I’m no apologist for any politician, and Cyril Ramaphosa certainly doesn’t need me to defend him in any way. But after yesterday’s theatrics at the Marikana Commission we perhaps need a reality check or two. Let’s first deal with the “buffalo” slur. Ramaphosa, an enthusiastic game farmer among other things, bid R18 million on a TB-free buffalo bull at an auction, but lost out to a higher bidder. Any game farmer would tell you that Ramaphosa would have made his R18 million back very quickly with the sale of that bull’s offspring. (A mere springbok recently sold for more than R1 million.) It would have been a good investment. Game is big business nowadays. If he had made a bid of R18 million on a block of flats or office building as an investment, it would not have been seen as “insensitive” or “flashy”. And yet he would probably have made a quicker return on his money buying the buffalo. So what are we saying when we now mock him about being “Mr Buffalo”? That black people shouldn’t be wealthy? Now to the Farlam Commission. I thought it was very problematic that Ramaphosa was attacked, harassed, insulted and threatened by a lawyer who is also a founding member and senior commissar of the EFF. Dali Mpofu wasn’t so much trying to get to the truth behind the events at Marikana as he was scoring political points. Accusing Ramaphosa of “selling out” was not trying to get to the facts leading up to the massacre. Mpofu abused his position, finish and klaar. (Mpofu himself is a multi-millionaire, by the way.) The Farlam Commission is a judicial enquiry, not a criminal trial. I recognised two of those who shouted at him from the public gallery as EFF functionaries. In hindsight, Ramaphosa as a former trade unionist should have urged Lonmin to engage with striking workers rather than rely on police action. He acknowledged that. But to suggest that his messages urging those responsible to deal decisively with the violence and murder of policemen and security guards (before the massacre) were tantamount to egging on police brutality and murder is ridiculous. If the police had not gone all trigger happy on the day and did not kill the miners in cold blood, as seems to have been the case, Ramaphosa’s messages and attitude would have been seen as completely normal. Ramaphosa has been a public figure since the mid-1980s. He has a long rack record in the struggle. To paint him as a mass murderer now is malicious and opportunistic. Having said that, Ramaphosa should take responsibility as a senior ANC leader. The ANC allowed conditions at Marikana and elsewhere to deteriorate and workers becoming so desperate; the ANC is responsible for a police service that is badly trained and reckless. The ANC should be in the dock, not only Ramaphosa.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 09:27:50 +0000
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