Studying Evasion 101
Is Luthuli House teaching Evasion 101? What other explanation can there be for the fact that African National Congress senior members in the crosshairs of various crises all trot out the same sorry set of excuses?
These excuses fall into four general categories:
l “I may look crooked but I’m really a victim.” Into this category falls the hoary old defence that one has fallen prey to a vast and unexplained conspiracy, sometimes racial, and that the conspirators are in cahoots with the media.
Examples: ANC chief whip Mbulelo Goniwe’s claim that reports of his intern-fondling activities stem from “a systematic campaign of vilification and character-assassination”, and National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi’s charge that the entire Agliotti saga boils down to former airport security boss Paul O’Sullivan. Jacob Zuma and his mouthpiece Cosatu have alleged plots by every institution under the sun, including the media, the Presidency and the prosecuting authorities. Also into this category falls President Thabo Mbeki’s pious declaration that he does not want the embattled Selebi to be “tried by the media”.
l “When you know the truth, you’ll understand.” This includes the often-used dodges “I’ll explain it all at the right time”, and “It’ll all come out in the right forum”.
Examples: When the Travelgate allegations surfaced, Goniwe’s response that he would only state his case “at the right time and on the proper platform”; Zuma’s constant unrealised promises that he will spill the beans; and Mbeki’s plea, on Selebi, that South Africans should “trust me”.
l “My hands are tied by respect for the courts/internal government procedures/ the investigation.”
Examples: Goniwe’s declaration that he has “faith in the [ANC] disciplinary committee — there the facts will be separated from fiction”, and the ritual insistence, by erring politicians confronted by the media, that the allegations against them are “sub judice”.
l “Even if my/his/her explanation is ludicrous, I/he/she have not been found guilty in a court of law.”
Examples: Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula’s insistence that “we are not going to witch hunt” unless presented with “concrete evidence” in the Selebi matter.
Apart from a sad lack of imagination, what the excuses share is an underlying reluctance to take responsibility for one’s actions and the tendency of those in authority to feather-bed politically powerful wrongdoers, while creating distractions in the shape of conspiracy theories tossed about with abandon. In evidence is also the struggle tradition of washing dirty linen internally while putting up a show of unity.
In the process we erode constitutional values and steadily begin to accept a leadership where the lowest common denominator comes to dominate.
There are no winners
So much for the first week of democracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Supporters of the losing presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba clashed with police and the army outside the Supreme Court in Kinshasa, where judges were deliberating his challenge. The judges were forced to flee the building when it was set alight. There can be no more graphic symbol of a lack of respect for the nascent system than this.
Sadly, few observers of the long and arduous process that has been the Congolese elections are surprised. President Joseph Kabila’s supporters did exactly the same thing after the first round. Boys will be boys. But this is not a game.
The war in the DRC has been tragic — three million people died in five years. Spoilers spit on their graves, for peace and possible prosperity are finally on the DRC’s agenda. What better way to ensure that they did not die for naught?
The political and financial investment in bringing peace and democracy to the DRC has been substantial. Donors — South Africa, the United States, France, Belgium and the European Union — have ploughed financial and human resources into the country in order to hold the election. The democratic dividend in the DRC can help bolster peace across the entire Central Africa region, bringing tantalising hope for the continent.
The DRC is the size of Western Europe but has less than 1Â 000km of tarred road, and electoral material for the country’s 24-million registered voters has had to be ferried around largely by air and river transport.
What must happen now? Bemba must respect the will of the people and Kabila should give serious thought to how he will bring him into the new Âsystem in a viable form of power-sharing. The winner-takes-all model of politics is out of vogue across the globe.