Proof of black talent

DELIVERING a talk at a Braamfontein hotel sponsored by Tribute magazine in the late ’80s or early ’90s, an Azapo official responded to a question about “revenge” against whites by stating that its form would be in achieving excellence, meaning achieving everything that Afrophobic whites believe Africans to be incapable of.

The highest court in the land has pronounced that Nkosana Makate did indeed invent “Please Call Me”. So who says Africans cannot be innovative? Besides the thousands currently excelling in their medical, legal, commercial, financial and other fields, albeit comparatively few, what is the basis for self-doubt among Africans?

There were no placards outside the courts in support of Makate’s case, which queried the capacity of an African to innovate. Where were the organisations that claim to be concerned with unfairness in the recognition to black worth? Their invisibility illustrates clearly that in fact they are about how black people should be accommodated in white institutions regardless of worth. What about Black Consciousness and the Africanists, organisations that punt black excellence?

What was happening in this case was a greater insult than calling an African a monkey. An African cannot turn into a monkey because some white person has pronounced him to be one. But attempting to dissociate him from his own invention that has proven of tremendous value and generated huge profits is the ultimate insult. This can happen with a white innovator but no doubt Afrophobia had a role in this specific saga.

Congratulations, Mr Makate! We are delighted at the outcome of your case and very proud of your invention. —Dr Kenosi Mosalakae, Houghton