South Africa is in the throes of violent epiphany and it is horrifyingly sad to watch how she is plummeting from political, moral, cultural and social regeneration to barbaric and odious cannibalism which, if left uncontrolled, could lead to self-implosion. The sudden romance with national nihilism and anarchy by her jobless, poor, illiterate, coward and xenophobic-driven blacks against fellow black Africans signalled the beginning of ethnic cleansing which may rapidly degenerate into holocaust if clearer warning is not delivered to her impotent leaders who are currently looking the other way as the orgy of violence encircles this former bastion of apartheid.

Most media comments about South Africa’s killing fields of Diepsloot in Johannesburg, Hammanskraal outside Tshwane, Mkhambathini in Kwazulu-Natal, Cape Town, Pretoria, Western Cape and East London have been cringing and patronising and this had led to a hardening of attitude among the ghetto guerrillas  who still roam around with knives, cutlass and guns looking for human turkey to cannibalise upon. The moral and credibility mileage she had reclaimed since the rebirth of a rainbow nation devoid of bickering, revenge and retaliation is now ossified by this relapse into butchery of fellow Africans. The love, goodwill, support, affection, moral and financial investment we all give to South Africa during her darkest history of apartheid is now dishonoured by her deadly loathing of blacks of other nations who live in her midst.

South Africa’s delicate evolution from a nation of racial animus to an inclusive, tolerant society has now come under re-evaluation by her shameless descent into xenophobic anarchism, barbaric rascality and primordial cannibalism. Nigeria, a once frontline state in the struggle for South Africa’s freedom from apartheid captivity is now a victim of abhorrent hate and murderous envy.

The reasons advanced for the mayhem and bloodletting are simplistic, puerile and nonsensical. South African blacks, goes the romanticised cant, are fighting a survivalist war to protect thinning jobs hijacked by the invading and hungry hordes from Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. Citizens of these helpless countries must have uncommon psychic gifts to have known that South Africa is the new Europe paved with gold, diamond, emerald and silver. What the oracle did not reveal to our nomadic adventurers is South Africa’s present predicament of anomie, ennui, unemployment, violence, drug and alcohol dependency and worse, mass psychiatric problem brought about by the blight of apartheid’s 350 years of unrelenting blaxploitation.

South Africa was founded by its apartheid overlords on violence and brutal massacre. That historical tragedy has found its way into their national lore and today South Africans are proud to see themselves as violent and cannibalistic.  What is acutely maddening is the wrong channelisation of this ugly, murderous, demonic revenge on innocent sojourners who wandered into their country in search of opportunity and better life.

The Ghanaians, Malawians, Mozambicans, Nigerians, Tanzanians, Zambians and Zimbabweans who have been victims of ghoulish, bloody killings are the only soft targets their South African killers could prey upon.  Already, 26,000 Mozambicans have fled South Africa because of attacks. Also, Malawi has evacuated its citizens from South Africa’s theatre of xenophobic psychosis. What this state of affair seems to suggest to the larger world who are being entertained by a cast of stupid actors playing out their version of Greek tragedy on an African soil is simply this: are they human beings? What is wrong with black Africans?

Why do they hate themselves? Why do they project difference instead of unity and togetherness? Who is going to unite these disparage people with shared afro-cultural heritage? When would black Africa deconstruct and dredge out its violent past and construct a united, borderless continent with free access based on shared identity of Negroid race? When are we going to embark on the truncation of tribal hatred, inter-country jealousies and hostility?

The urgency of a national conversation should be more strident among South Africans in the face of her ugly wickedness against black foreigners. This is the time to confront herself and speak truth to her own conscience. Her political, social, economic and cultural institutions which rest squarely on Ubuntu, a national philosophy ecstatically adopted to usher in respect, understanding, equity, sharing, caring, humanness, social justice and fairness has now been found to rest on faulty, empty rhetorical foundations. South Africa is still a work in progress society, and as she walks the tight rope of national reconstruction, she should peel off the mask of false image of a great rainbow nation, at peace with herself and devoid of racial animosity.

The animating vision of old revolutionaries like Mandiba Nelson Mandela, John Dube, Pixley ka Isaka Seme, Clemens Kadile who was himself of Malawian origin, Albert Lithuli, Lilian Ngoyi, Thomas Nkobi, a Zimbabwean in origin, Oliver Thambo, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Joe Slovo and Ruth First, both scions of Anglo-Saxon root, to enthrone a society define by inclusion, multiculturalism, racial tolerance and progress has now entered its most trying period. In retrospect, the vision of Mandela after the traumatic years in the Gulag of Robben Island and eight years as president of South Africa could now be judged by its failure.

After Mandela’s rehabilitation from prison, he embraced a faulty political pragmatism forced on him by Western investors and the powerful economic-dominant white and Asian minority who still live in style and stupendous comfort, amidst the poverty of the ghettoes inhabited by shameless, warmongering natives, now on a prowl hunting down their own brothers and sisters! Why this self-defeating hubris among black Africans?

Mandela’s presidency was marked not by political, social, cultural and economic exactitude or restitution but by patronising obeisance to the whims and caprices of white and Asian South Africans who threatened massive capital reparation if national reconstruction includes redistribution of their ill-gotten wealth. Shorn of his old insurrectionary and radical temper, Mandela capitulated and the effect is now visible in South Africa’s oasis of lost hope, unemployment, anger, regret, poverty and violence among her black populace.

The energetic, bright and renaissance-inspired Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki concocted emotion-driven policy soundings which rest squarely on re-awakening Africa’s pride that had been castrated and tamed by centuries of apartheid and white slavery. He spoke of equity, justice and black empowerment in a new South Africa that had been abused, racially raped and exploited by her old, unrepentant Afrikaner white minority rulers.  Seven years on, Mbeki’s dream has not unfolded. He is more interested in golf than governing. Under him, unemployment soar, violence mushroom and you could see blood on the dance floor of every smoke-filled sheebeen in the black-populated townships and ghettoes of Soweto.

Contained by fear, fatigue, frustration, failure and alienated, displaced, ignored, snubbed and treated as third class citizens, even after apartheid, black South Africans had to forage for soft ‘meat’ in the form of innocent black foreigners, and cannibalise on them with the kind of feeding frenzy common to a pack of hungry lions. The monumental policy failure and total asphyxiation of their hope and economic liberation by both Mandela and Mbeki is another indictment of black leadership failure in black Africa. However, there is a nagging annoyance which would not go away, especially when you see the huge irony of it all. Why are black South Africans not targeting white and Asian people, the twin powers behind their serfdom, economic destitution and slavery?

Can we accuse black South Africans of cowardice on poor, defenceless black foreigners while the real destroyers of their destiny are left untouched? Why are barriers being erected against black migrants to South Africa but Asian and white are welcomed with red carpet? Does black Africa need a continental conversation of shared values based on shared origin and heritage? Is black Africa’s collective sacrifice against apartheid in vain in the face of this crunching ungratefulness? Do we need to keep on sacrificing ourselves in order to pamper the white and Asian settlers on African soil?

Can we say that fifth column, I mean white paymasters, have infiltrated the midst of our brothers and sisters and cheering them on in their senseless orgy of xenophobic rush? Why are black South Africans still reinforcing the racist stereotype of black people as ignoble savages? Why? Why? Why?

Tijani lives in London.

Robot  Villager

# 1 South Africa is in the throes of violent epiphany and it is horrifyingly sad to watch how she is...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 29.05.2008 21:44

Oghre  Villager

# 2 I have spoken to a lot of South Africans and do have a few friends in Ireland and the UK; I must be very honest and sincere, they are not the smartest people around. Talking social and political issues with them will reveal how lost their understanding of life compared with a Nigerian is. My conclusion…and many of them agrees with me is that a lot happened during apartheid that completely altered their understanding of certain aspects of social understanding, propaganda and politics. It is this truth that makes many in South Africa and the wider world question whether they are ready to govern themselves. Now, Nigeria may not be perfect, we are certainly lacking in many aspects of our lives but we are not the worst around when it comes to things like these. How does one understand certain things the South Africans do? First Mandela was hailed a WORLD hero for allowing white apartheid murders to go Scot free, the same people who manufactured HIV/AIDS and spread it to the blacks in order to reduce their numbers in comparison to the 15% white settlers. He was very happy to allow the whites continue control of the largest part of fertile South African lands. Mandela and many South Africans are also quite happy to allow whites control natural resources like diamonds and of course the best parts of their economy. Heroism does of course come at a price, but this one is the worst price I have seen around. For Mandela’s benefit and in return, the white western media has upgraded him to a special Blackman worthy of positive media depiction, as long as he shuts up and allows the west to continue exploiting the South African economy at the cost of the average black citizen wallowing in abject poverty in the townships like Soweto. So, if a race of people can be so easily bamboozled why are we expecting any less of them, as we are currently seeing? What does it take for a man to realise the biggest looters of South Africa are the whites who continue to reduce their (blacks) numbers through Aids and poverty? The fight is already lost if you have turned your sights on fellow blacks who are doing nothing more than below minimum wage jobs , orange and drug selling on the streets. I can’t blame them thou, Mandela told them not to touch the whites, “they are awee breeders” he said, let bygones be bygones. But of course you will expect them to divert their attention and anger somewhere else. This was a disaster waiting to happen. Posted by Oghre| 30.05.2008 08:25

SUYA  Villager

# 3 I can’t blame them thou, Mandela told them not to touch the whites, “they are awee breeders” he said, let bygones be bygones. But of course you will expect them to divert their attention and anger somewhere else. This was a disaster waiting to happen. :redface: Posted by SUYA| 30.05.2008 10:41

ocnus  Villager

# 4 I have just returned from South Africa (and Zimbabwe) and watched some of the riots. There is a dimension to them which is not being discussed by the international media. This round of disturbances was not some spontaneous upwelling of anti-foreigner feeling by South Africans. It has been carefully planned and orchestrated. As soon as the police come to put down a riot another one starts in a different township. It is well co-ordinated. Additionally, most of the rioters are Zulus. This uprising is being conducted, in part, as an effort to support Zuma against Mbeki and in an effort to promote Zuma's candidacy for Mbeki's post. Mbeki's term is about to end and Zuma is the head of the ANC and the leader of the Zulu faction in the ANC. However, his trial for corruption, for which there is overwhelming evidence of his guilt in the public record, is damning to any ambition of his to take part in a free and fair election for President. Zuma has been able to delay the trial until after the election but wants Mbeki out before the end of his term so that he can take over without an election and try to dismiss his trial or diminish its importance. Mbeki has become identified with the rapprochement with Mugabe and Zimbabwe so attacks on Zimbabweans are emblematic of a purported Mbeki failure. There is a lot more to this, including support by the Afrikaaners of Zuma's ambitions. This view was made public by Ronnie Kasrils (head of South African Intelligence) at the CISS meeting. It is a dimension which colours the international response. The result may be a xenophobic reaction but its root and aim has more to do with internal ANC politics than any harsh feeling towards foreigners. Posted by ocnus| 30.05.2008 13:12

blackdragon  JJC

# 5 Thanks to Taju Tijani for a very thought-provoking piece. I am compelled, however, to point out that his concept of "xenophobic anarchism" is deeply flawed because of the following: a) South African anarchists of all races built the first trade unions for "non-whites" in the period 1917-1919 (the Industrial Workers of Africa being the primary one, which later, in the form of the Industrial and Commercial Union, spread as far abroad as what is now Zambia). b) the current SA anarchist movement has always been multiracial, has its origins in the anti-apartheid movement, and has been a staunch opponent of xenopbhobia, working as it has, closely with comrades in Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. I would direct readers to the mostly-English-language African anarchist website Zabalaza (Struggle in isiZulu) and to its global multilingual counterpart anarkismo: for a clearer view of the positions and activities of African anarchists. revolutionary regards Michael (international secretary, Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front, South Africa) Posted by blackdragon| 20.06.2008 06:47