Bums bared to drive home point

THE ERA of vulgar politics is upon us, and the politics of spectacle has taken over.

This is how political analyst Professor Somadoda Fikeni summed up the behaviour of protesters who stripped naked in Pretoria yesterday in an attempt to drive home their point.

Fikeni said the behaviour among political party members was a reflection of a society experiencing “serious social challenges, including the manner of engagement”.

“You would recall that during the election of Julius Malema as president of the ANC Youth League in 2008 (in Mangaung), some protesters there were bearing their buttocks,” said Fikeni, adding that mechanisms of political engagement seemed to be eroding.

“Whether it’s because of desperation, it’s (the type of behaviour) which used not to be there. Things that used to shock no longer shock. The politics of spectacle is more of what we see,” he said.

The decision by the protesters to strip naked echoed memories of Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane, who on September 13, 2014 told residents of Marite in Mpumalanga that ANC members and cabinet ministers would use their buttocks to defend besieged President Jacob Zuma.

Launching a water project in the township, Mokonyane cried: “The attack is not on Zuma, but it is on the ANC. Re tlo thiba ka dibono (We will defend with our buttocks).”

Her spokeswoman at the time, Brenda Mpitsang, later explained that her outspoken boss had employed a figure of speech to show to what extent they would go to protect Zuma.

“Politics has become a zero-sum game,” concluded Fikeni.