- An enigmatic leader and hero 23 Apr 2008
Marlan Padayachee BY the time that Chanderdeo George Sewpershad died a year ago, he had brought together the old-school activists and young Turks of the anti-apartheid struggle for human rights and social justice in South Africa. He died of cancer in Durban on May 18. President Thabo Mbeki will be presenting the Order of Luthuli Award, South Africa’s highest honour, posthumously to him in Parliament this week, along with awards to men and women who have contributed to nation-building.An ordinary attorney who ran an unsophisticated legal office in Verulam, Sewpershad made a huge contribution to the fight against apartheid. Detention and house arrests were some of the perils of his political life.Sewpershad was an enigmatic leader of the Natal Indian Congress, a patriotic front of the banned African National Congress (ANC) and the United Democratic Front, an internal resistance movement with Trevor Manuel and Patrick “Terror” Lekota at the helm. These formations were the Congress Alliance and its leaders campaigned in concert.Founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1894 to fight colonialism, the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) was resurrected in the seventies, placing Sewpershad, M. J. Naidoo and others in the firing line against apartheid.Inspired and influenced by India’s independence heroes, Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, Sewpershad found a political home in an ideological blend of socialism and communism so that he could make his mark against social injustices at home.After a youthful debut in resistance politics in Cato Manor, he matured into an unassuming leader, often sharing the podium with his legal colleague, Moorgiah Naidoo. Together these lawyers repositioned the NIC as the voice of Indians at the forefront of the struggle for freedom.The NIC weathered the storms of apartheid’s political re-engineering of luring Indians into the parliamentary laager. Sewpershad led campaigns to neutralise the conservative thrust of self-styled representatives such as A. M. Rajab, J. N. Reddy and Amichand Rajbansi who tried to swing Indians away from the black people’s quest for freedom.In the final analysis, Indians were saved from the wrath of a black backlash and their role in the anti-apartheid struggle gave them credibility and respect in the eyes of Nelson Mandela and the ANC leadership in the run-up to the peaceful transition to democracy in 1994.At his memorial service at Durban’s Kendra Hall, a giant collage of his fighting days greeted former activists who cherished his work and admired his leadership style, as speakers, including Judge Pius Langa of the Constitutional Court, praised one man and his life’s work.As the new South Africa moves ahead, it is hoped that Sewpershad will be remembered as a profound thinker who was philosophical in his interpretations about the evils of apartheid, the role of lawyers in a political struggle and the reasons for the demise of apartheid, and powerful in his views on communism, socialism, capitalism and the new world order. He is admired for his insights on the ANC, Pan Africanist Congress, United Democratic Front, Black Consciousness Movement, Inkatha Freedom Party, Nationalist Party, Tri-cameral System, Sunset Clause and the Codesa convention that led to the 1994 elections, later the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He was also insightful about Karl Marx’s philosophy, the concepts of freedom, revolution, democracy and the Hindu scriptures, and how to combine these intellectual tools with the political ideology to solve social ills. - MARLAN PADAYACHEE is a freelance journalist and media communications strategist. This article was published in the Natal Witness in Pietermaritzburg, one of South Africa's oldest newspapers.
0 comments:
Friday, April 25, 2008
An enigmatic leader and hero
Sunday, April 20, 2008
World Congress on Radiographers
Radiographers head for World Congress in Durban
By Marlan Padayachee
M
ORE than 1 200 local and international delegates are heading for Durban this week for the four-day World Congress of the International Society of Radiography and Radiological Technologists, entitled Interweaving Global Images” at the International Convention Centre from 24-27 April.
Dr Fozy Peer, Leonie Munro and Yogi Govender, all of Durban and long-standing members of the Society of Radiographers of South Africa, were instrumental in winning the bid to hold the first conference in Africa.
The trio forms the nucleus of the congress committee that will oversee the running of the mammoth conference that gets underway at the city’s premier convention centre this Thursday, followed by three intensive days of business. However, delegates will experience the sights and sounds of the city when they are treated to a welcome party sponsored by the eThekwini Municipality and Durban Africa at the uShaka Marine World on Friday night.
Congress convener and member of the ISRRT Board, Dr Peer, said at the weekend: “After we lost the first bid, we pulled through by a majority vote at the ISRRT congress in Amsterdam in 2004. Since this vote of confidence in our capacity to organize a congress of this size and stature, it has been non-stop work to ensure that we put our best foot forward and deliver the first African World Congress to the international community.
“We are proud that this event will put radiography on the map, thereby sharpening the public profile of a profession that has been in the frontline of the medical and healthcare sectors,” she said.
“There are so many ‘firsts’ about this event. It is taking place for the first time in a developing continent and for the first time, South African radiographers in all four categories in future will be able to open their own private practices and the role of our colleagues will also be extended so that they could fully utilise their skills and expertise alongside other professionals in the public and private-sector medical and healthcare industry,” added Munro.
She said radiography was a worldwide “scarce skill” and the congress could stimulate interest in the school- leaving market in KwaZulu-Natal and the rest of the country.
Govender said the congress would serve to enhance the profession and provide an excellent platform for the exchange, interaction and transfer of academic and technical expertise, skills and knowledge economy.
“Tourism and the hospitality industry will stand to benefit and gain substantially from the flow of foreign exchange during the week-long conference. We are thrilled that job-creation will get a shot in the arm as Durban sets about to serve the more than thousand delegates from almost 50 countries, including India, the United States, Australia, Britain, China, Barbados and Estonia,” she said.
Ends
Produced and Dispatched by Marlan Padayachee, Congress Media Liaison and Publicist
084 519 5931 or 031 266 5599/266 1762, or greengold@telkomsa.net
By Marlan Padayachee
M
ORE than 1 200 local and international delegates are heading for Durban this week for the four-day World Congress of the International Society of Radiography and Radiological Technologists, entitled Interweaving Global Images” at the International Convention Centre from 24-27 April.
Dr Fozy Peer, Leonie Munro and Yogi Govender, all of Durban and long-standing members of the Society of Radiographers of South Africa, were instrumental in winning the bid to hold the first conference in Africa.
The trio forms the nucleus of the congress committee that will oversee the running of the mammoth conference that gets underway at the city’s premier convention centre this Thursday, followed by three intensive days of business. However, delegates will experience the sights and sounds of the city when they are treated to a welcome party sponsored by the eThekwini Municipality and Durban Africa at the uShaka Marine World on Friday night.
Congress convener and member of the ISRRT Board, Dr Peer, said at the weekend: “After we lost the first bid, we pulled through by a majority vote at the ISRRT congress in Amsterdam in 2004. Since this vote of confidence in our capacity to organize a congress of this size and stature, it has been non-stop work to ensure that we put our best foot forward and deliver the first African World Congress to the international community.
“We are proud that this event will put radiography on the map, thereby sharpening the public profile of a profession that has been in the frontline of the medical and healthcare sectors,” she said.
“There are so many ‘firsts’ about this event. It is taking place for the first time in a developing continent and for the first time, South African radiographers in all four categories in future will be able to open their own private practices and the role of our colleagues will also be extended so that they could fully utilise their skills and expertise alongside other professionals in the public and private-sector medical and healthcare industry,” added Munro.
She said radiography was a worldwide “scarce skill” and the congress could stimulate interest in the school- leaving market in KwaZulu-Natal and the rest of the country.
Govender said the congress would serve to enhance the profession and provide an excellent platform for the exchange, interaction and transfer of academic and technical expertise, skills and knowledge economy.
“Tourism and the hospitality industry will stand to benefit and gain substantially from the flow of foreign exchange during the week-long conference. We are thrilled that job-creation will get a shot in the arm as Durban sets about to serve the more than thousand delegates from almost 50 countries, including India, the United States, Australia, Britain, China, Barbados and Estonia,” she said.
Ends
Produced and Dispatched by Marlan Padayachee, Congress Media Liaison and Publicist
084 519 5931 or 031 266 5599/266 1762, or greengold@telkomsa.net
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Call to vote with your heads, not your hearts
December 13, 2007 Edition 1 - Pretoria News SOUTH AFRICA
I believe that Africa's oldest and highly profiled liberation movement is at a crossroads.
After 14 years of rule, the ANC is still battling with the pangs of post-apartheid freedom, as manifested by the robust exchanges between the comrades.
Nevertheless, the ANC still enjoys mass-based support on a scale that is almost unrivalled in the world, despite its current wrangles.
Xhosas and Zulus, Hindus and Muslims, English-speakers and Afrikaners, Jews and Christians, Khoisans and "Coloureds", have all found shelter in the "broad church" of the ANC.
The collective leadership of the ANC, from Luthuli to Tambo to Mandela, set a very high standard of leadership.
It is through these men that South Africans were able to find a common purpose.
Throughout the Struggle, many people sacrificed their lives, careers, properties and families in support of the ANC, which many times appeared to be fighting a losing battle against the apartheid regime.
Yet, despite the high cost of victory, being the "broad church" that it is, the ANC was big enough to forgive and shelter apartheid collaborators in the new democracy - something that may be a festering source of irritation among loyalists.
Experts will concede that politics is an agent of change, a powerful catalyst that strives to accommodate divergent groups in a peaceful union.
The ANC has governed remarkably since the transition.
The fact that the 2010 Fifa World Cup is to be staged here is proof of the confidence we inspire as a nation.
We are the heartbeat of Africa.
Sadly, not everything the ANC has done has been a success.
Black Economic Empowerment is seen by many as a "get rich quick" scheme that favours the few at the expense of many.
It is policies like this that have created a dangerous chasm between Luthuli House and the masses.
While the leadership is engaging each other in a no-holds-barred tussle in Polokwane for the presidency, ordinary supporters are hoping the ANC can once again unite the masses in this turbulent time.
Unity remains uppermost in the minds of those who have given so much and suffered so much for the ANC.
The dream of a non-racial and non-sexist democracy, sprinkled with ubuntu and defined by the spirit of ubuntu and batho pele is still a cherished one - and one that has yet to be fully realised.
In the ANC, populist leaders will come and go.
The "broad church" that is the ANC will weather the storms and stand proudly in the sunshine that follows, held up by the pillars of unity, non-racialism, social justice and human rights.
Now is therefore the time for a clarion call to disciplined delegates to vote with their heads, and not their hearts, to set into motion a holistic strategy of putting the interests of all South Africans first.
Unite us.
Marlan Padayachee
Dateline: Pretoria, South Africa
13.12.2007
First published in the Pretoria News
I believe that Africa's oldest and highly profiled liberation movement is at a crossroads.
After 14 years of rule, the ANC is still battling with the pangs of post-apartheid freedom, as manifested by the robust exchanges between the comrades.
Nevertheless, the ANC still enjoys mass-based support on a scale that is almost unrivalled in the world, despite its current wrangles.
Xhosas and Zulus, Hindus and Muslims, English-speakers and Afrikaners, Jews and Christians, Khoisans and "Coloureds", have all found shelter in the "broad church" of the ANC.
The collective leadership of the ANC, from Luthuli to Tambo to Mandela, set a very high standard of leadership.
It is through these men that South Africans were able to find a common purpose.
Throughout the Struggle, many people sacrificed their lives, careers, properties and families in support of the ANC, which many times appeared to be fighting a losing battle against the apartheid regime.
Yet, despite the high cost of victory, being the "broad church" that it is, the ANC was big enough to forgive and shelter apartheid collaborators in the new democracy - something that may be a festering source of irritation among loyalists.
Experts will concede that politics is an agent of change, a powerful catalyst that strives to accommodate divergent groups in a peaceful union.
The ANC has governed remarkably since the transition.
The fact that the 2010 Fifa World Cup is to be staged here is proof of the confidence we inspire as a nation.
We are the heartbeat of Africa.
Sadly, not everything the ANC has done has been a success.
Black Economic Empowerment is seen by many as a "get rich quick" scheme that favours the few at the expense of many.
It is policies like this that have created a dangerous chasm between Luthuli House and the masses.
While the leadership is engaging each other in a no-holds-barred tussle in Polokwane for the presidency, ordinary supporters are hoping the ANC can once again unite the masses in this turbulent time.
Unity remains uppermost in the minds of those who have given so much and suffered so much for the ANC.
The dream of a non-racial and non-sexist democracy, sprinkled with ubuntu and defined by the spirit of ubuntu and batho pele is still a cherished one - and one that has yet to be fully realised.
In the ANC, populist leaders will come and go.
The "broad church" that is the ANC will weather the storms and stand proudly in the sunshine that follows, held up by the pillars of unity, non-racialism, social justice and human rights.
Now is therefore the time for a clarion call to disciplined delegates to vote with their heads, and not their hearts, to set into motion a holistic strategy of putting the interests of all South Africans first.
Unite us.
Marlan Padayachee
Dateline: Pretoria, South Africa
13.12.2007
First published in the Pretoria News
Friday, December 14, 2007
Thanks for the laugh - the enterprising Google search for Zuma Jacob in Texas
Thanks for the laugh!
From: MARLAN PADAYACHEE
Westville
With all the high drama (or high stakes) ahead of what I believe will be popularised as the "Polokwane Presidency", the piece by Peter Fabricius, “Will the real Jacob Zuma stand up and be counted?” provided a good light-hearted read, in the reporter's Google search for JZ in Texas.
During this "silly season" we tend to be too serious of life under the rainbow (but don't drop your guard on crime, corruption and domestic violence), so here's hoping that those chronicling the political jamboree will also bring out the humour, side-shows and anecdotes to enrich us with the other side of the split-personality of the ANC.
Dateline: Durban South Africa
Published on Page 6 in Independent on Saturday, December 15, 2007, South Africa
From: MARLAN PADAYACHEE
Westville
With all the high drama (or high stakes) ahead of what I believe will be popularised as the "Polokwane Presidency", the piece by Peter Fabricius, “Will the real Jacob Zuma stand up and be counted?” provided a good light-hearted read, in the reporter's Google search for JZ in Texas.
During this "silly season" we tend to be too serious of life under the rainbow (but don't drop your guard on crime, corruption and domestic violence), so here's hoping that those chronicling the political jamboree will also bring out the humour, side-shows and anecdotes to enrich us with the other side of the split-personality of the ANC.
Dateline: Durban South Africa
Published on Page 6 in Independent on Saturday, December 15, 2007, South Africa
Thursday, December 13, 2007
ANC members must vote with their heads
ANC members must vote with their heads
In response to the commentaries, analysis and reporting in the run-up to the simmering tensions within the African National Congress en route to Polokwane, I believe Africa’s oldest liberation movement is at the crossroads.
Widely regarded as the ‘broad church’ by supporters who have revered the ANC, it still enjoys mass-based support that is almost unrivalled in the world.
Under the flagship of the shield, spear and wheel emblem, Xhosas and Zulus, Hindus and Muslims, English and Afrikaners, Jews and Christians, Khoisans and coloureds, have found each other in this ‘broad church’.
The collective leadership of the ANC, from Luthuli, Mandela, Tambo, and others, set a high standard for the party.
In the past 96 years, too many people have given too much, having sacrificed their lives, careers, properties and families in their loyal support of the ANC.
The ‘broad church’ that it is, the ANC was big enough to forgive and shelter apartheid collaborators in the new democracy. But experts will concede that politics is in itself an agent of change, a powerful catalyst that strives to accommodate divergent groups to give peace a chance.
While the ANC has governed remarkably since the changing of the guards, with the 2010 FIFA World Cup coup cited as one of its most spectacular successes, there have also been many shortfalls in its political portfolio.
It is precisely the sharp contrasts and anomalies, such as the ‘get-rich’ scheme that favours the political elite via Black Economic Empowerment versus the crumbs for the cadres that has created a dangerous chasm between Luthuli House and the masses.
While the leadership is engaging each other in a gloves-off tussle for the Polokwane presidency, ordinary supporters and admirers, from intellectuals to teenagers who wear the green, gold and black colours with pride, are looking to this ‘broad church’ to unite a country that is still grappling with a myriad post-apartheid socio-economic challenges.
Unity remains uppermost in the minds of those who have given so much, suffered so much. for the ANC.
The dream of a non-racial and non-sexist democracy, sprinkled with ubuntu (humaneness) and batho pele (putting people first), is still cherished by those who have put their very lives and careers on the line for this utopian dream.
In the ANC, individuals, iconic leaders and populists will come and go.
The ‘broad church’ that is the ANC will weather the storms and the sunshine, standing firmly on its pillars of unity, non-racialism, social justice and human rights to be judged by history.
Now is therefore the time for a clarion call to disciplined delegates to vote with their heads, and not their hearts, to set into motion a broad-brush, holistic, collective and global strategy of putting the interest of all South Africans first and far above party politics.
MARLAN PADAYACHEE
Westville
South Africa
Dateline: Durban, South Africa: Published on Page 12 Daily News (South Africa) on 12 December 2007
In response to the commentaries, analysis and reporting in the run-up to the simmering tensions within the African National Congress en route to Polokwane, I believe Africa’s oldest liberation movement is at the crossroads.
Widely regarded as the ‘broad church’ by supporters who have revered the ANC, it still enjoys mass-based support that is almost unrivalled in the world.
Under the flagship of the shield, spear and wheel emblem, Xhosas and Zulus, Hindus and Muslims, English and Afrikaners, Jews and Christians, Khoisans and coloureds, have found each other in this ‘broad church’.
The collective leadership of the ANC, from Luthuli, Mandela, Tambo, and others, set a high standard for the party.
In the past 96 years, too many people have given too much, having sacrificed their lives, careers, properties and families in their loyal support of the ANC.
The ‘broad church’ that it is, the ANC was big enough to forgive and shelter apartheid collaborators in the new democracy. But experts will concede that politics is in itself an agent of change, a powerful catalyst that strives to accommodate divergent groups to give peace a chance.
While the ANC has governed remarkably since the changing of the guards, with the 2010 FIFA World Cup coup cited as one of its most spectacular successes, there have also been many shortfalls in its political portfolio.
It is precisely the sharp contrasts and anomalies, such as the ‘get-rich’ scheme that favours the political elite via Black Economic Empowerment versus the crumbs for the cadres that has created a dangerous chasm between Luthuli House and the masses.
While the leadership is engaging each other in a gloves-off tussle for the Polokwane presidency, ordinary supporters and admirers, from intellectuals to teenagers who wear the green, gold and black colours with pride, are looking to this ‘broad church’ to unite a country that is still grappling with a myriad post-apartheid socio-economic challenges.
Unity remains uppermost in the minds of those who have given so much, suffered so much. for the ANC.
The dream of a non-racial and non-sexist democracy, sprinkled with ubuntu (humaneness) and batho pele (putting people first), is still cherished by those who have put their very lives and careers on the line for this utopian dream.
In the ANC, individuals, iconic leaders and populists will come and go.
The ‘broad church’ that is the ANC will weather the storms and the sunshine, standing firmly on its pillars of unity, non-racialism, social justice and human rights to be judged by history.
Now is therefore the time for a clarion call to disciplined delegates to vote with their heads, and not their hearts, to set into motion a broad-brush, holistic, collective and global strategy of putting the interest of all South Africans first and far above party politics.
MARLAN PADAYACHEE
Westville
South Africa
Dateline: Durban, South Africa: Published on Page 12 Daily News (South Africa) on 12 December 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Violence continues against women
WOMEN in South Africa continue to receive the short end of the stick as more and more become the new victims of rape, abuse and domestic violence.
A young democracy, but a strong patriarchal society with a liberal human rights policy against convicted criminals, including rapists and murderers, SA is fraught with serious problems linked to domestic violence and the abuse of women and children, with rape said to be the highest in the world.
Since November 25, the country has been campaigning hard during the 16 Days of No Violence against Women.
MARLAN PADAYACHEE, a former member of the Durban-based Advice Desk for the Abused, reflects on some of the issues that made news in the past years.
In this post-modern world, the stoning to death of any human being, and not just a woman, is totally unacceptable, if not downright barbaric. A 31-year-old Nigerian single mother, Amina Lawal Kurami, has a boulder hanging over her head after she was condemned to death by stoning under Islamic sharia law. Her crime? She had sex out of wedlock.
Oil rich Nigeria has just emerged from 15 years of economic sanctions, military rule and dictatorship. Having walked on the pariah promenade like the infamous apartheid state, Lagos has been rewarded with the hosting of the Miss World pageant, a television spectacular that is bound to change the polecat image of this secular country.
Over the years Miss World boss Julia Morley has had to deal with some sticky situations, especially when the old South Africa fielded two candidates. Cape Town’s Pearl Jansen, a coloured, was a compromise candidate who draped the dubious “Africa South” sash over her stunning body. Her white counterpart paraded the official South African ticket on the same world stage.
Decades later, Nigeria, on the threshold of a major sound bite revolution, faces a TV blackout from some indignant contestants opposed to the planned stoning to death of Amina by 2004, once she has weaned her baby.
Inevitably, Nigerian President Olusegan Obasanjo, a former general decorated with the inaugural Africa Peace award in Durban 1993, has been drawn into this shameful scenario and is optimistic the appeal court will quash this sentence. Obasanjo is also a key player in President Thabo Mbeki’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad). Already, the ANC Women’s brigade has sent a strong signal to Tuynhuys that our silence will suggest that we condone the stoning to death of women who conceive a child out of wedlock.
Unlike his lukewarm stance on the death of democracy across the Limpopo, the African Union CEO is uncomfortable with the ruling by the Islamic lower court. Also, his MPs have stolen the march on the issue, cajoling him to act decisively and not diplomatically.
Sharia law is a complex issue. Obasanjo’s federal government has opposed the use of sharia in criminal cases. His regime is, however, powerless to act against the country’s mainly northern Muslim states that practice this law that also condemned Safiya Hussaini Tungar-Tudu, the first woman to be sentenced for adultery. Today, she is honorary Roman, after the world raised its voice for clemency and Italy granted her citizenship.
Call it a cattle parade or beauty stakes; the high profile status of Miss World could save the life of a shy, sad-eyed woman dressed in modest Islamic garb. The emancipated beauty brigade is willing to sacrifice fame and fortune so the plight of Nigerian women can be highlighted. The dazzling line-up of swimsuit-clad beauties is stridently putting their best feet forward to stamp out abuse against women.
Ironically, India is still grappling with the gang rape of low-caste women by high caste village overlords and the dreadful dowry system, in which the groom’s family terrorizes brides failing to bring a treasure trove of gifts.
Phoolan Devi became a legend in India and a village folk heroine after she pumped bullets into to high caste men who raped her, one by one, and was immortalized by Bollywood as the Bandit Queen. Her popularity took her to parliament and sadly, also a date with a vengeful assassin.
In Pakistan, six tribesmen who gang-raped Mukhtar Mai, 30, and were acquitted, will now face the hangman’s noose. Her crime? Her brother had illicit sex with a woman from a high status clan.
A young democracy, but a strong patriarchal society with a liberal human rights policy against convicted criminals, including rapists and murderers, SA is fraught with serious problems linked to domestic violence and the abuse of women and children, with rape said to be the highest in the world.
Since November 25, the country has been campaigning hard during the 16 Days of No Violence against Women.
MARLAN PADAYACHEE, a former member of the Durban-based Advice Desk for the Abused, reflects on some of the issues that made news in the past years.
In this post-modern world, the stoning to death of any human being, and not just a woman, is totally unacceptable, if not downright barbaric. A 31-year-old Nigerian single mother, Amina Lawal Kurami, has a boulder hanging over her head after she was condemned to death by stoning under Islamic sharia law. Her crime? She had sex out of wedlock.
Oil rich Nigeria has just emerged from 15 years of economic sanctions, military rule and dictatorship. Having walked on the pariah promenade like the infamous apartheid state, Lagos has been rewarded with the hosting of the Miss World pageant, a television spectacular that is bound to change the polecat image of this secular country.
Over the years Miss World boss Julia Morley has had to deal with some sticky situations, especially when the old South Africa fielded two candidates. Cape Town’s Pearl Jansen, a coloured, was a compromise candidate who draped the dubious “Africa South” sash over her stunning body. Her white counterpart paraded the official South African ticket on the same world stage.
Decades later, Nigeria, on the threshold of a major sound bite revolution, faces a TV blackout from some indignant contestants opposed to the planned stoning to death of Amina by 2004, once she has weaned her baby.
Inevitably, Nigerian President Olusegan Obasanjo, a former general decorated with the inaugural Africa Peace award in Durban 1993, has been drawn into this shameful scenario and is optimistic the appeal court will quash this sentence. Obasanjo is also a key player in President Thabo Mbeki’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad). Already, the ANC Women’s brigade has sent a strong signal to Tuynhuys that our silence will suggest that we condone the stoning to death of women who conceive a child out of wedlock.
Unlike his lukewarm stance on the death of democracy across the Limpopo, the African Union CEO is uncomfortable with the ruling by the Islamic lower court. Also, his MPs have stolen the march on the issue, cajoling him to act decisively and not diplomatically.
Sharia law is a complex issue. Obasanjo’s federal government has opposed the use of sharia in criminal cases. His regime is, however, powerless to act against the country’s mainly northern Muslim states that practice this law that also condemned Safiya Hussaini Tungar-Tudu, the first woman to be sentenced for adultery. Today, she is honorary Roman, after the world raised its voice for clemency and Italy granted her citizenship.
Call it a cattle parade or beauty stakes; the high profile status of Miss World could save the life of a shy, sad-eyed woman dressed in modest Islamic garb. The emancipated beauty brigade is willing to sacrifice fame and fortune so the plight of Nigerian women can be highlighted. The dazzling line-up of swimsuit-clad beauties is stridently putting their best feet forward to stamp out abuse against women.
Ironically, India is still grappling with the gang rape of low-caste women by high caste village overlords and the dreadful dowry system, in which the groom’s family terrorizes brides failing to bring a treasure trove of gifts.
Phoolan Devi became a legend in India and a village folk heroine after she pumped bullets into to high caste men who raped her, one by one, and was immortalized by Bollywood as the Bandit Queen. Her popularity took her to parliament and sadly, also a date with a vengeful assassin.
In Pakistan, six tribesmen who gang-raped Mukhtar Mai, 30, and were acquitted, will now face the hangman’s noose. Her crime? Her brother had illicit sex with a woman from a high status clan.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Lets Blackball Crime
Lets Blackball Crime Before It Whitewashes Us
Expatriates start to lobby for change in SA
Expatriates have put a new spin on crime in South Africa. They have begun doing the right thing from the leftist ranks to raise the profile of a blotted crime sheet that has sullied our spectacular transition to democracy.
Crime has touched the hearts of all races. Almost everyone knows someone who tells a real-life story of a hijacking, smash-and-grab, murder, rape, housebreaking, armed robbery and petty theft.
In the past year, almost 150 police officers have been killed in the line of duty. The daily murder toll of 50 and 350 acts of violent crimes has turned the “Darling of Democracy” into the top three violent-country status behind Iraq and Colombia.
Against this black canvas of shocking statistics, its time to give crime a bad name and hang it.
Under apartheid’s police state, crime was worse, but it just got better under post-apartheid democracy. The legacy of a violent society continues to haunt us.
There are a range of organizations and agencies that have joined the anti-crime lobby, but more action, especially vocally, is needed to collar this scourge that bedevils a highly successful and vibrant society, as epitomised by Johannesburg, SA’s New York.In June 2007, the national annual crime statistics from April 2006 to March 2007, revealed: murder across SA increased by 2.4% (19,202); home invasions up by 25.4% (12,761); motor vehicle hijackings up by 6% (13,599); aggravated robbery up slightly (92,021); business robbery up by 6.5% (6,689); cash in-transit robbery up by 21.9% (467); and bank robbery doubled (129).
Before he was gunned down violently in a Durban restaurant, building contractor Marc Joubert appealed to his expatriate friends to raise their voices against crime. In a knee-jerk reaction, hundreds gathered in London’s high streets to highlight crime, putting a new focus on how to make a powerful statement on this issue through world exposure.
Before that Charles Nqakula, Safety and Security Minister, who told people complaining about the country’s rampant crime rate to “pack your bags and go”, landed in London where he assured expatriate groups that he had declared a war on crime.
In his controversial budget speech spat with opposition MPs in Parliament who had been vocal about SA becoming the crime capital of the world, Nqakula said: “The whingers )complainers) can do one of two things. They can continue to whinge until they are blue in the face … they can be as negative as they want to … or they can simply leave this country."
Apologetically, he later straightened the record: "I must admit I was a bit surprised when what I had said and done had been brought into the public domain in a way which was not intended by me in the first place."
In the UK, he said the legacy of apartheid, widespread poverty and social breakdown had resulted in SA experiencing one of the highest rates of crime in the world.
“I do want to admit right at the outset that the crime levels in South Africa are high. Crime has fallen but not as dramatically as we would have wished.”
According to SA diplomats, 400 000 Britons visited SA every year and all, but a handful emerged unscathed.
The clarion call, therefore, is for all stakeholders to raise the ugly head of crime at a higher pitch.
With this in mind, I joined the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Community Safety and Liaison, Bheki Cele, on some of his out-of-town anti-crime road shows that brought me face to face with Safety and Security Minister, Charles Nqakula.
Speaking to stakeholders, police and community near the Mozambican border recently, where ordinary folks have become victim of the cross-border activities of gangs and thieves, the Minister preached a different gospel from his parliamentary parlance, instructing his police to adopt a “shoot to kill” attitude if they reasonably believed they were going to be shot at or attacked by a suspect. He is not mincing his words.
Government alone cannot fight crime. The people can help blackball the monster.
Marlan Padayachee is an independent freelance journalist in South Africa. This article was first published in Juluka in the United States and www.reporters.co.za in South Africa.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
