot-headedness that saw us fall into otherwise easily noticeable traps will not find traction among us again.

We hope we have seen the need to be active citizens, engaged individuals who are willing to face what may come in the service, not of themselves, but of a country which is ultimately our only refuge.

It is a hope we must stubbornly cling to; a hope we must pass on to the next generation.

As we stagger from one unresolved issue to the next, it is my profound hope that we will begin to fall in step with a rhythm of tackling our issues before some or other populist leader tries to use these as handles to gain power.

For when they do so, they tend to clobber us with our unresolved issues, scattering us into our respective corners so that we will support them without even thinking.

Yet even simple thoughtfulness will allow us to stand up without fear to the racist utterances and attitudes of ambitious wannabes like Julius Malema.

Unless we distinguish ourselves by taking responsibility for our sorry past, we will continue to be a liability to our country, just as Zuma has been. Unless we acknowledge the injustices of the past without fear, and reach out to a better future with great resilience, we will continue to give fuel to racism and backwardness. Until we begin to see all South Africans are our people, we will continue to scatter every time some politician says boo!

So, no, there is very little to celebrate in the reinstatement of charges against Zuma, except of course, the undying spirit of South Africans who refuse to give in.

The institutions of our democracy – the courts, civil society, opposition parties, parliament, the public protector’s office, the media, and ordinary South Africans – are the only reason to celebrate. It is our democracy which has brought us to this moment. May it be strengthened as we move ahead in the great journey of our emerging nation.

And as we emerge from the ashes of an ugly history, may our spirit be re-ignited so we can show the likes of Australia how it is done!