Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse. Photo: Lindo Mbhele
South Africa desperately needs a social, political and cultural revolution, all unfolding at the same time, to save the country from the impending political disaster, likened to the Armageddon.
These words come from the mouth of foremost South Africa’s singer and songwriter, Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, in an interview with the Mail & Guardian.
“We have to avoid an Armageddon, and to me a social, political and cultural revolution appears to be something we must resort to — the ideals embodied by our foremost political icon, Nelson Mandela, whom we must see as a model around which our own lives should be formed.
“The father of the nation, Madiba, embraced, without being naïve, ideas espoused by others, even by his political rivals, as long as they were sound and rational.
“He was level-headed; he listened carefully, without prejudice, to words of those who did not subscribe to his school of thought — evaluated and reflected upon them, caring not only for his political party, but more about words of wisdom, wherever they may be coming from.
“I am urging the cultural artists to lead the way; to use their music, poetry, their whole being, to appeal for justice in our country, especially among parliamentary representatives, legislatures, and council chambers.
“I appeal to the hearts of the nation to work towards peace, justice, to prevail, and not for war and racial prejudice.
“South Africa has become, for the past 15 years or so, a precariously unstable democracy because we have deviated from Madiba’s teachings, and resorted to playing politics of race and social exclusion.
“Politicians in parliament so often resort to dangerous political rhetoric and brinksmanship, and substantially fail to deal constructively with bread-and-butter issues. It is all wish-washy, as politicians produce meaningless speeches, teeming with racial bigotry.
“The poetry and music of revolutionary poets, such as Don Mattera, Ingrid Jonker, Wally Serote, Dennis Brutus, Keorapetsi Kgositsile, Maishe Maponya, Sipho Mabuse and others, should come to the fore to tame the unreasonableness of our politicians who, 31 years after the demise of apartheid, continue to be beholden to ideas of race and colour, more than dealing with ideas of creating wealth, and the reconstruction of the country through sound economic policies.
“These tendencies are taking our country nowhere … I am challenging our cultural artists and musicians to take a leaf out of Bob Marley’s life — to use their music and poetry to promote a nuanced cultural revolution, which condemns all forms of bullying, racial rhetoric, political rhetoric, to put down or belittle others because of race or social standing.
“Career politicians, those in our parliament, legislatures and council chambers, are failing us in a big way.
“They show tendencies of being self-absorbed, by not thinking more about the well-being of communities they are meant to serve. It is all about them and little about the electorate who vote for them to serve their interests and welfare.
“Yes, we need revolutionary poets and cultural activists, working alongside communities, to propagate for change.”
Armageddon is symbolic. It relates to “a final and decisive confrontation” described in scriptures as depicting a showdown between good and evil, with the good eventually emerging triumphant.
The Nelson Mandela era of the early 1990s through the April 27, 1994 miracle, foreshadowed the reality that it was possible for the good to overcome the evil as was reflected by the demise of apartheid, which was an evil system based on false doctrine of racial stereotypes.
Mandela’s presidency embraced all the people of the world. Even “outsiders” — those who were not members of his political party — were invited to join the “bandwagon of justice”.
His thinking was shaped by the doctrine espoused in the Freedom Charter’s proposition that argues for the land restitution of the land, yet arguing that “the land belongs to all who live in it, black and white” — a proposition that is contested by the Africanist movement, even Africanists within the ANC.
Yet Mandela, while fully understanding the position, was firmly of the view, and unshaken in his belief, that despite ideological differences, people should be allowed to coexist, to choose, without ideological strictures, to do what they preferred.
He forcefully argued the charter should shape the thinking of a diverse country, accepting the reality that even as we are members of different cultures and backgrounds, “we all belong together”, and are entitled to equal rights accruing from the Constitution.
The apartheid rule and its injustices of social separation and economic exclusion of black people in the mainstream economy, which formally came into existence in 1948, was defeated — proving that evil can be defeated by the common good.
Men and women of goodwill, from all walks of life coalesced around Madiba and Desmond Tutu’s nation ideal.
This envisaged a promise of “a better life” under the rubric of constitutional democracy, with the architects of apartheid urged to recant and reconcile and to also become part of new land committed to constitutionalism, spurning all that was evil brought about by the apartheid divisive doctrine.
However, 31 years down the line, the land of Madiba and Tutu has been infiltrated to the core by all kinds of political miscreants — a telltale sign of disintegration that first began to rear its ugly head at the end of 2007, when Jacob Zuma was about to ascend to power.
The ruction-filled ANC Polokwane 52nd national conference of December 2007 was to exacerbate tensions, and lead to the demise of Thabo Mbeki’s presidency in 2008.
The beginning of Zuma’s presidency, the day after Mbeki was forced to resign, was marked by bad governance, committed to using state resources for the enrichment of the party elites.
With that background in mind Mabuse, almost as a command, is committed to being part of a cultural movement that will, through its cultural articulations, ensure that politicians serve the people who elected them to power rather than themselves.
“Bob Marley did it, using his gigs to change the oppressive systems of injustice prevalent in the world,” Mabuse said.
Who can forget Marley’s songs agitating for justice in the world: the freedom songs included Redemption Song — a song calling for mental emancipation; Get Up, Stand Up — a rallying cry for human rights; War, an anthem against oppression; and No Woman, No Cry, a message about hope in the midst of darkness?
“We as South African cultural artists must use our voices to loudly speak to our government and those in public service to serve more the public than themselves.
“I have no doubt that when we do this, many will follow the cue, and do the same. Our country is calling us to take action, to agitate for a cultural revolution to help change the current status quo.
“We have to help South Africa to avoid a wasteland possibility that has visited our neighbour, Zimbabwe and other African countries in which failed democracy resulted in tears and abject poverty,” Mabuse said.
Mabuse was born in Soweto at the tail end of 1951 at the time when the apartheid regime was three years old, with the National Party having come to power by winning the all-white election of 1948.
“The years of my birth, and all the children born under apartheid, were difficult. We saw as teens and young people, through the years in which apartheid was legalised, the Sharpeville massacre of 1960, the Soweto student uprisings of 1976, and the Boipatong massacre of 1992, all perpetuated in the name of apartheid.
“We need to avoid the repeat that befell our people during the apartheid years, and I am calling for cultural artists, including musicians and poets and writers, to join in a cultural revolution to change the hearts and minds of politicians, urging them to do the right thing and serve communities, and to stop using demeaning language to score political points and to pursue political agendas not contributing to nation building.
“Some of our leaders continue to use discriminatory language for political capital. That needs to stop. Leaders must lead, and should do so ethically,” said Mabuse.
Jo-Mangaliso Mdhlela is an independent journalist, a social justice activist, a former trade unionist, and an Anglican priest.