In 2004 I appeared on a number of occasions in Protea Court, Soweto, in defence of a man who had been charged with murdering his fiancée by shooting her 5 times at point-blank range. As a leading member of her church the trial invariably drew enormous crowds from the community. In respect of the accused there was not a single family member or friend there; it was just him and me. Most of you reading this and without knowing the background to the case will, like those hostile crowds who attended court, simply see a murderer who needs to be hung and act as a deterrent to other criminals. In reality here was a tragedy which should never have even seen a courtroom or a conviction because of the mental state of the accused both at the time of the incident and thereafter.
In truth this matter was worthy of Romeo and Juliet and no punishment that the court imposed upon my client, which was severe, came anywhere near the self-hatred he visited upon himself. He literally shut down and refused to help himself even though there were defences as well as compelling mitigating circumstances in his favour. This translated itself on the ground into me being the monster for having defended this accused who was almost physically and mentally unable to stand up for himself. It was pointless people gunning for him because he was just a numb ball of pain who didn’t answer back so they took it out on the next best thing, me. Try and picture yourself at a court surrounded by hundreds (thousands?) of extremely angry people who are able to touch you, stab you or spit in your face with the closest policemen around 20 metres away. Going into a courtroom where every question you ask draws gasps and is construed as an insult to decency by a packed gallery. Imagine trying to cushion the sentence because your client won’t assist you with a defence yet any point you raise in mitigation of sentence is received by the spectators as if you had just confessed to shooting Bambi’s mother.
Why did I do it?
I could have earned far more money sitting at my desk doing lucrative cases and without the threat of violence every time I got to court. I could easily have lived without the seriously hostile environment where I was the target of the hostility. Press coverage was hardly noticeable unless you knew which case you were looking for. I did it because it was the right thing to do. I did it because being popular is not nor ever will be my starting point on any issue. Just as I know that shoving a mirror into the faces of South Africans and telling them to look closely at the real face of bigotry, racism and prejudice is the right thing to do.
Let’s start examining this with the headline to this article. When I started this blog and in order to obviate any doubts concerning my motives I gave the readers an undertaking that I would never ever join a political party, be it directly or indirectly, and if I ever did they could print that out and show people what an untrustworthy sod I truly am. I repeat that undertaking here. The headline is to disappoint those geniuses who must have danced over to this article going “I knew it”. If they ever did any research I wouldn’t have needed to put this into an article (previously in comments section) but it’s there now. It also removes the first preconceived idea ie that Traps is waiting for the nod from the ANC.
In terms of the political parties, I have over the period endorsed certain of the Democratic Alliance policies and the benefit to our democracy of having Cope on board. In addition I have tried to push for a political solution to end Zuma’s charges and when that did not materialise accepted that South Africa cannot have a candidate for president who is facing fraud and corruption charges. I thereafter confirmed that transformation is top priority in my book so I’m voting ANC. This translates — in popularity terms — as follows. All the parties, save the ANC, having a full go at me and asking how, if I have so many problems with individuals within the ANC, I can still vote for them? In terms of the ANC I have called for Zuma to step down — goodbye that faction — and hammered the Mbeki faction on Zimbabwe and assorted items, which alienates them. Accordingly in terms of popularity you can factor that at zero and then return to motive. If I can’t and won’t join a political party but remain adamant to the principle that the way forward has to put the emphasis on transforming our black community then the only motive I can have is that.
When xenophobia was at its height I went into those townships and found out the real grievances of our communities. Then when the government fobbed it off to criminals I let them understand what garbage it is to discount the real causes of our communities anger ie failure to deliver on promises allied to being overrun by foreigners who took away jobs and houses from South Africans, in the name of expedience. When I say that my biggest priority is transformation it is because I believe it.
Commercially I’m sure you can appreciate that my continued endorsement of AA, BEE and land reform has made me the darling of white South Africa and the corporates. Of course the fact that I called the price-fixing on bread the real crime of the century — in the face of the arms deal and the rest — made me much loved in boardrooms everywhere. Yet when it came to attacks on the Afrikaans community and racism on whites by government ministers I let them have it with both barrels. Of course the black guys reading that item were of the view that I was somehow trapped in apartheid. My craving for popularity just kept growing. (I’m trying to figure out if there is a South African left who I haven’t pissed off yet).
In order to go beyond our borders I let people know that I am an African from South Africa and I will, as in the case of Mugabe and Bashir, ask why Bush and Blair haven’t faced a war crimes trial if they want to prosecute our dictators. Not that I condone either of ours but Africans do feel that the system only works against the poorer countries. That was aimed at making me an attractive proposition in so far as the American and British markets go as well as endearing myself to the ex-pats here.
When I saw the government’s failure to take firm measures on misogyny and rape both here and at the UN they got it rammed down their throat. I then hammered the homophobia crowd because if we can’t treat people who are different to us decently then we must take a long look at ourselves. Knowing you lot this must have alienated a sizeable block all on its lonesome. Then I attacked Islamophobia and did a number of articles looking at various aspects of Islamic communities worldwide which had the Jewish community thinking “here we go — one of those left-wing liberals”. When I took on Cosatu regarding anti-Semitism that would have had the Muslim and black communities thinking anti-Muslim and racist.
That guys is just a small part of it and fortunately it’s all there. Click on home page and take a trip down memory lane.
Accordingly when I attack prejudice and hatred understand that it is because it is the right thing to do. In terms of winning friends and influencing people, forcing people to confront themselves isn’t going to make me very popular. People do not place it in context of your work as a whole and most consider it as an affront without taking the time to examine themselves and ask whether the criticism is fair or not. As a criminal attorney who has spent a lot of time in court defending people who have been prejudged and found guilty by the public, the media and the majority of people who work for the state, I understand the concepts of preconceived ideas and prejudice.
Start seeing people as individuals and avoiding the blur which comes from generalities like blacks are … Jews are … Muslims are … gays are … ad nausea. Also avoid judging people too quickly because karma has a nasty habit of turning that wheel. In addition the next time you read one of my articles attacking racists or bigots try to assess it without bringing the “bigot formula” to bear. If he condemns homophobia he must be gay, Islamophobia he must be an anti-Semite and if he tackles racism it’s because he’s a screaming red radical commie.
I have taken the time to do this article because each topic gets sidetracked by people using the bigot formula rather than examining the issue and themselves. Now I can give them an overview in terms hereof and if they are interested they can scroll back.
I do it because it’s the right thing to do as unpopular as it sometimes makes me.
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