Winnie, taxis and xenophobia

The Independent Electoral Commission has confirmed that Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is entitled to be nominated as a candidate for the African National Congress despite the objections that they have received. This may not be the last word on the issue as the Freedom Front Plus has confirmed that they are taking this matter to the electoral court.

At the outset I have to be fair and confirm that in terms of the laws of our country Madikizela-Mandela should not be allowed to stand as a candidate.

“Section 47(1)(e) of the Constitution states that every citizen who is qualified to vote for the National Assembly is eligible to be a member of the Assembly, except (amongst others): anyone who, after this section took effect, is convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months’ imprisonment without the option of a fine, either in the Republic, or outside the Republic if the conduct constituting the offence would have been an offence in the Republic, but no one may be regarded as having been sentenced until an appeal against the conviction or sentence has been determined, or until the time for an appeal has expired. A disqualification under this paragraph ends five years after the sentence has been completed.”

“It seems pretty straightforward to me that she is not eligible. After all, although Mrs Madikizela-Mandela had never served any time in prison, she was sentenced to a prison term without the option of a fine. This prison sentence might have been suspended but it was a prison sentence and she had not choice to rather pay a fine than live under the cloud of this suspended sentence.” (Professor Pierre de Vos)

As my regular readers will know I am particularly fond of Madikizela-Mandela who in my opinion was the most courageous of all people when it came to taking on the apartheid government and its substantial machinery. While many were “safe” in prison or in exile she stood toe-to-toe with the government and never blinked. No mean feat in the ordinary course of events and very brave during the nineteen sixties, seventies and eighties. How easy it is now for people who never lived through apartheid to dismiss her deeds and point out her latter indiscretions as proof of her unsuitability.

Maybe as a criminal attorney I have been conditioned to believe that we are all criminals (some of us just haven’t been caught) and that all of us are capable of redeeming ourselves and playing a vital role in society. In the case of this great lady I have observed that no matter how far she sank and how well she clawed her way back the masses of this country remembered her role in the liberation of our country and placed her high upon the list of anything for which she was nominated. She certainly ranks top of my list of Great South African Ladies without doubt.

Accordingly and even though I cannot suggest breaking the law of South Africa I am hoping, for selfish reasons, that Madikizela-Mandela somehow makes it passed all objections and into the government.

Selfish?

As most of you are aware we were treated to a flexing of the muscle that is our mini-taxi industry during the course of Tuesday. If the scenes we witnessed on television when that mob handed a memorandum over to ANC general secretary Gwede Mantashe were a taste of what’s to come then I’m glad I’m not the recipient of any of those memos. As is set out in Section 1 of the How To Survive South Africa Act (1 of 1652): “Notwithstanding any laws elsewhere contained never ever ever fuck with the Minibus Taxi-Drivers.” (Foreigners are referred to any newspaper or medical journal for a copy of the section). The taxi drivers have now given the government 7 days to come up with answers to the issues placed before it or else lots more fun and games. I don’t know how many of you watched the faces of Mantashe and the ANC guys receiving the memorandum but I would imagine that they have already explained to Transport Minister Jeff Radebe the terms of Section 1 above as well as put in for sick leave next week.

When we had the xenophobia riots the government ministers had a very difficult time when they visited the masses. Some arrived late, others not at all but those that went to speak to the communities were told in no uncertain terms that our lot were not very pleased with the pace of transformation nor, for that matter, being overrun by foreigners either. Our government’s ability to bring those masses under control was — to say the very least — unimpressive. Eventually the army was put on standby but the muttering continued.

The ANC government that will be installed after the next election will lean far more over to the left and in conjunction with Cosatu and the SACP place far more emphasis on transformation and delivery than the one that was headed by former president Mbeki. Having said that factors such as the global financial crisis and an obvious refusal to deal with corruption and ineptitude may well impede its progress. This, to put it very mildly, will not be well-received among the masses of this country.

If that is the case and with the many examples of government failure to deal with accountability, never mind face the masses, the one person who would have the credibility and the courage to bring home the message that those crowds need to hear is Madikizela-Mandela. Her role in bringing calm from chaos could prove vital to the wellbeing of this country so it would be far better as a member of the cabinet with the added visibility that brings.

Let’s hope that she can clear the hurdles and take up her rightful place.