One more old random rambling...

I'm weary of making arguments when I don't have the necessary amount of facts. I'm especially weary of making said arguments when i know my opinion on the matter is an unpopular one.
 With that said I'm going to ventilate my views on Winnie Mandela once more.
 In the age of social media where the lunatic fringe can manoeuvre its self in to the discourse and nimbly form its self in to conventional wisdom, I am especially weary of holding (and sharing) a contrarian view.
 I have seen many rational and cogent arguments about why Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is a hero. I have seen many lucid opinion pieces acknowledging that while she may have had some flaws, the end justified the means. Indeed many have waxed lyrical about her almost one woman crusade in the townships during those especially tough times between the 70s and 80s in South Africa. The anger and hurt is still virtually palpable as people, especially women talk about how their heroine was treated. I found myself getting rather emotional as I read an essay on Madikizela-Mandela's incarceration experience. The inhumane conditions which she was made to endure were the cruelest of punishments. I read also, about the effect of patriarchy and misogyny in the Winnie Mandela story being told. I was ashamed at my reaction. Ashamed because I wasn't moved to feeling the injustice that I normally do when I'm called out for my misogyny.
 It's strange. I know she suffered at the alter of patriarchy, every woman-certainly in sub Saharan Africa-does. Hers was a public suffering though. Painful, undoubtedly!
I suppose I must say up front that I never hero worshipped Winnie Mandela when she was alive. What has also come to my attention and I realise now that it requires serious counselling on my part is that I actually don't hero worship any female struggle veteran. I hold Albertina Sisulu, and Adelaide Tambo in high regard. I have a very special place in my heart for Limpho Hani but that's not because I revere them as the warriors they obviously were and remain. That I suppose is what patriarchy looks like.
 I suppose, having said all that i can delve in to my apprehension. The much publicised Stompie Seipei matter was always top of mind when I spoke of my lack of reverance when speaking of Madikizela-Mandela. Fortunately light has been shed on the matter and it has been reiterated that she did not kill Stompie.
 The issue for me is that, that's not quite where Madikizela-Mandela's complicity in young black children's death ends. The Mandela United football club by all accounts reigned terror on the township and virtually became a law unto its self. The kangaroo courts Madikizela-Mandela, and her merry bunch of men set up were brutal enforcers of a kind of mob justice that still leaves the heart sore even thirty years on. The matches and the necklaces are the harshest reminders of the sentences meted out by Mandela United.
I have read many opinions on various social media decrying the idea that many atrocities were carried out in the Mkhonto weSizwe camps and furthermore, many hurtful deeds enacted on comrades in exile. I agree that those thing should be equally denounced by the ANC and the liberation movement. In fact not nearly enough has been written or documented about such things as Quatro; as well as the all too many sexual abuses that transpired in the exile days. More really must be done to get those stories out.
 Having said that, that doesn't in my view absolve the Mandela united football club and its leader from owning its very painful and terribly public errors. Just on that matter. I have heard some among us castigating Archbishop Desmond Tutu for asking Madikizela-Mandela to apologise for any errors in judgment that may have been made during that period. After all, to err is human. But in her own words Madikizela-Mandela was seething at the mere suggestion that she make such an apology. "How dare he, how dare he..." The anger in her voice thick with disdain. And yet I agree with Tutu. That moment was one I suspect-and at the risk of putting ideas in the Arch's mouth-where Tutu saw an opportunity for Madikizela-Mandela to not only atone but to reclaim the lofty perch her neighbours and immediate community had brought her down from post football club era.
 There is much information and misinformation being peddled in the various media we consume. Truths and more especially half truths have become the order of the day. There almost seems to be a battle for the ownership of the legacy of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. That is high praise indeed for her. But my worry is that we will sacrifice expedience over truth in this ongoing battle. I also worry that there will be many unintended consequences (some that will prove more serious than others) in this apparently zero sum game.
 Thandeka Gqubule-Mbeki has already found herself ostracized at the suggestion that she may have been a Stratcom agent. The burden of proof has been thrust upon her to clear her name. The principle of law that she's innocent till proven guilty has been summarily subverted on the back of a decidedly one sided documentary. Perhaps some will argue, Madikizela-Mandela was subjected to a similar fate. The simplest answer to that being two wrongs don't make a right.
The challenge we face as young (especially black people) grappling with the baggage of times gone by while also trying to set up brighter futures for us and our loved ones is how do we relate to issues. That is to say, how are we researching history, how are we coming to terms with experiences that blighted the past but also shape the future. Surely the social media venom and divisiveness of some leaders over this period cant be allowed to take root?
 Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is in what we laymen sentimentally call "a better place". Her heroism in the face of brutal oppression will surely inspire many thousands to be brave when called upon.
 To look at her in a binary sense as either bad or good will not assist us going forward I don't think. The notion that one can be both hero and villain is key to her legacy in my humble opinion.
The big tree has fallen. Long live the big tree

An old random rambling...

And there it is. South Africa's brand new cabinet (is it?!) ushering in the brand new dawn (huh?!)
President Ramaphosa has done what he said he'd do and appointed a deputy president as well as made some changes to the cabinet. Some have hailed these appointments as a step in the right direction. Others have wondered how on earth this is a new dawn. Some are elated. Some are despondent. Some are indifferent. The euphoria that surrounded the ousting of Jacob Zuma is slowly dissipating, leaving me with a melancholy I'm not willing to face.
Some among us had high hopes for the Republics incumbent president. It was argued in some quarters that what he'd done as a union leader, drafter of the constitution and negotiator in the CODESA process would assist him in dragging the country forward even if it was kicking and screaming. That may well be the case. The man has only been president for two weeks. To write anything like a political obituary would be downright stupid.
However, there seem to be ominous signs. On more than one occasion now, the president has had the opportunity to deal decisively and effectively with the country in mind. On both of said occasions he has failed to do so, opting instead for a consultative inclusive approach with his party's unity taking preference. If it is true that last nights appointment announcement was moved back in order for continued consultation to take place then I'm not sure that augurs well for a country that requires firm decisive leadership.
I am surprised that a former corporate citizen has missed out on the opportunity for a power play. I am though, acutely aware that I have no idea what the inner workings of the ANC are, nor the machinations of president Ramaphosa's inner circle. I don't think I need them though. I'm merely opining on what I see, and I what I see isn't particularly convincing.
I think the president in executing his prerogative has done very well in reinstating Nhlanhla Nene to finance, and Pravin Gordhan to public enterprises where he's undoubtedly tasked with reinvigorating our state owned enterprises. Both these former ministers seem to have good track records. Derek Hanekom seems to be a man of principle. An admirable quality, particularly in politics. Lets hope his tourism ministry will fulfill its potential.
I'm at an absolute loss for words at the maintenance of cabinet posts by Nomvula Mokonyane and more especially Bathabile Dlamini. In what was supposed to be a new era, the president has managed to leave us with the sour taste in the mouth of one who will "pick the rand up when it falls" and the other with her "em, smallernyana skeletons". An affront to a public desperately in need of capable political leaders.
I have been quite bemused by the excitement of people on various social media regarding the recall of Bheki Cele to the higher echelons of political power. Quite aside from his militarization of the police "service" he is also a man who lost his job as police commissioner owing to corruption. Kgomotso Phahlane (the last police commissioner) is in court facing corruption charges currently, which makes me wonder whether we'll soon see him with the title of Honorable minister.
If it seems like I am predicting doom and gloom, it's because I am. My strongly held view is that the abyss the ANC government- specifically under Jacob Zuma- led us in to will require more than negotiation and horse trading to come out of. I suspect it requires swift, deft strategy as well as firm bold leadership. If the risk is that such action may lead to a one term president then so be it. In that one term it is up to the president to show the republic what we'll be missing when he's gone. This cat and mouse game in order to extend the head of states stay in Tuynhuis leaves me cold.