Tat' uNelson Mandela and the ANC are one

On the occasion of the celebration of the 92nd birthday of our leader, uTata uNelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the whole world came together to acknowledge the 18th of July as a day of marking the birth of an exceptional human being.

People across the globe united as one coming from different cultural backgrounds, diverse age groups, young and old to imprint and immortalize the impeccable and incomparable contributions of Tat' uNelson Mandela to the ideals of freedom and democracy, peace and development.

It is only in a few instances in the calendar and trajectory of the history of humankind that a single individual has singularly captured the imagination and aspirations of ordinary people in their desire to live in a global environment characterized by the best values of social progress, freedom and democracy.

In the midst of the worldwide celebrations of the 92nd birthday of Nelson Mandela and people setting aside 67 minutes to do good deed for others, emerges a pitiless lone voice from the gutter in the name of Helen Zille in her website article, SA Today of 19 July 2010 claiming, "the ANC does not own Nelson Mandela" (see here).

At the outset let us remind Helen Zille with her disgusting, shallow and shameful short memory not befitting a leader of a political party and official opposition in parliament, that uTat' uNelson Mandela emerged as a leader of our nation on the strength of his leadership capabilities within the ranks of the African National Congress.

It is important to restate for the sake of Helen Zille and her ilk sinking in the foul waters of self-aggrandisement and being self anointed judges on the 'legacy' of Tat'u Nelson Mandela, that on countless occasions, the former president of the African National Congress and the Republic of South Africa has categorically pronounced that he is the child and product of the ANC and that when he passes on he will be buried by his beloved movement, the African National Congress which he has dedicated his entire life to its course of creating a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.

It is instructive that Helen Zille, the high priestess and self-proclaimed arbiter of what constitutes legacy, freedom and democracy has unveiled yet again her infamous stripes on what she stands for in the midst of Madiba's 92nd birthday celebrations.

Helen Zille is not a South African patriot. When millions of people spent 67 minutes of their precious time making contributions to the development of their communities, she was burning the midnight oil obsessed and blinded by her hatred of the ANC, writing an article rubbishing and besmirching the good name and values of the ANC. This says a lot about the sanity and moral degeneration of Madam Helen Zille.

What moral standing does a so-called leader have who appoints an all-male provincial cabinet in the Western Cape thus urinating on the progress being made to ensure gender equity and women representation at all highest levels of government.

What moral standing does a so-called leader of a party have that build degrading open toilets for people, violating their basic rights to privacy, dignity and equality whilst she would never use those toilets herself.

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa bears the full stamp of input by the best constitutional experts of the ANC. The foundation stone and principles at the heart and soul of South Africa's constitution derives from the ANC's unshakeable commitment to democratic rule, the constitution as the supreme law of the country, human rights and dignity, non-racialism, gender equality and the unity of our people.

Tat' uNelson Mandela and the ANC are one. He shaped the ANC and in-turn it shaped him. His legacy continues to live in the ANC and will remain with us for centuries to come. No one can tell the story of one without mentioning the other. The attempt by those who deliberately and out of sheer ignorance refuse to accept where Madiba comes from will always grope in the dark hoping to find a better definition.

Through the ANC the legacy of Tat' uNelson Mandela is immortalized in the towns and villages, townships and informal settlements, and the rural areas of our motherland. Helen Zille can never ever even in her wildest dreams be an authority on the legacy of Tat' uNelson Mandela.

Madiba comes from a long line of great leaders in the African National Congress. Some of these leaders are the following Moses Kotane, Moses Mabhida, JB Marks, Yusuf Dadoo, Nkosi Albert Luthuli, Walter Sisulu and OR Tambo. Helen Zille comes from a background of white privilege and social comfort occasioned by white minority colonial apartheid rule. She continues to suffocate in her own choking fires of hatred and unrestrained banal rank opportunism.

Helen Zille's article is the epitome and catalogue of insults and barren infantile political posturing against the good name and image of Madiba and ANC. It finally nailed to the mast the true character and agenda of Helen Zille. Her article will go down in history as the beginning of the acceleration of the political degeneration of madam Helen Zille and the political party she leads, the Democratic Alliance.

The President of the ANC, Bab' uJacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is a proud leader of this titanic movement. President Zuma joined the ANC in his early youth. He has occupied leadership positions in the ANC over the decades precisely because of the calibre of his leadership abilities above anything else.

Comrade President Zuma spent valuable time with Tat' uNelson Mandela when he imprisoned with him on Robben Island. The relationship between Bab' uJacob Zuma and Madiba was built and fashioned in the actual theatre of resistance against colonial apartheid rule.

It is a bond imprinted with the wisdom and guidance of the senior leader and veteran of the ANC within the very walls of Robben Island. To this day it is still an unbreakable bond conditioned by decades of respect and understanding in the main imparted by the icon and Isithwalandwe of our movement, Tat' uNelson Rolihlahla Mandela.

The disgusting madam fails dismally in her maternal responsibilities to appreciate the bond that exists between Comrade President Zuma and Madiba. We wonder whether she is indeed able to properly lead her own political party.

Helen Zille and her cohorts are not the only ones who pay tax into the national treasury. Millions of taxpayers voted for the ANC in the 2009 elections, therefore it is the ultimate hypocrisy and lack of respect to claim that the ANC-led government must not spend money to celebrate the birthday of an icon of our people.

The message from the ANC is that madam Helen Zille must go and take care of her izizukulwana (grandchildren) and step aside from pretending to be the author and arbiter on the legacy of our leader, Tat' uNelson Mandela. The rightful authors of the legacy of Tat' uNelson Rolihlahla Madiba Mandela are the millions of our people in particular and the sister peoples in all corners of the globe.

>> Nathi Mthethwa is an ANC NEC member and Minister of Police. This article first appeared in ANC Today, the weekly online newsletter of the African National Congress.

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