Today might just be a day of days. A day when a former head of state has been arrested and taken to Durban’s infamous Westville Prison, which houses the worst types of criminals that KwaZulu-Natal has to offer.
Any calamity resulting from the latest series of events should be avoided by all means necessary, unless we are ready for bloodshed and another unnecessary massacre in South Africa.
History reminds us that protests require a careful response aimed not only at extinguishing the protesters’ fury, but at addressing the genuine issues that trigger people to protest against the state and those in power.
With former president Jacob Zuma and his supporters taking a position to protest against what they deem a “travesty of justice”, one has to caution those agitating for action against them to remember that Marikana became a pool of blood because our leaders failed to read the mood of the people.
The question of the Nkandla protest should not be taken lightly, and excited leaders should not undermine the power of the masses who are willing to lay down their lives to defend our democratic institutions from political capture.
The reality is that people are the government, and the government is the people. There is no state without functioning institutions, which are meant to serve our people.
When these institutions fail to protect citizens and resort to inciting violence instead of avoiding it, chaos and lawlessness become the order of the day, just as they were during apartheid.
This moment requires collective leadership that places the interests of the people first, rather than clumsily resorting to a show of force.
Our government must strive to listen to the people instead of suppressing them, because when the latter retaliate it will be too late to restore order. South Africa cannot afford to become another failed state due to egotists who turn a blind eye to their people.
Mozambique, Zimbabwe and eSwatini are neighbours who, like us, failed to read the mood of the people.
South Africans have suffered so much and will lay down their lives to be free of the chaos they once again find themselves in. However, this does not mean we are hungry for blood.
The Star