Let me outline why I, Millicent Mmajapo Kgeledi, felt the pressing need to go to East London. Once in a while, things happen that remind you of the deep hypocrisy that surrounds us. I did not go to East London because it was fashionable to do so. I went because there is an urgent need to raise my voice.
Those who claimed that EFF President Julius Malema endangered the lives of our people have, for years, turned their backs on the everyday harsh realities faced by Black South Africans. They are silent when Black people are victims of violence in our townships; silent when nyaope ravages our youth; silent when young people face the brutal realities of unemployment; silent amid gang violence on the Cape Flats; and silent when children drown in rivers beneath makeshift bridges in rural areas.
Yet suddenly, there was outrage over Malema allegedly endangering Black lives at a stadium in Mdantsane in 2018. This led me to ask: is this concern truly about the safety of Black people, or is it merely a convenient tool to fight those with whom AfriForum disagrees? I am not here to argue whether Malema was right or wrong—that is not my point.
My point is that those who sought to badmouth our country to the West by claiming there is a genocide in South Africa cannot suddenly present themselves as moral compasses on what a disciplined citizen should or should not do. Those who wanted South Africa to be viewed as an unsafe place to live cannot suddenly claim to care about making it safe.
I went to East London because this is not just a fight for an individual—Malema in this case—but a fight for every South African, of every race, who truly loves this country and wants to see it prosper while addressing its problems internally.
I went because this incident exposed how some only “care” when it suits their narrative and their battles against those they oppose. For the future of this country, we must stand up and say that battles cannot be fought at the expense of our nation, our people, or the judiciary.
I went to East London because it was the right thing to do. For me, the question was never whether I would go—it was only a matter of when.
Millicent Mmajapo Kgeledi is an activist and a social media commentator. She writes in her personal capacity.
