John Matshikiza
To those of us stuck in the conservative groove of seeing politics in terms of the titanic struggle between the African National Congress and the National Party, the African Christian Democratic Party was one of those bizarre phenomena that crowded the ballot paper at the first representative election in 1994.
Its success in getting two representatives into Parliament somewhat put a stop to the laughter. This time round, with a much higher profile, it is attacking with increased confidence.
The Reverend Kenneth Meshoe said his support base nationwide was very substantial, but for strategic reasons the ACDP was not going to divulge exact figures.
“People have been saying we are a small party all the time,” he said. “We see that as an advantage, because people are therefore not targeting us as a threat. If people know we are a party of thousands, they might try to do damage to us.”
He is prepared, however, to reveal that he is fielding 200 candidates. How well did he expect his 200 Christian soldiers to fare? “Very well. We are targeting a minimum of 20%, which is good for a party that got only 0,5% in the last election.”
This target would put him in line for leader of the opposition, and the reverend has been planning along these lines. “Tony Leon is telling everybody he is going to be the next leader of the opposition, but they are all going to be surprised. That is all I can say.”
Not all Meshoe’s colleagues see things in quite the same rosy light. Western Cape provincial chair Kevin Southgate predicted 10%, while Louis Green, national deputy president and the only other ACDP MP, said “anything from 5% upward would represent a significant increase” in the party’s fortunes.
Meshoe, the preacher from the Hope of Glory Tabernacle in Boksburg, is used to delivering extravagant promises to his congregation. It is his job to wave his arms in exhortation, giving hope where there is no reasonable expectation of better things to come.
But he stands for a huge constituency of born-again Christians of all colours. It is a constituency that has turned the tide of politics in other countries – Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan leaned heavily on it in the United States, and in South America it is a tide that is cutting a swathe through the traditional strongholds of Catholic politics.
Among the many born-again movements trying for parliamentary control – like the Isindiso Salvation Christian Voice Organisation and the Simunye in Christ Organisation – the ACDP is the star. Other born-again parties measure themselves against the success of the ACDP, and only refrain from joining Meshoebecause of crucial biblical differences of opinion.
The death penalty is the big one. Meshoe believes it should be reinstated. Johannes Kotze, leader of the one-man Christian Democratic Party (out of the race because it could not raise the registration fee) says the idea of taking a life is profoundly anti- Christian. “As a born-again Christian,” says Kotze, “I have to believe in forgiveness. There is no forgiveness in the death penalty … if you’ve killed him he’s no longer there to be forgiven.”
But the ACDP believes so profoundly in the death penalty that it voted against the new Constitution, even though it believed in its overall validity. It was, says Green, one of the low points of their parliamentary lives. But the implication is they would do it all again. Power over life and death is a non- negotiable moral obligation.
They also oppose gay rights and abortion. However, Meshoe is remembered for hounding Minister of Health Nkosazana Zuma about when Viagra would be available in South Africa, to the point where Zuma had to ask what interest this man of the cloth could have in the sexual performance drug.
It seems the born-again message is not just about fire and brimstone.