Is ET really a martyr?

Eugene Terre’blanche was murdered as he slept on Saturday night. Now ET was as controversial as they come in South Africa. To some he was a brave charismatic leader who went all out for his cause. To others he was an anachronism and a living embodiment of the darkness South Africa emerged from almost two decades ago. But the fact is, he wasn’t killed for what he stood for politically. Police, at this stage, this being Sunday morning, say the men had a dispute with ET over unpaid wages.

Now how often does this scenario play itself out in SA?

Fact is, all that is irrelevant when it comes to his murder. ET’s murder was just symbolic of the age old farm murder phenomena. By farm murder I mean farmers butchering their own staff as much as the other way. Farm life is in some instances a microcosm of the economic and social challenges facing South Africa. Criminal murders on farms have been blight on our new democracy as much as mistreatment and deprivation were and still are a reality in the old South Africa.

What the ET murder must wake us up to is the need to address a few key issues in our nation. Land reform is one of these. The working and living conditions of the downtrodden are another. Most importantly is the need to depoliticise crime in our nation and deal with it for what it is. Crime, I believe is largely a consequence of our social realities. Poverty, illiteracy, unskilled labour and now HIV/Aids. That is what we must fight to fight crime.

Making fool of ourselves blaming Julius, JZ, Zille and racist whites for what happened will not help any but those who hope to see SA remain divided. It is encouraging to hear that two suspects have already been held for ET’s murder. I hope justice makes it course swiftly and fully. A message needs to be sent out to criminals and society in general.

But let’s not make martyrs where none exist. Terre’Blanche is no more a martyr than the thousand of South Africans unjustly murdered each year.