Don’t get me wrong: I don’t believe contemporary politics is about tribalism. The current division is not amaXhosa Mbeki-ites vs amaZulu Zuma-ites. Ethnic differences barely count in the contemporary clashes over succession.
But, still, there is something about the history of the amaXhosa that just conceivably has a bearing on the way things are.
The point is that it took the British a century and nine frontier wars to subjugate the Eastern Cape. The reason is said to lie largely in the fragmented social structure of Xhosa society at the time. When one chieftainship forcibly acceded to conquest, others fell outside their jurisdiction and continued the fight. Some sub-groups allied with the colonisers; others transferred allegiances forward and back as a result of intra-Xhosa disputes.
It was a different story in Zululand, where an entire nation more or less surrendered when their king was compelled to concede defeat. (Bambatha being an exception.)
This specifically Eastern Cape history gave South Africa a legacy of resistance and leaders of the calibre of Biko, Sobukwe, Mandela and Sisulu.
But it also entailed immense intrigue and factionalism. Some would say this was only temporarily subsumed during the struggle years, and the associated underground conditions and centralising Soviet influence. Undeniably, however, fractiousness is a style that colours mainstream politics today.
Current divisions in the ANC may therefore, in a very broad sense, be related back to the indigenous political culture of Cape colonial times.
This isn’t to say that South Africans of whatever heritage are prisoners of tradition. It is only to muse on historical lineages, and posit that the squabbling character of politics today may owe something to history.
However, if indeed the fount of our national politics was not one of monolithic populism or obedient authoritarianism, that’s also something to celebrate.
It’s possibly one reason why Thabo Mbeki, as powerful as he has been, has ended up today back to the wall. Contestation is part of our make up.
It’s this same political culture that will block any future despot from successfully consolidating control of the country.
Right now, political camps and cliques don’t make an edifying spectacle. But they’re a good guarantee of democracy in the medium term.
A prince with dignity and determination
Prince Ngarambe’s goals are to become Rwanda’s first transgender model and to uplift the country’s youth
The EFF’s principles are unshakeable
Unlike the ANC, the core values of the freedom fighters do not change with each leader it elects
