David Beresford
THE most powerful indictment of the death penalty ever produced in South Africa is arguably Alan Paton’s Cry the Beloved Country. But the man who plays the central role in the latest screen version of the novel has made a passionate appeal to Nelson Mandela: Hang them high!
Eric “Waku” Miyeni, the comedian, actor, playwright and director who play the part of Absalom – the young man hanged in the film – has written an open letter to the president saying the country needs executions to “get rid of its scum”.
The actor says: “Society needs to get rid of its scum, Mr President, because it is the most effective way to reaffirm our belief in the difference between right and wrong. When you live with squalor, it becomes that much harder to believe in
In South Africa, he says, “hell, you can molest a child, kill the next three, rape a few women and strangle them to death, carjack a doctor and shoot him to death at point-blank range, go home and murder your dad, get caught and the worst that will happen to you is you’ll end up in prison for life …”
Miyeni suggests to Mandela that the death penalty be re- introduced in three years’ time. In the meantime, “let’s allow the devil to dance among us as a sign of our humanity …
“Come three years we will admit that we are human and that some evils only God can have the strength to forgive. We will unblock the toilet and live in a house where we are not forced to look at squalor all the time. Why don’t we try this?”
Then South Africa will be able to make an unambiguous statement to killers, drug pushers and all the others who cross the line: “Only God can forgive them now.”
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