I don’t normally respond to Julius Malema, but this neo-colonial distortion of the place and role of traditional leadership, and ancestral land ownership is not only wrong but extremely dangerous.

It is a product of the indirect rule thinking of the colonial apartheid era. 🧵

https://twitter.com/zanewsflash/status/1732259025759142250

1. The King and traditional leaders are the state.”  Wrong.
 
Chapter 12 of the constitution recognises the institution of traditional leadership and its role in a constitutional democracy. (In line with the constitution and according to living customary law.)

Stopped by to say…

1. Whilst the ruling in #IngonyamaTrust leases is receiving the attention it deserves, we must talk about how govt has failed rural based citizens for 2 decades with collusion of Parliament. To be clear, all political parties have neglected these issues. 2. It’s 13 years since the introduction of the Traditional Courts Bill (2008). Even after concerted effort by activists and researchers to work with the DOJ in the end, politicians and Chiefs sneaked in back door agreements and ignored warnings on importance of an opt clause.

Caught Tony Leon interview on 702 yesterday. Defensive, lacking in self-awareness, sense of history and place.

That he doesn’t think it’s problematic to refer to ascendancy of a black man as an ‘experiment’ in a predominantly white ‘colour blind’ Party says a lot about Leon.1/ Leon’s ‘record of non-racialism’ is as poor as that of his political leadership and judgement. He was a mediocre, shouty opposition leader who could not see beyond fear and resentment of white people who saw change as loss of status and power in the South African race matrix. 2/

1. From social distancing to burial protocols,a major shortcoming of @SAgovnews Covid strategy has been the inability to develop a South African specific approach which is informed by belief systems, cultural practices & realities of Africans.A thread on death & burial protocols. 2. For people whose loved ones are ill or died during Covid, there’s a sense of dislocation, confusion, fear and trauma.Inability to care for loved ones has left many people with feelings of guilt and no closure. @SAgovnews hasn’t really communicated about these complex feelings.

In early 200s, a young man from my village was arrested at a Rustenburg mine hostel. Wrong place, wrong time, he walked through the gates drunk, shortly after a man had been murdered. He was sentenced to 17 years because they couldn’t tie him to murder. @Our_DA It would take at least 5 years for the charges to be dropped. First time I visited him on a Saturday @ Leeuwkop prison, I literally tripped over families, relatives, spiritual advisors visiting incarcerated black men. Inside the prison, there was no place to sit with him. @Our_DA

I answered the phone, it was dad. ‘Poni, your mother’s been summoned to tribal court. These people...Do they know MaRhadebe?!’ Mother took the phone and with the quietest voice declared ‘I am going and I will speak for myself’. Women were represented by male relatives. 1/ Me: Let’s talk about this. You don’t have to go. Tell them to piss off. Ma: Watch your language. I know I don’t have to go. But I am going. Do you know they delivered the notice at 6am. Ngenjixukuxa. It’s decided, I will go. 2/

Pops had a cream linen suit. You know,the kind used by Europeans visiting Africa. Mom hated it, said it was loud. So, dad said he’d pack it away to be buried in. Mom was like ‘good, you’ll be covered in shroud, we won’t see it’. 1/ He died 3 days after admission. My sister found his freshly laundered suit and the rest of his outfit, right down to socks, polished shoes, matching tie and ‘pocket square’ tucked in the breast pocket of his jacket. 2/

When I was young, 10-13, Dad wasn’t overtly religious. He was a ‘measured’ Anglican. But he always read his bible. When I declared myself an atheist at 13 and challenged him to ‘convince me’, Pops, quoted that bible. One weekend, debate (argument) went on until early hours... He didn’t do well without ‘5 hours’. I did fine. So, 1am he’d ask for a break. 6 am, the argument resumed...In the end, he admitted ‘defeat’. Saying he couldn’t prove God’s existence. But he believed because for him, it’s about faith. Nonsense! Said 13 year old me.

For those of us who are alarmed and angry at the murder of #FikileNtshangase, we must remember that this is but a glimpse of corrosive conflict in rural communities, especially for those who demand accountability from traditional leaders, political leaders and mining interests. In some communities, people’s homes have been severely compromised, with huge cracks on the walls, weakened foundations because of aggressive practices by mining companies emboldened by traditional leaders and in some cases, local and national politicians.

Working on something touching on my life as a teenage activist in the former Transkei. The story is dark, because it’s about the power of the ‘T’kei Republic’ and torture of a young woman. After all these years, I am able to look into the girl I was and the woman I am...THREAD Working on this takes me to workplace cultures and my refusal to abide. Everywhere I’ve worked, I’ve introduced change of workplace culture, even at CGE (which caused most of the problems). This is not because I have an agenda but really because I come ‘as I am’.

#AndrewMlangeni, a story.

It’s 1993. Mlangeni is Head of Transport, ANC HQ. I go to ‘transport’ to book a car. There’s a long & noisy queue of people, mainly drivers,summoned by Mlangeni. He’s on a warpath, checking every requisition, mileage,fuel slips & god knows what else. Someone is in the office arguing with Mlangeni.

Mlangeni: What did you do with the extra 40 pounds?
Driver: It’s 1993, Cde Mlangeni, we don’t use pounds anymore. Anyway, I used that extra money to put fuel.
Mlangeni: Receipt? Why didn’t you use the card? You’re gallavanting!

1. I don’t know if you are serious when you say you don’t know how this tweet feeds into rape culture. I’ll explain it anyway and I’ll be as plain as possible. So, here’s a thread @vngalwana. 2. Instead of challenging her work, he writes ‘Pauli must get ten boyfriends’, his very premise is to deploy the trope of a sexually frustrated woman, who needs a ‘dick cure’ from 10 men. @vngalwana

1. Below is a thread on Helen Zille's (HZ)racist provocations. This first part is about her intentions. The 2nd group of tweets will look at the rape and land cartoon. I offer this as a contribution to a conversation with people who are interested. Please read the entire thread. 2. HZ self identifies as a ‘Classical Liberal’. Classical liberalism recognises the responsibility that comes with free speech, it draws the line where speech causes harm and, in this instance, as well as others which I will highlight, Helen Zille’s speech has been harmful.

Know your feminist history – On 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. A brief thread on the history of 16 Days of Activism. On November 25, 1960 three of the four Mirabal sisters – Minerva, Patricia Mercedes and Antonia Maria Teresa and their driver, Rufino de la Cruz – were beaten and thrown off a cliff by people acting on behalf of then President, Rafael Trujillo.

1. Oy! Today, an encounter transported me to the early 1990s. I will write about this later. Suffice to say I thought of the period before Chris Hani (CH) was assaninated. I thought of the lonesome months CH endured. Yes, the details many of us, incl. media, prefer to forget. 2. In 1993, @RaymondSuttner and I decided to share our lives. That weekend, when we laid CH to rest was important to us because he was important to us (politically and personally). I don’t think we were conscious of this at the time.

1. My parents had the first black owned shop in my village,competing against established white businesses which came with Christian missionaries. Dad’s admirers called him ‘umlung’omnyama’, the same moniker they gave to his father before him. His detractors said ‘uzenz’umlungu’. 2. St Mark’s was a big missionary station. There was a small enclave of white businesses, ‘European culture’ - an equestrian club, tennis courts, town hall, where classical music concerts were held, swimming pool and etc.

1. Constitution. Its important to understand the Constitution as a whole,not just sections. Also, you must understand the spirit and the letter of the constitution @HermanMashaba. Below is an excerpt but please read Section 2, in its entirety. Note:use of ‘everyone’ & ‘citizen’. 2. “This Bill of Rights is a cornerstone of democracy in South Africa. It enshrines the right of people in our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom. The state must protect, respect, promote and fulfill the Rights in the Bill of Rights.”

1. Dali, I read your article on the “Indian Question in South Africa”. It is quite an involved subject which needs thorough engagement. It’s not my core business, so I am not going to write on it. However, I offer this thread as my response and public record. @AdvDali_Mpofu

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2 I agree with you on the “Black people in general and African people in particular”, this is premise from which your article is based. However, this is not at issue in the debate, at least not for me. So, I’ll focus on the issues that are relevant to me.

1. Noby Ngombane opened the front door to his assasin with his 5 year old daughter, Zandile next to him. 13 years later, urged by her mother, Nokwanda to check on her, I found her hanging in her room on 9/05/2018. She was 1st year student @ AFDA, in CT. #ZandileNgombane #Suicide 2. The young woman hanging in that little room was, silent. On Friday 4/05/2018, we hung out together. In my B&B room, had deep conversation about her dreams & her family. Our discussion on semiotics of film & feminism was passionate & incredibly stimulating. #ZandileNgombane

Dear @tito_mboweni, if you want debate on Nationalisation of Mines, Land and natural resources, please say so. Your tweet is populist and misleading. You know this, why do you do this? In a few tweets, I will back up my bold statement. THREAD BELOW.

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1. You know that one of the first pieces of legislation #Mandela signed was nationalisation of mines. You know that the State owns ALL mines in South Africa. Mining companies get prospecting and mining licenses from @DMR_SA. Please explain what conditions DMR has put in place?

1. Any political party which considers @PatriciaDeLille an assert had better observe her record. When she left PAC, she undermined them. She started and left (a crippled) ID in pursuit of her own interests. @Our_DA is destructive but she is no less, so. Principle or egos? 2. It’s important to study the function of patriarchy & race in @PatriciaDeLille’s struggles with political parties. What lessons can we learn from her experiences? Equally, it would be disingenuous to overlook De Lille’s leadership style and politics.