No Woman, No Cry

I defied my own rule of going to bed after the ten o'clock news tonight. The headlines were disturbing in a way that I cannot get over, unless I write or say something about it. The first headline is about a poor, Black, unemployed young woman who locked her children in her home in an informal settlement so she can go look for a job. The news hook to the story was that she 'chained' and locked them in the house, but the house is referred to as a shack for drama. The children are said to be in a place of safety somewhere in the Gauteng Province. The patriarchal society we live in does not leave space for us to question if the police will help this woman. I saw people's reaction scolding the mother. Questioning why she had kids if she can't take care of them. 

In the same story, there are two sound bites from people from the same area. One of them says the area is not safe and defends the mother for preventing her children from leaving the house while she is out looking for work. The mother of these children is described as non-violent person. The other clip defends her actions too. The woman in the clip tells the journalist how that area isn't great for children to grow up in. The last clip is of the police in a very dismissive tone. Rejecting reasons given for "neglecting" her babies. It makes me curious what will happen to this woman who is also not a South African citizen. It's said she is from Zimbabwe. Probably not documented because she stays in a squatter camp. No proper address, so her experience with the law will be painful one. Don't forget we are a xenophobic country. The story left me angry and anxious. 

There was a second story of another woman, also Black, not poor but unemployed too. She is also well known because she used to be the police commissioner. The first woman to hold that post in post-apartheid South Africa. I doubt apartheid South Africa considered a woman to do this. But today Riyah Phiyega is fighting the boy's club that put her in the powerful she occupied. The media has not been kind to her. She presided over a period that saw miners were massacred by police. She tried to spin her way out of it and fell. I don't have English words to express the discomfort I have with how she's treat d from different quarters. This includes the media and her principals. In my opinion, that treatment has something to do with her being a woman. I will push it and say a Black woman. Even with her social power, she will sometimes find herself in the same boat with the arrested Zimbabwean woman who locked her kids up and went to look for a job. Because of the common denominator. 

HOW CIVIL IS OUR UNION?

There is no connection between the law and the people.Today’s 10th-year anniversary of the Civil Union Act is bittersweet for any activist advocating for human rights, especially for the LGBTI community. Hate crimes have continued unabated. Lesbian women raped and beaten up.

South Africa became the first country in the world to use its Constitution to protect the rights of the LGBTI community. And we should say thanks to Simon Nkoli, Bev Ditsie and others who, during apartheid, still fought for sexual minorities. They fought a long, layered and complicated battle. These achievements are on paper. Society is still very resistant and life is still not easy for gay and lesbian people.

It was never going to be easy with leaders like President Jacob Zuma and Mmusi Maimane. Zuma had to apologise for his homophobic comments, while Maimane had to clarify his comments on whether he thought gay people are sinners.

We have conservative leaders. Sometimes their beliefs border on being very primitive. That’s why you still hear men saying women should not wear mini-skirts because it’s provocative. That’s why you still see people being okay with a leader randomly referring to women as “Ntombazana” with a suggestive tone. Treating people with dignity is a requirement by law, but we still see dignity being stripped off people. Let me not get off the topic.

The Civil Union Act is enjoyed by resourced members of the LGBTI community. If you don’t command enough social power as a gay man or lesbian woman, you are unlikely to enjoy the fruits of our progressive Constitution. Most of the hate crimes take place in poor areas. We’ve heard stories of police making a mockery of lesbian women who wanted to report rape or attempted rape. Poor Black bodies in the LGBTI community are vulnerable and can only dream of planning a wedding and finding a willing marriage officer who will officiate and get them married without a hustle.

LGBTI issues are never mainstream because they don’t make business sense for the media. You still have heteronormative adverts and portrayal of family life. The only time you find a story about gay or lesbian people is when it sells the newspapers or gives TV news channels good ratings. Basically gay and lesbian people are there to only create a gaze or become some sort of exhibition for the “normal” people. There are good attempts by people like Thami Kotlolo who has been organizing the Chevrolet Feather Awards for about 8 years now. Even that has not made headway in getting most of the “celebrities” to be ambassadors and advocates of LGBTI rights. When it’s done it’s more for publicity than it is done as the right thing to do.

Heterosexual celebrities use LGBTI people for posture and to achieve goals only known to them. Openly gay celebrities use their “gayness” to make a living. People will say “I love his personality”. But my position is, we don’t “gay” for a living. We don’t “lesbian” for a living. If I am not flamboyant, but gay, I would not cut it as something mainstream media uses to represent all gay people. These are some of the things that stand in the way of progress for sexual minorities. It forms part of the reason why the Civil Union Act means nothing to most people in the LGBTI community.

I would like to highlight that the institution that we all grew up viewing as refuge is also complicit in perpetuating hate for the LGBTI community. The church still dishes out conditions to gay and lesbian people before they can be members or even leaders.  The Catholic Church, even under the most progressive Pope, will not accept the LGBTI community. What’s the point of being a member of the congregation but do not enjoy the same privileges as heterosexual fellow congregants? Archbishop Emeritus Tutu’s daughter had to choose between the church and being gay. Really?

Lastly, the LGBTI community and its lobby groups also need to do something about the mess that we are in. I never hear of any LGBTI group taking part in broader community activities. We mostly focus on what our funders want us to do. We must join other civil society movements and act like part of society. We must get rid of “we don’t get involved in politics” attitude and join in causes that will integrate us. At this point we are alienated because we want people to learn about us, when we do nothing for their advancement.  We may argue that our HIV/Aids campaigns are for everyone. But there are things we do in our campaigns that do not make everyone feel like joining in.

I am not sure what it is. 

Tribute to Prof. Mzilikazi Khumalo

It actually took a strange event for me to realise that we should not wait for people's demise before we honour them. My partner got what we call a "visa" to go out and party till very late. When he came back home, I could not fall asleep. When this happens I usually raid the fridge, make a snack and read a book. But Prof. Mzilikazi Khumalo had been on my mind ever since another musical talent, Sidwell Mhlongo revived Prof. Khumalo's gem. Ushaka. This was in itself an honour to South Africa's living legend. The 2015 grand performance by Gauteng Choristers, under Mhlongo's baton was, for me a call to introspect and recognise all the great things that still make this country a great place. 

As a classical music lover, I take it upon myself to elevate and pay homage to South African greats in this genre of music. There are many others like MM Moerane, JSP Motuba, JP Mohapeloa, Podu Mamabolo, TL Tsambo. The list is long and their work and contribution to our society is immeasurable. At this time, Prof. Khumalo stands out because of what he was able to do with something that represents some of the violent times in the history of our country. The rule of King Shaka as documented by European historians, was not always a great one, especially for his subjects. However, in the music of Prof. Khumalo about The Zulu King, one is able to find a sense of pride. The lessons on heritage and a sense of belonging are also key factors that embody the creativity in which this history is documented. Thank you Mntungwa and we give thanks to God and to your ancestors; Nin' enadl'umuntu nimyenga ngendaba. Mantungwa aluhlaza! 

It was through Prof. Mzilikazi Khumalo that I got to know some of the great singers in South Africa. The people till this day, I still associate with choral music. Sibongile Khumalo, Sibongile Mngoma, Themba Mkhwane. I learned that loving classical music was not weird or unusual. Prof. Khumalo was the window to the outside world. A world with people like me who love this craft. Growing up in a Lutheran home with parents and siblings active in church, choral music became my main reason to stay safe in church. It was the only place where I could live my passion. The passion inspired by the Salvation Army choir Prof. Khumalo conducted on TV every Sunday evening. As I grew up to be more independent, I never missed the Annual Mass Choir Festival at the Standard Bank Arena. Prof. Khumalo, Richard Cock and Danny Pooe were conductors of the mass choir. It was also my first experience listening to a live orchestra. A feeling that I still cannot explain up to today. 

I could write a whole book about my love for music and the legends of choral music in this country of ours. Khabi Mngoma and George Mxadana are among those who kept the candle burning even when strong winds blew their way. Black excellence during their time was unimaginable. Few mastered it. Prof. Mzilikazi Khumalo forms a great part of the foundation of my passion for music. May he be blessed with comfort, good health and a legacy that lives on for generations. 

Photo Credit: AfriClassic

Mystery still surrounds Samora Machel’s death.

By Dan Moyane

(Sharing one many articles he wrote on the death of President Samora Machel. Bra Dan was supposed to be on that plane that killed President Machel and many others.)

2016 will mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Samora Machel, the founding father of independent Mozambique, and yet we still do not know who actually caused the Mozambican presidential plane to veer off course and crash inside South Africa on 19 October 1986.

President Machel, who had attended a Frontline States summit in Lusaka, Zambia, was on his way back to Maputo on that night aboard his presidential plane. But the plane would mysteriously crash on the rugged hills of Mbuzini in Mpumalanga province. Machel and 34 other people, including senior Mozambican government officials and journalists, were killed in the crash.

I recall my own personal and the general public’s sense of shock when the news of Machel's death was confirmed by the then Vice President of Frelimo, Marcelino dos Santos, live on national radio. I was one of the journalists who had initially been offered a seat on Machel's plane in order to report on the summit in Zambia. It was a rare invitation to the External Service of Radio Mozambique, where I worked; to report on the summit direct from Lusaka. However, I was bumped off at the last moment when my boss at the time, the late Iain Christie, was called by the Presidency and informed that more members of the government delegation were required to travel with Machel.

When news of the plane crash was broadcast on the morning of Monday the 20th of October 1986, there was stunned silence in Maputo. All of us at Radio Mozambique were gripped by a sense of disbelief. Mozambicans, from Rovuma in the north to Maputo in the south, were literally numbed by anguish and grief.

The months preceding the crash had seen rising tension in southern Africa. Mozambique's civil war was getting worse. South Africa had reneged on the Nkomati Accord, a non-aggression pact signed with Machel in 1984. Mozambique kept its side of the agreement by forcing ANC exiles to leave the country, but Pretoria never stopped its support for the Renamo rebels fighting the Frelimo government. On other hand, Malawi had been collaborating with Pretoria by aiding Renamo. The situation came to a head when Machel threatened to deploy missiles on his border with Malawi.

A few years ago former President Thabo Mbeki paid tribute to Machel, describing him as a "towering giant of the African Revolution". Mbeki said one question remained unanswered - was the apartheid regime responsible for the tragic deaths at Mbuzini where the plane came down?

In 1998, South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) launched a special investigation into Machel's death. However, it was unable to reach a firm conclusion and said that a number of questions had been raised, including the possibility of a false beacon.

In 2006 the South African government announced it would try to solve the plane crash, which remains one of the great mysteries of the apartheid era. But to date no investigation has reached a conclusion. Today the big question remains - who orchestrated the crash? Was it the apartheid regime? Were there any other forces involved?

As we approach the 30th anniversary of the crash in 2016, I hope that the authorities will work even harder to solve the mystery. The Machel family and the people of Mozambique need to know what really happened. The anti-apartheid movement needs to know what happened. The people of Africa deserve the truth.

Sabela ANC, uyakhuzwa! (Listen ANC, you're reprimanded)

The African National Congress has underestimated the people it has governed since the dawn of democracy. The 2016 local government elections is testimony that the ANC has lost favour with South Africans. This also means that President Jacob Zuma will have presided over yet another decline in elections for the governing party. 

I was personally at the elections results centre and there was a sense of mourning among the ANC cadres. It was not my first time working at the results centre and over the years I have observed the jovial mood among ANC members ahead of the announcement. There were pre-planned celebrations. They knew people would vote for them, because there was no other party believed to care for the majority of the poor black. 

In my opinion losing just one more municipality on top of the Western Cape, was already a big loss to a party that has never had to convince people to vote for them. But as I write this, it is not clear if the ANC will manage to win Tshwane and Johannesburg. Who created this situation?

Could it be Marikana? I don't think so, because the ANC won general elections after the massacre that killed 34 miners. The Nkandla saga had already been in the media spotlight when we went to the 2014 polls. There had been hundreds of service delivery protests when we voted two years ago. So many that academics have compiled so much material on the hotspots of protests. There is so much information out together on why people protest more and more. The ANC has always held the view that people had a right to protest because we live in a democracy. Even in the build up to the 2016 local government elections, the ANC dismissed the political killings in KwaZulu-Natal as a democratic process. President Zuma made this bizarre comment more than once. He said the fight for political positions was a sign of a maturing democracy. That for me, is a sign of detachment. We forgot where we come from. The 1994 election came after so many people lost their lives. How can pre election violence in 2016 be dismissed? 

The people of South Africa used these local government polls to tell the ANC they are fed up. I am not discounting the fact that the ANC still enjoys majority support. But personally, I have not met an ANC supporter who does not benefit from the party in one way or another. Most people I know and support the ANC are often connected through work, business or some other commitment. I would never claim there aren't people who love the party as a matter of principle. But it is also undeniable that the party became a magnet for people who have ambition to amass wealth. Service for the people was never a priority for them. The ANC was tainted. The rot continued. It got to a point some people could not stand the stench of corruption. We see that today in the polls. People made a choice to vote for other parties. Some of my friends, colleagues and relatives told me how painful it was to vote for other parties and not the ANC. Because it is the ANC of our mothers and fathers. It is the ANC that made sure we were fed when our parents were incarcerated by the apartheid government. The ANC of Nelson Mandela, Luthuli and Tambo. 

The ANC must root putt he rot, if it wants to win the 2019 elections. People are not as gullible as everyone thinks.