The ANC's gift to the world: freedom of political choice and self-expression

The best gift the ANC has offered to dissidents that it now calls its “prodigal sons” is the right of political choice and freedom of association. After all, it is a voluntary organisation.

It is for this reason that, so far, the ruling ANC has acted decisively and strongly to successfully halt its members from killing fellow Africans over differences of opinion and political conviction. We cannot afford to have Sam Shilowa, Terror Lekota or any of their followers die the death of a hero.

Over the decades, far too many ANC people have been martyrs in the age-long struggle of South Africans for the right to freedom of association, thought, expression and political belief. There is no need to add new names of peace time heroes to legendary men and women who have paid the highest prize for us to enjoy these freedoms, which are now enshrined in our constitution. The death of any citizen of this country for holding a different political belief or choice of party will be avoided at all costs.

In fact, it will not be enough for the ANC, particularly, to issue press statement or use political platforms, fundraising dinners, rallies or radio news bulletins to condemn this madness. More is, and will always be, demanded from the “Mother of all African political parties,” the ANC.

It was not too long ago that the townships witnessed bombs and bullets, which took the lives of fearless ANC fighters for freedom. They were murdered by Askaris, white agents and other sell-outs because they belonged to no other body but the ANC. Far too many homes have been turned into a shambles simply because apartheid fascists and their surrogates in the Bantustans wanted to tell instinctive ANC supporters who their leaders should be. For decades, people who identified and related to what the ANC was about lived in abnormal circumstances of getting used to shaken peace and tranquility in their humble homes because of lack political intolerance.

To be ANC was to be hunted down like an animal. Thus under no circumstances must disciplined ANC members descend to hooligan behaviour. The disruption of any oppositional political activities would constitute the political lynching of a special kind.
It would be a threat to the very foundations of hard won democracy brought about through the multi-faceted struggle of the ANC. In fact, any threat to freedom of association would be the murder of everything that the ANC “broad church” has espoused for almost 100 years – political diversity and tolerance.

Of course, the aim of the ANC struggle was not to turn the party into a false dictatorship that forces everybody in the land to support its leadership without choice. Instead, it was to grant all citizens of this country freedom of choice and the right to political conviction and self-expression. So, there should be no hooligans in the ANC who threaten to behead those who are foolish enough to walk out of the ANC in pursuit of false hopes.

One expects disciplined members of the ANC to understand that for the organisations to be strong, they need to exercise self restraint and pursue grass roots mobilisation to convince the people of the rightness of what they stand for.

No member of any oppositional political organisation should be buried as a hero because they have allegedly been killed by some misguided hot-heads who think the people owe the ANC their support. There should be no kidnappings. No person who has chosen to leave the ANC should be framed on trumped up charges of abusing the structures of the organisation.

As president Jacob Zuma has pronounced, you cannot burn your membership of the ANC and still have it. There should be no stories of anyone who has been shot in cold blood by political bandits because they have decided to quit the oldest liberation movement in the African continent.

The leadership of the ruling ANC is not just about mouthing platitudes. In fact, it has pledged to halt its membership from turning into dastardly assassins.

Oh yes, the ANC is a strong party that can do much better than kill people over difference of opinion. It is a party that makes it possible for Africans to remain true to the ideals of the majority rule, principles of the Freedom Charter and the memory of all those who died for this freedom and democracy.

The ANC will prove to the world that it is does not have political terrorists in its ranks.
There will be peaceful and fair elections. If there is no one who dies for their political convictions in the hands of an ANC members, it will mean that truly freedom, justice and peace will truly rings from every hall, home, school, mine, district and corner of this country.

It is only when the ANC, itself, smashes any ill-disciplined members, that the people of this country and the whole world will breath a sigh of relief. This, to me, is the ANC’s best gift to South Africa: a culture of democracy, freedom of association and political expression.

There is no need to fear. We have enjoyed freedom of political association and tolerance for the last 15 years.

Thanks to the ANC!!!