Stop Polarization: This Is A War On Crime, Not About Ideology.
There is a universal principle that the first step towards overcoming any addiction is acceptance that one has a problem. There is also a widely held perception that often times jack-of-all-trades often master nothing.
Thabile Mange's article Double Agenda? (Sunday World, p11, 25 April 2010) points to these two afore-mentioned analogies: he has a general problem of grasping issues and seems to struggle to master his arguments constructively. In a nutshell his views in the article are triple flawed: factually incorrect, ideologically unconvincing and politically narrow.
He intuitively and unfairly accuses the Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa and National Commissioner of Police, General Bheki Cele of giving the late leader of the Afrikaans Weerstandbeweging (AWB) Eugene Terre' Blanche a hero's farewell by attending his funeral. According to him both the minister and the general's attendance ‘is a slap in the face of our struggle heroes who died for our liberation - they must be turning in their graves.' Appalling indeed, to say the least.
For his lack of factual verification and ignorance on the day of the funeral, the minister was chairing and engaging the Southern African Region Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization conference in Benoni, as such did not attend the funeral. To take valuable time penning a flawed article, without factually checking if indeed the Minister was at the funeral is a disgrace on the part of this ‘analyst.' In future before making any unfounded assertions, we invite the ‘analyst' to contact us to verify before embarrassing himself like he did. And yes, General Cele attended the funeral, so did other ‘black and white leaders' from the ANC and government and there is nothing sinister about their attendance.
Which struggle heroes is our learned friend referring to? This is the exact kind of political dwarfishness we do not require as a country, particularly when such comments focus on racial intolerance. The exact kind of jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none comments whose impact in public forums serve no purpose but cause unnecessary political disjunctures.
His further assertion that our ‘fallen heroes must be turning in their graves' because as a ministry we met and engaged with AWB...' is Mange's lowest stooping in the history of political commentary. To say this is laughable would be doing his statement an injustice...it is feeble, pathetic and an insult to the many victims of crime in our country. Precisely why from the onset we said that political parties, so-called analysts and experts must desist from make political comments around farm murder, it is as though we had ill-bred characters like Mange, who masquerade as ‘crime analysts' yet have nothing tangible to show in terms of their contribution to the fight against crime.
As if that was not enough, he again shows his political narrowness by claiming ‘he is aware of the country's current and sensitive political situation...' Is there something sensitive our analyst would like to enlighten us on? Because the country is on the brink of hosting the biggest soccer spectacle ever and surely that is what is preoccupying our minds as a country. Of course one is not taking away the everyday socio-economic challenges facing the country and that these must still be prioritized.
Whatever duty the minister and the commissioner undertook when they visited Ventersdorp, they went there as public servants and not in their political capacities. As a practical example that they did not both their political and governmental powers, when they arrived at the crime scene, they were told by a crime scene police not to enter certain jurisdiction. For the record this was an officer at a captain level and the two principals willingly obliged with the instruction given. Surely they could have overlooked the instruction and peddled with the investigation, but did not. So what is this political reference all about, Sir?
On the issue of farm killings specifically, what was needed from the ministry was a demonstration of leadership, in the process engage even those that he regards as not being worth to be engaged. Leadership also talks to an ability to remain objective and not divisive even under very challenging circumstances.
As police ministry we are neither apologetic nor sidestepping about our engagement with AgriSA, AWB, Solidarity or any other so-called ‘white organizations.' In fact for the benefit of Mange's ignorance, we have over the past year engaged almost all sections of our country; we have met opposition parties, CPFs, business, religious leaders and just last week, held a fruitful meeting with the Food & Allied Workers Union.
On the occasion when we addressed the AgriSA crime conference in February this year where we outlined our rural safety plan, we made it clear of our intentions to engage all sectors affected by murders within the farming community. It is worth emphasizing that the ministry and department do not compile a list of farmers killed, but that of murders at farms. In other words, to us murder that takes place at farms is treated as a criminal case. The minister is on record as saying police; in their investigations and ultimate apprehension of the perpetrators have a duty to do so without fear or favour, that they should not be clouded by political or racial persuasions.
The atrocities at farms affect the farmer and the worker, at least that is what the ministry of police derived during our engagements these past months. Equally we heard from both parties that irrespective of their ideologies, they all share the same common denominator that crime must be dealt a deadly blow.
We have on numerous platforms advocated against the polarization of crime and that is exactly what Mange is doing. His views indeed serve nobody but propel his narrow attitude in the fight against crime. Here is an undemanding challenge to Mange: join a local community police forum, report criminals instead of hallucinating about crime. We refuse to be drawn into a debate that seeks to alienate and destruct the nation in our endeavours of finding solutions to crime. In case he has not awaken from his analytical dreams, perhaps now is the time.
He continues with his narrow political diarrhea that ‘a white farmer raped his black farm worker to avenge the AWB leader's death.' Surely this is indicative of the lowest levels of insensitivity and ignorance. The fact that the case in question is now before courts; perhaps Mange's commentary can further enlighten police and judges on the matter. If indeed he has evidence on this case, as he alleges which I doubt he has, then Sir, a noble act from your side would be to report it to the police. Failure to do so may render you guilty of serving double standards by not reporting crime.
Instead of polarizing farm killings, as government we presented a blue-print rural safety plan focusing on education, awareness, compliance, enhancing the police's intelligence capacity as well as mobilization of various stakeholders against any form of crime; which will be jointly rolled out next month. Nowhere in this plan do we mention the race card or approach but our emphasis is on curbing farm murders, whether the farmer is black or white, whether the farm worker is South African or foreign, whether they are male or female.
We are confident that all the farming stakeholders who are concerned about crime will support government win this war on crime. We remain steadfast that we will deal a deadly blow to this scourge. The nucleus of our rural security plan focuses on community partnerships because we recognize that no matter how innovative or practical the plan is, it can only succeed through close collaboration and partnerships.
These are stakeholders who chose not to sit on the other sides of the fence, throwing tirades of racial criticisms or penning half-researched and dim-witted columns in media platforms - but instead to partner with us. As the ministry of police we will consolidate partnerships across society to mobilize all people: black and white, young and old, rich and poor to make life difficult for criminals in our midst, to ensure that we advance our cause to achieve the values of a caring society.
We are now extending an invitation to Mange to join us as we roll out our rural safety plan to these farms nationally. The only pre-condition we would place prior to his involvement, would be to desist from polarizing farm killings but make a contribution to curbing this scourge.
This is a war on crime, not about ideology.
Zweli Mnisi is the chief director: communications and spokesperson at the Ministry of Police
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