WeeklySA_AdminMOBILISATION: Violence in KuGompo has laid bare a troubling truth: the politics of exclusion is no longer aimed only at foreigners — it is turning South Africans against each other, with dangerous consequences.
By Sekola Sello
The chaos that erupted in KuGompo – formerly known as East London – has firmly placed the issue of foreigners in this country on our national discourse.
For years now this hit potato has been seen as an Irritant which could be wished away by merely ignoring its existence. Last Monday, no deaths were reported in the chaos that took place in KuGompo. Thanks be to God.
A number of vehicles were burnt, others damaged, some stores were looted and there was damage to a few buildings.
Both the PA and ActionSA have – in the past – repeatedly denied that their anti-immigration policies are motivated by anti-African attitudes. The recent events make nonsense of this claim..
Action SA’s Herman Mashaba can no longer duck and dive around this matter. The so-called March and March leaders have made derogatory remarks about the Shangaan people. March and March supporters chant and sing anti-Shangaan slogans. Mashaba is Shangaan
Members of ActionSA participated in campaigns organised by March and March in Durban two weeks ago. They also took part in a similar match in KuGompo. On both occasions, anti Shangaan insults were thrown around with gay abandon.
During the Durban campaign, a Shangaan-speaking individual who had joined the anti-immigration protests was chased away and nearly assaulted after it was found out that he was not very fluent in IsiZulu. It was later established that he is from Giyani in Limpopo.
The musician famously known as Penny Penny, who hails from Giyani and is an MKP Member of Parliament, has complained bitterly about this attack. So has former MKP chief whip Colleen Makhubele who is also of Shangaan ancestry. Makhubele resigned from MKP not so long ago.
Both Penny Penny, Makhubele and Mashaba were warned about supporting political parties which embrace anti-immigration policies especially policies that are directed at fellow Africans.
The leader of the EFF, Julius Malema, warned South Africans a few years ago about the dangers inherent in the anti-immigration campaigns. He actually prophesised that once “the problem of foreigners has been resolved’, we Black South Africans will turn against each other.
The problem has hardly been resolved and we are already attacking fellow South Africans who do not belong to our ethnic grouping. Some of the people in the anti-immigration campaigns are known to be rabid tribalists.
How right thinking people can allow themselves to be led by Ngizwe Mchunu beats me. Mchunu is a dangerous, rabble-rousing demagogue who, I believe, poses a danger to fellow Zulus.
The government must do something to rein him in. He cannot be dismissed as a maverick. He can plunge this country into serious chaos. March and March leaders and those from Dudula are attention seekers. They must be spoken to and the error of their ways explained to them. If this fails, they must be shown the mailed fist.
National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola has predictably condemned the events of last Saturday. He has also – again predictably – threatened that the culprits behind these criminal acts will be brought to justice.
He says some of the perpetrators are known to the police and will be arrested. We hope this is not an idle threat.
Politicians such as Mashaba must now force this issue onto our national discourse. He has now seen the ugly side of popularist politics. I hope.
His party has been in the forefront of those calling upon illegal immigrants in South Africa to be deported. He has often joined forces with the Patriotic Alliance in the seemingly growing Mabahambe (Let foreigners leave) movement.
In the recent past, it seems like even MKP has now ditched their ambivalence on the matter and have also endorsed the anti-immigrant campaign.
The government, our political parties and civil society organisations need to sit down and address this matter. This is a ticking time bomb.
The African National Congress, as the senior partner in the Government of National Unity, must lead the way in this discourse. They cannot wish away this problem any longer or pretend by ignoring it, it will disappear.
Much against my better judgment, I must say even entities that I find obnoxious such as Operation Dudula and March and March must be brought on board. It is better they piss inside the tent.
The Patriotic Alliance, which I also abhor because of the composition of its leadership, cannot be ignored. ActionSA, MKP, the EFFF must be part of this discussion. In fact, all the parties in the National Assembly
One is not being alarmist when I say the country is facing an existential threat. Law and order officials need to act decisively in order to nip this menace at this early stage. Failure to do so can lead to fatal consequences.
Some anarchists may conclude that the government does not have the capacity to stop them from their activities. This may embolden them to up the ante. The government must not allow a repeat of the failures which led to the July 2021 riots
It beggars belief that the police in KuGompo were ill-prepared for what ensued. They were totally outnumbered and it is a miracle that no lives were lost and that damage to property was not significant. The protesters from KwaZulu-Natal had announced days in advance that they would be descending on the city.
One of the key questions that needs to be asked is, who is funding the people from KZN who protested in the Eastern Cape. Who provided transport for them, food and accommodation, if some of them stayed overnight in the province.
I hope I can be proven wrong but my gut feeling and common sense tells me that there’s a hidden hand behind these eruptions.
* Sekola Sello is a retired veteran journalist
