Unravelling the riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma that is Msholozi
“And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues”.
Revelation 18:4
There’s a light and yet very profound scene in the 2008 film Invictus, where President Nelson Mandela is at the Union Buildings having invited Francois Pienaar over for tea. As Madiba humbly pours a cup for the former Springboks captain, he makes an interesting observation, “The English have given us many things, including rugby, but the afternoon tea, that is the greatest”.
These were very telling words from an iconic figure who ironically, while he became instrumental in fighting colonial domination, in essence, had a deep admiration for the English way of life.
And he was not the first one in a long line of ANC leaders and many other African revolutionaries in the whole continent of Africa who loved the way English people do things. Who can forget one Robert Mugabe with his eight degrees, himself a Fort Hare graduate, who once famously declared, “Cricket civilises people and creates good gentlemen. I want everyone to play cricket in Zimbabwe; I want ours to be a nation of gentlemen”.
“Nation of gentlemen”. Some elements of this kind of thinking by many African revolutionaries can be traced back to the very formation of the oldest liberation movement in Africa. Drawn mainly from early Christian converts called “Amakholwa, as opposed to “Amaqaba”, (the heathens), this new generation of educated African people went on to produce another special class, called “Amazemtiti’, (the exempted ones). They were characterized by their great admiration of Western education, the concepts of liberalism and democracy, especially the British parliamentary system.
From the likes of the first president, the Rev John Langalibalele Dube to other notable figures like Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme, Sol Plaatjie, JT Jabavu, Dr Moroka, Dr Xuma, Professor ZK Matthews, Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, these were all products of western and “Royal” education and they were all very proud of it.
These ANC leaders were a small group of moderate men more interested in being accepted as equals in the white world. And they would do that through writing letters and petitions to the white establishment as “gentlemen” would do.
“Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. [b] 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service”.
Daniel 1: 3-5
A special class of people called “Izifundiswa”
The education of this small and elite group of Africans was part of a wider historical agenda by all colonial empires to create a new class of people with a Babylonian mind as part of divide and rule but most importantly, so that they could be used not only to turn away from the ways of their ancestors, but also to help manage the colonial order. In fact, one of the main reasons for the formation of the ANC was because “amazemtiti or onontlevu”, the landed aristocracy, were deeply aggrieved that they had been excluded from the Union of South Africa even after they had done everything possible to prove to the Queen that they were “civilized” enough to form part of the new dispensation.
These ”Izifundiswa”, would completely reject all the traditions and values of their ancestors and would take great pride in how they spoke the Queen’s language. They looked at tackling all societal problems from a Eurocentric perspective and they would seek to project the European personality, in other words, they would not only assimilate completely to European standards and values, they would in fact become more European than Europeans.
Enter Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Mhlanganyelwa Zuma, the first in a long tradition of ANC leaders to buck this trend of a Congress led by educated people. But how could this be? How did this glorious organization, come to be led by a simple man from Nkandla with seemingly odd views about politics get to appeal to so many ordinary South Africans that he ended up holding the highest office in the land?
How has this man managed to be the biggest newsmaker for the last twenty years, maintain his relevance and continuously reinvent himself so much that he has become the biggest threat to the very survival of the African National Congress?
Who is this man, who dares to suggest that African people can have a different system of governance as opposed to that which was prescribed to us by the western world? Who is he to make a call to “Unite as Black people “first and foremost “, and wrestle economic power from white people when the ANC has always been about reconciliation and non-racialism? Who is he to make a mockery of the judicial system and the so-called democratic institutions by continuously punching holes in the laws that he once swore to uphold?
Who is this man whose party is questioning constitutional supremacy when we were led to believe that it is the best thing that ever happe
3ned to us as a people? When in fact we were taught that this constitution is not only sacrosanct, but that it is God.
How dare he, as if out of cue, suddenly burst into song and dance demanding his machine gun? Who or what is the target of this automatic machine? Is it possible, that the machine gun is just a metaphor for a weapon against a certain system?
Through careful historical and spiritual analysis, this paper seeks to explain the complexity of the man called Nxamalala to prove the premise of our presentation, that Jacob Zuma, while he passionately fights tooth and nail to remain in the ANC, is and has always been the antithesis of everything the ANC represents and that on the contrary, he in fact, should be the very embodiment of the Abantu’s quest and yearning not only for their land, but for their spirituality, culture, traditional leadership and their way of life.
We shall go on to unravel the riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma that is Jacob Zuma by locating him within certain concepts that have come to dominate him, including his positions on Democracy, Land, Culture, Black Unity, Education, Traditional Leadership, the Constitution, Roman Dutch Law, Economy, Polygamy, Homosexuality, etc.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Democracy
Greek in origin, Democracy, from the word “demo” meaning “people” and “kratos” meaning “rule”, can be loosely translated as the rule of the people. It is premised on serving the will of man than the rule of God, a direct contradiction of what we are taught in the Lord’s prayer. One of the conditions of democracy is that one leader or party, very often backed by big business, must be able to lie effectively to as many people as possible. For instance, you must be able to promise people that you will build a bridge where there is no river or dam. Democracy is a system where it is perfectly acceptable for the majority of people not to have access to clean running water as long as they have a “free press”, an “independent judiciary” and “rule of law”.
But while the ANC has always prided itself on its democratic nature since inception, Jacob Zuma has of late challenged democratic ways of doing things by insisting on a more centrist approach to leadership especially with regard to his own party, MK.
In fact, it could be argued that one of the main reasons that the ANC has become the amorphous mess that is it is today is as a result of insisting on democratic way of doing things. On the other hand, Zuma has tried to argue over time that too much democracy within an organization operating within a very corrupt system, creates factions that become susceptible to being auctioned to the highest bidder.
In the same film Invictus, there is a scene where Mandela insists on being allowed to lead if he has been democratically elected. But as if contradicting himself in his style of politics, the same Mandela always insisted on “collective leadership” within the ANC which is essentially, a style of leadership where no one actually takes responsibility for decisions that have been made.
In sharp contrast, Zuma seems to understands that in traditional African leadership practice, while a leader can listen and reconcile views that have been deliberated upon at the “lekgotla”, (village assembly), the buck must stop with the man in charge.
In further dissecting this man Jacob Zuma, one needs to acknowledge that sometimes to get a better insight of a person, one must listen to his enemies and not his friends. And so, we shall proceed to call on as our first witness, Helen Zille who, thinking that she was actually writing Zuma’s political obituary, in her article, published on News24 on the 10th of July 2021, had this to say when trying to make sense of Zuma’s political woes:
“So where did it all go wrong? I have spent much time, during the past 10 years, observing and writing about politics, and especially seeking to bring Zuma to justice, trying to answer this question.
At the heart of it, this tragedy is rooted in the enormous complexity of our collective decision to impose a modern constitutional democracy on what is largely a traditional, African feudal society.
Former president Zuma is a traditionalist, totally unfamiliar with the concepts of constitutionalism, thrust into the role of president – whose primary duty is to serve and defend the Constitution. A total misalignment”.
Sensitive readers might be triggered and be quick to dismiss these sentiments by Zille as the rantings of a racist who thinks African people do not understand democracy but in reality, democracy, in conjunction with Christianity, is the biggest scam to be ever visited on Abantu. It is witchcraft to actually make people believe that they can enjoy “freedom” without access to their land and mineral resources as long as they hold regular elections every four or five years. We shall go further to prove that there is actually nothing wrong with not understanding democracy by taking a look at another facet of governance in the form of:
Traditional Leadership
One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.
(Deuteronomy 17:14-15).
The debate around alternative forms of governance is closely related to the issue of royalty where Zuma has emerged as the chief proponent of the return of power to Amakhosi who were the original custodians of the land before the arrival of the white man in Africa.
In fact, at the very formation of the ANC, the founding honorary president was King Dinuzulu, the son of Inkosi uCetshwayo who emerged victorious over the British army in 1879. Some of the other royal families present at the founding congress of the ANC included, Montsioa of the Barolong, Lewanika of the Lozi, Letsie II of the BaSotho, Lobatsibeni of emaSwati, Sekhukhune of the BaPedi, and Khama of the BaTswana. These royal families had come into this new formation with the hope that it would be the most effective vehicle towards the restoration of land and power to Amakhosi.
But the ANC was to effectively sell out on this historical mandate in 1955 when it adopted the Freedom Charter which was basically a document of slogans like “The People Shall Govern” and “The Land Belongs To All Who Live In It, Black and White”. Right there, a whole historical mission of returning the land to its rightful owners sacrificed at the altar of non-racialism, political expediency and political correctness.
To clearly understand the idea behind “Ubukhosi” or traditional leadership where the supreme leader is divinely selected and not democratically elected, one needs to examine the central role that was played by the king in the affairs of the nation.
In accordance with Biblical traditions and Isintu, the two most important people in the affairs of the nation were the king and the chief priest called “Inyanga” who could also be “Isangoma.” Very often these two positions overlapped and one could be both ”Inkosi” and “Isangoma” at the same time. They were both regarded as royalty. This explains why “Inkosi” and “Isangoma” are both addressed as “Makhosi”, meaning “kings”. “Inkosi “was a symbol of cultural unity within the nation, and was believed to be the very personification of God on earth. He was a representative of God within the people in much the same way as the pope in Catholic dogma is regarded as the representative of God on earth.
The way a king is viewed in the Abantu way of life is very different from the way white people understand leadership and that is why some practices are regarded as being corrupt when in essence, it is to show reverence to the supreme leader. In Isintu, it is not only perfectly acceptable but it is encouraged that one should give the king “gifts” to obtain his favour.
But in the western system, this would be called “bribery”. According to Setho, one is expected to accord the king or leader certain favours and he in turn is also supposed to return the favour to his subjects through a practice called “Ukuxoshisa”. This is a practice where a leader can give cows and even women (yes, women) to a loyal subject who has demonstrated extraordinary service to the nation.
To emphasize this point, let us call on Gogo Helen Zille again where she continues to expand on Zuma. ”He often said, including to me, that the concept of corruption was a “western thing” – and from his vantage point, I eventually understood what he meant. Whenever I went campaigning in a traditional area of South Africa, under the control of a chief, I was first obliged to go and seek permission from the chief, and usually bring a gift to seek his favour. I always felt terribly uncomfortable doing so. But I was told every time that I had to do so, in order for the people to feel free to come to our meetings and listen to our message, and so I did.
The idea that people are born with inalienable rights that no one can take away from them, and that elected leaders are there to protect and defend these rights, is indeed a “western thing”. In traditional societies, the notion that the chief grants you favours if you seek his favour, is far more prevalent – and it is easy to see how this easily morphs into “corruption”. The leader looks after his own, making the idea of “nepotism” a very “western thing” as well.
Jacob Zuma didn’t understand all this, and said so openly”.
The dilemma caused by Roman Dutch Law
These comments by Zille call into attention the dilemma posed by western thinking to people like Zuma and many millions more especially with regard to Roman Dutch Law. At the risk of sounding like a fan, let me go back to Helen Zille again where she says of Zuma:
“I will never forget him wondering out loud, at an extended Cabinet meeting, how it was possible that judges could tell him what to do.
“I was elected,” he said. “The judges weren’t. How come they are in a position to tell me what to do?”
This genuinely puzzled him, and he was not afraid to say so”.
It would seem this question has not only puzzled Zuma but many in in the ANC and brings into sharp focus the material mistakes committed by this movement in their rush to occupy political office. In a candid interview on the Sizwe Mpofu Walsh podcast, another former ANC stalwart, Tony Yengeni, confirms this sentiment when he says: “As far as I am concerned, I think it was a mistake for us to, as a country to give final authority to eleven unelected judges, the constitutional court… So, I think that we need a parliamentary democracy here, where people go to elections and vote for leaders they want and they get them and those people must and act in the manner in which they promised the people during the elections campaign and in their manifestos. Now you can’t do that in South Africa today. There’s a break. The NGO would come up and say, no, we are going to the constitutional court, we don’t like this thing. Or another political party will take you to the constitutional court and the judges would also actually enter that space and decide, like when they decided to take Zuma to prison without a legal process”.
This takes us back to the central role that was played by “the law” in the colonial conquest. Anything that could no longer be taken away militarily was taken away through various laws.
And using the laws, the first thing that the settlers did when they arrived in Africa was to remove the king and demonize “Isangoma” so that the nation would be left without political figureheads. This perhaps explains why Zuma loyalists fondly call him “Ubaba”. It is because in him, they yearn for elderly leadership and a national parental figure which is something that is lacking in this country. In Isintu, and in sharp contrast to western thinking where people are besotted with the idea of looking and remaining young, an old man or woman are held in high esteem and are considered to be a blessing and a repository of knowledge.
“Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD
Leviticus 19:32:
There is an interesting interview where Julius Malema, the leader of the EFF says that at the infancy stages of the formation of the MK party, when there was a discussion about the possibility of Zuma joining forces within the umbrella of the EFF, Zuma highlighted the fact that the EFF was led by mainly young people and that older people would not vote for it.
This observation obviously came from a man who seems to have some spiritual insight with regard to the South African political landscape. While many people from the older generations were disillusioned with the ANC, they did not warm up to the idea of young people in the EFF and their pronouncements on a number of issues. Their attitude towards the elderly and their disrespect of African values and institutions like Ubukhosi was a major turn off for ordinary folk. On the contrary, Zuma’s down-to-earth approach has always appealed to the masses who are used to political leaders in Africa who treat themselves like royalty.
For Jacob Zuma, being an ordinary man of the people seems to be an inborn personality trait that he displayed even in his younger days. In his book, Time Is Not the Measure, former spy chief Vusi Mavimbela gives us a very interesting glimpse of Nxamalala when he first met him as a young man in exile in the seventies. He writes:
“The following morning, a man walked through the door. We were sitting on the floor playing cards, which we had found in one of the bedrooms. The man stood for a second at the door while we looked at each other and concluded that he was the “leadership” the driver spoke about. We stood up in a show of respect. The man gave us a broad smile and greeted us as he went around shaking our hands. We offered him a chair. He looked around and commented that there were not enough chairs for the five of us. He politely turned down the offer of a chair and joined us on the floor.
He was well dressed. His shoes and lumber jacket looked very expensive. He carried bold tribal slashes on his forehead and cheeks, totem marks left by the razor of the elders of the clan. It was a curious juxtaposition: the scarification and the expensive modernity of his attire.
The modesty of the man did not escape our attention.: we felt bad that he had to sit on the floor with us. He sat with his legs crossed and introduced himself as Jacob Zuma”.
Culture as “Isiko” and the Law
Here a vivid picture is painted for us of a man who seems to be a contradiction but at the same time very much a product of his time. He boldly carries his tribal scars and yet still, he has fully embraced western fashion, in all its materialism and vanity. But what comes to the fore again is his sense of humility that is a product of a culture that he was raised in.
To best understand this background, it is first and foremost important to understand that Abantu, in the whole continent of Africa, could not have been defeated by white people politically and economically without having been first defeated spiritually and culturally. To prove this, let us take a specific look at the deculturalization of Abantu as a form of subjugation by looking at “Isiko”, loosely translated as culture even though it is much more than that.
“Isiko” is taken from the word “sika” which means “to cut”, “cut off” or, “demarcate”. “Isiko” is therefore something that cuts you apart from the rest of the nations. It is your guideline, a way of life, hence from the term “isiko” you get the term, “Usikompilo”.
Culture, (Isiko, Isintu, Setho), is our spirituality and gives us our centre. It gives a nation a particular identity. If you take away culture from Umuntu, you have left him or her in a weak state.
Unfortunately, in an effort to be seen to be anti-tribalism, modern, liberal and progressive, the ANC came to be very uncomfortable with any notions of Amasiko. This kind of thinking can be traced back again to the rise of “amakholwa” and “amazemtiti “who looked down on “amaqaba” who were uneducated and chose to cling to the old ways.
In sharp contrast, at the formation of Inkatha Yenkululeko Yesizwe first as a cultural movement in the seventies, Inkosi Buthelezi, himself also from the class of “Amazemtiti”, sought to position his organization as the custodians of culture, particularly Zulu traditions and customs which included the wearing of traditional attire and the carrying of traditional weapons in public.
By the mid-nineties, Inkosi Buthelezi had successfully managed to project the ANC, through its own weaknesses, as anti-culture, drawing his support mainly from the rural areas and township hostels. He enjoyed a largely honeymoon period when it came to the domain of “culture” until the arrival of Jacob Zuma from exile into the mainstream political discourse. While Mandela preferred to adorn himself in the famous Madiba shirts, Jacob Zuma was the first prominent ANC leader in the nineties to be seen wearing animal skins in public. He boldly and proudly displayed “traditional” or “cultural weapons” which shifted public perceptions of the ANC.
While the pipe-smoking philosopher-king, Thabo Mbeki spoke eloquently in English and quoted Shakespeare and Yeats, right next to him was this simple man from Nkandla, who seemed at ease with not only being clad in animal skins but could also speak isiZulu fluently as opposed to English which he struggled with. He seemed to be at home with not just ordinary folk but also royalty which included the Zulu king who was seen as a custodian or embodiment of Zulu values and culture. This drew a lot of Zulu speaking people into the ANC when it had been previously seen as anti-culture.
Here was this man, who had no qualms being seen at Umkhosi Womhlanga, (the reed ceremony), which is a tradition that the ANC has always shunned, even though it is sacred to the Zulu people. This is a timeless tradition aimed at encouraging young girls to remain virgins until marriage and to curb early teenage pregnancies.
Meanwhile, the ANC and the strong feminist lobby within it was very uncomfortable with such customs because liberal values emphasize women having “control over their own bodies”, whatever that means. In fact, later on, it was to be one of the leading policies of the ANC to actually reward the scourge of teenage pregnancies by giving young girls financial grants, (Imali yeqolo), for falling pregnant outside the institution of marriage.
As if to aggravate matters, instead of promoting sexual abstinence through encouraging ceremonies like Umkhosi Womhlanga in other national groups, the ANC government pumped millions of money into the distribution of condoms and pumped even more money in encouraging girls at school to take pills to prevent pregnancy at a high cost to the State. Not to mention that this very ANC came up with laws that allows children as young as fourteen to have sex as long as it is by mutual consent.
As further proof of how much the ANC holds matters of culture in disdain, they never came up with any laws to encourage rites of passage for young people and cater for special circumcision schools especially in the light of so many deaths that have been witnessed in places like the Eastern Cape. In fact, under the ANC, we should have seen the establishment of formal circumcision schools all over the country where young men can be taught about manhood, how to be of service to the nation and how to be better people and be compassionate to their women.
But perhaps, that would be too much to ask of a movement that never even considered coming up with legislation to force men to pay “Inhlawulo”, (damages), for impregnating a girl out of wedlock. Imagine the difference such a law would make in a society with so many broken families and illegitimate children.
Family and Polygamy
And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.”
If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights.
Key to some of these cultures and traditions that formed the cornerstone of the nation was the institution of “Isithembu” which is a way of life where a man is not only allowed, but encouraged to take more than one wife. Before the arrival of white people, taking more than one wife was not just an exception but it was the norm. But the colonizers, through Christianity and education discouraged Abantu from this practice of taking more than one wife.
In failing to correctly diagnose the problem of Abantu as being first and foremost a spiritual one, the ANC also failed to recognize that the biggest casualty during apartheid was the institution of family. Factors like the forced removals of people from their ancestral lands, migration, the establishment of the prison system which led to the mass incarceration of African men, exile, the establishment of mines and hostels where men were forced to live without their wives and children, industrialization, the promotion of alcoholism in our communities, the migrant labour system, all contributed to the disintegration of the Abantu family unit.
And perhaps central to this destruction of the African family structure was the concerted effort to completely destroy the practice of polygamy by labelling it as unChristian, backward, abusive to women and patriarchal. The campaign against polygamy was so organized so much that one British colonial administrator, Theophilus Shepstone (Somtsewu), even came up with a law that dictated that men should pay eleven cows for a wife so as to discourage people from taking many wives. This was contrary to African culture where polygamy was not viewed purely as a financial transaction. But the ANC never did anything to undo this injustice through legislation when it came into political office. On the contrary, under the watchful eye of the ANC, we were introduced another concept called Polyandry which is totally alien to Isintu.
Gradually, over time, this very important institution of polygamy had come to be relegated into the periphery of our society. It became an exception rather than the norm until the arrival of Jacob Zuma in the national scene. Suddenly, you had this deputy president and later on president who not only had many wives but many children when we had been conditioned to think the model family consisted of one wife and that the ideal number of children is two.
This again puts into perspective the ANC’s attitude towards matters of family, culture, traditions and identity. Here was this man who was very comfortable with Isintu when his own party did nothing to promote anything cultural.
This could best be demonstrated in the case of Madiba when he acrimoniously divorced his wife Winnie Madikizela to marry Graca Machel. For an iconic man who was so big on symbolism and nation building and could make big public statements through simply acts like just inviting people for tea, perhaps an uncomfortable and yet relevant question needs to be asked:
“In a country characterized by one of the highest divorce rates in the world and the scourge of extra marital children, would it have been such a cardinal sin for Madiba, to marry Graca as a second wife instead of divorcing Winnie?”. Especially since the concept of divorce does not exist in the Abantu culture.
But of course, the ANC, because of a lack of spiritual insights, would not have understood that in fact “Isithembu” is not just about marriage, it is also an economic system. But that is a subject for another day.
Homosexuality
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination”.
Leviticus 18: 22
“Ungqingili wayengeke ame phambi kwami, ngangingamlahla phansi”. (A homosexual man would not have stood in front of me; I would have struck him down). This is a statement that Nxamalala once made about homosexuality sending shockwaves around the country, especially within the strong gay community. The reason why many people found this statement shocking is because in line with their liberal traditions and values borrowed from the West, the ANC had given us what was hailed as the most liberal constitution in the world. Central to this were gay rights, something that was foreign to Setho.
Nxamalala had pronounced himself on this matter in an attempt explain why he would have struck down any man making sexual advances to him in his youth. Many in the liberal world questioned how this “homophobe” could make such barbaric statements against “rights” enshrined in the constitution. But the point is that Msholozi was just giving his honest perspective on how he was raised and how such matters were viewed in the community that he grew up in.
One can go on and on to cite many statements that Msholozi has made in the past which go against the character of the ANC. I am reminded of one speech he made where he spoke against “ubushimane”. For the uninitiated, “isishimane” is a man who does not have girlfriends because he is too shy around women. In a light and humorous way, Msholozi had the audience in stitches as he spoke about the need for “comrades” to have a workshop on “Ukushela”, the art of courting a woman. He related how he had been “Isoka” (a ladies’ man) in exile which helped a lot with his work while he was operating in the underground.
Had the story gained traction in the media, he would have been accused of being a womanizer and making sexist comments. Especially since the ANC even promulgated a law in the workplace where men are barred from making “suggestive” comments on the beauty of a woman colleague. There are so many cases where men have been hauled for a disciplinary hearing and even fired for sexual harassment for commending the beauty of a woman colleague.
This law goes against our cultural norms where there was even a practice of “Ukushikila”. Unfortunately for the uninitiated, my limited English data does not allow me to expound on the meaning of “ukushikila”. Hopefully Google can help you in that regard. And while you are still googling “ukushikila”, you might as well go on and search ‘Indlu yokugugela”, the Biblical and Abantu practice of marrying a younger woman by an older man which Msholozi once expounded on so eloquently.
Black Unity
Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel
Shall be gathered together,
And appoint for themselves one head;
And they shall come up out of the land,
For great will be the day of Jezreel!
Hosea 1:11
He will set up a banner for the nations,
And will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
And gather together the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.
Isaiah 11;12
There is a recurring theme in the Bible about the need for the nations of Israel to come together first and foremost and even Yeshua ben Yosef, in Matthew 14 verse 24 says emphatically: “I have only been sent to the lost tribes of Israel”. This came from a visionary who understood his main purpose as a prophet as that of liberating his people first and foremost without being apologetic about it.
This perhaps might have been almost the same understanding that Prof Mangaliso Sobukwe had. One of the finest minds to ever emerge out of the southern tip of the continent of Africa, Sobukwe broke away from the ANC because he would not compromise on the issue of the land as the birthright of Abantu. And one of the things that he held dear to his heart was the importance of Black Unity and African leadership, concepts that the ANC, being a broad church that it is, did not subscribe to.
Sobukwe was emphatic about the need for African people to meet as such and discuss issues that were unique to them as Abantu. So did Bantubonke Biko. Of late, the man also known as Nxamalala has been vocal about the importance of Abantu grouping together as a common entity to advance their own interest first which is an idea that seems to be foreign to the ANC.
In fact, in the not so recent past, former president Thabo Mbeki came out strongly against the attempts by Zuma to make the ANC a Black party by explaining that kind of talk went against the non-racialism principles of the ANC and that in the same vein, the expropriation of land without compensation is a deviation from the culture of the ANC.
The Economy
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
Acts 2:44-45
Closely related to the issue of Black Unity is the economy. Towards the end of the Zuma era within the ANC, a new buzzword came to dominate the political discourse within this complex movement, “Radical Economic Transformation”. The debate around this issue came to symbolize the very struggle for the already tattered soul of the ANC.
And looking at the history of the ANC, even when RET was adopted as one of the resolutions in its 54th national conference, it was actually a fundamental shift from their policies which always emphasized “market friendly” policies.
It is my contention again that Zuma’s stance on the economy as opposed to the cosmetic policies pursued by the ANC like BEE was again another radical shift from the liberal policies of this movement and that in fact this position, was foreign to the values and the culture of the ANC as President Thabo Mbeki himself confirmed.
Perhaps the ANC seems to only understand economics as simple being a choice between ideologies, whether one is capitalist or socialist. But in the Abantu way of life, there are concepts like “Letsema or Ilima” which is the planting and working together as neighbours and communities so as to share in the harvest. Then there is Mafisa, Ukusisa, (the loaning of livestock or any resources to less wealthy individuals so as to uplift them without charging interest). You also have Isipheko, which is about bringing gifts to another family as a form of support. These concepts can still be revived to suit modern conditions.Central to this economic system is Ukunikela, which is about donating to the poor, Ukuzinekezela, volunteering yourself and your skills to help the needy and Ukushintshisana, which is a battering system that does not always require the use of money. Even the observance of Umgqibelo, the Sabbath also formed the cornerstones of our ancient economic systems.
In light of all these fundamental points of divergence between Zuma and the ANC that we have highlighted, it then becomes clear that you cannot find the true meaning of Jacob Zuma without understanding what the ANC is exactly. When closely examining what the ANC originally was and what it became, one gets to understand that it is not just Jacob Zuma who is at odds with the ANC but that in fact the ANC is at odds with our values as a country and as a people, including Jacob Zuma.
The ANC has always lacked originality and as a result, it has always been a clone of other people’s consciousness. It is my submission, that in fact, it was a deliberate plan by the spirit world to set Zuma on collision course with the ANC so that we could have a better look at ourselves as a people. Zuma then becomes an instrument, a rod by which we measure ourselves in relation to the ANC.
When you look at the ANC objectively, it is easy for one to understand that Zuma has always been a fish out of water. One therefore comes to the logical conclusion that Zuma does not need the ANC. That in fact, no one needs the ANC. Neither does the ANC need to be saved, because it has run its course. It dismally failed to deliver on its promise of true liberation because it was never based on spiritual principles.
In failing to identify our struggle as primarily a spiritual one and by embracing foreign thought, the ANC rejected not only our own spirituality but our God and the ancestors. In rejecting God and giving us a secular state, they themselves became a false idol.
And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
Exodus 32:4
The ANC and its alies has always been caught up in a cycle of worshipping foreign gods and all manner of isms, be it Communism, Socialism, Marxism, Leninism, Trotskyism, Feminism, Neo-liberalism, you name them. The ANC has never had faith in the Abantu genius and ingenuity. The ANC has treated with contempt all forms of indigenous knowledge systems. They imposed values that are foreign to us and as a result we have a rudderless and chaotic society where there is no respect for any form of authority because we have been made to live out of our nature.
There is too much chaos and noise in our families and in our communities. The disorder and the chaos in our parliament is a reflection of the disorder and chaos in our lives.
“By their fruits you shall know them…”
Matthew 7:16
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10
The education system has failed our children. By taking God out of the country’s constitution and from the public school system, the ANC has taken power from the parents and we have ended up with a generation of people who are ungovernable. Just about every family is facing the scourge of alcoholism and children high on drugs.
Under the watch of the ANC, a wedge has been driven between a man and a woman. Black women hate black men and have resorted to calling them dogs. Some of our best brains, being nothing but victims of circumstances, are confined by the prison system. Women want to be men and men want to women. Our street corners are full of beggars. In a country where there is no visible direction from leaders, homeless people are directing traffic. People are being conned in churches in broad daylight, any given Sunday.
Under ANC rule, governance is a farce, a circus where even the village idiot can become king. People are marching against foreign nationals on daily basis as intellectuals talk of constitutionalism. The country lacks a visible identity and runs the risk of being overrun by foreigners while Izifundiswa and politicians try to regain the narrative they have lost control of. It is as if we are under a satanic spell. Our country is one big mess.
We find ourselves in a quagmire. The roads are full of potholes. And perhaps the potholes are a metaphor for the hole and the void that the ANC has left in our collective national soul. Perhaps, the traffic lights that have stopped blinking are a reflection of the light that the ANC has dimmed in our hearts. While we are one of the richest nations in the world, we go to other countries begging for food and leftovers.
While every great nation has always been built on separation, the ANC integrated us into a burning house. By choosing to become a copycat of other nations, it failed to develop a distinct identity for our people. The ANC sacrificed everything that Abantu hold dear at the altar of rainbowism. It walked the broad way that leads to destruction. It went the popular way and did not take the road less taken.
The sad truth is, the ANC’s compromise on the issue of land was a gross human rights violation. And since the ANC never understood the spirituality of land ownership, they could not emphasize the need to instil in people the importance of tilling even the little land they have at their disposal.
“This is what the Lord says, stand at the crossroads and look, ask for the ancient paths, as where the good way is, and you will find rest for your souls, but you said, we will not walk in it”.
Jeremiah 6:16
As we come to the end of our paper, the Son of Man, Yeshua ben Yosef once enquired of his disciples what people out there thought of him. This seems to be a question that troubles many prophets and leaders alike. It is said that Inkosi uShembe used to ask his faithful as well, “Niyothi kwakukhona bani?” (Who would you say I was when I am gone?).
The opening lines of this article made some references to tea. The man also prophetically named “Mhanganyelwa” by his parents, has been known occasionally to invite people over for tea. A complex character, he must himself have asked this question in an effort to understand what people think of him.
And if the question ever arose over the English tea or “Umqombothi” preferably, the answer should be very simple and unambiguous. “Baba, you are not a perfect man. You were part of the ANC that we speak about but you never belonged. You had the opportunity to do better while you had the seat of power but you did not. But you still have time to make amends by advocating for a completely separate direction to that which was taken by the ANC.
People call you “Baba” because, in a nation characterized by absent fathers and weak men, you represent the nation’s desire to have a father figure if not a king. You are a constant reminder to us that western education is not a panacea for our ills if not grounded on Abantu values.
By your very nature, you represent a firm rejection of western values. Perhaps, even if misguided, you represent the aspirations of the people for a Messiah who will finally free them from the shackles of all forms of Western thinking and domination. You serve as an inspiration to millions of men who feel trapped by the unnatural system of monogamy. You are the embodiment of not only our yearning for the return of land, but for the return to the old ways, our very way of life.
You need to walk the narrow path of Isintu. You should not be Janus, the double-faced god of the Romans. You must not worship Mamona, the god of money. You should not be of two minds. You must not equivocate. You must walk the path of truth. The way of Shembe. It is a good way, the way of salvation, where there will be rest for our souls.”
By: Mkhulu Mbazo
(Inhlabamkhosi). (Isigijimi Sabadala)
A graduate of the river, Mkhulu Mbazo is the chief spirit governing Msizi ka Isaac ka Wilson Moshoetsi. A Biblical scholar, spiritual analyst and a student of the ancestors, he is the writer of The Book of Abantu and The Book of Nobantu and the Five Seeds. He offers spiritual classes on a series of recordings called The Mkhulu Mbazo Masterclass.
Mkhulu Mbazo has ascended the mountain. He is a proponent of the old ways and an advocate of separation. His spiritual exodus, The Book of Abantu has coined an economic system called “Umphilandawonye”, based amongst others, on the principles of Ukunikela, Ukuzinikezela, Letsema, Mafisa, Isipheko, Ukushintshisana, Isithembu, Ukuhlonipha iSabatha etc. He writes in his official capacity as the (Inter) National Editor of The Book of Abantu. You can visit Mkhulu Mbazo on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@mkhulumbazo-k1p/videos
Behold: Inhlabamkhosi, (The man who sounds the clarion call), Isigijimi Sabadala (The ancestral messenger), uMaguqula, (The game changer)!
