By the time the 2 500-strong army of French soldiers entered the south-western part of Rwanda on June 23 1994, hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus were already dead.
The French were responding to a call by the United Nations for the international community to mobilise a humanitarian mission to stop the genocide. The stench of rotting human flesh hung in the air.
The butchers had been indiscriminate in their slaughter. Bodies of mothers, fathers, children and the elderly were strewn across streets in every part of the country.
There were not enough graves to bury the dead. Ethnic differences between the minority Tutsis and the majority Hutus, which had been stoked by the political elite, had almost wiped out an entire people.
As this was happening the world was toasting the last – others argue that it was the major – “miracle” of the 20th century. A prisoner had become president in South Africa.
Not only did Nelson Mandela not show any bitterness but he was magnanimous enough to share power with his former jailers. It was truly a moment to savour. The world duly raised its glass and toasted the moment.
But equally, it turned a blind eye to what was happening in Rwanda. By the time anyone or even the UN acted, between 500000 and a million people had perished in a three- month orgy of violence.
It was a painful lesson in what philosopher Edmund Burke warned of hundreds of years earlier, that evil thrives when “good men do nothing”.
Today it is exactly 22 years from the day the French soldiers entered Rwanda.
It is also the day on which, thousands of kilometres to the south of Kigali, the people of Tshwane are still counting their losses and clearing debris from their streets.
The unrest which started in the townships around Tshwane on Sunday and spread to the city centre on Tuesday, is apparently because the communities do not want “that Zulu woman” to be the ANC’s mayoral candidate for the city.
The tribalism evident in the response to the announcement of former agriculture minister Thoko Didiza as the ANC’s mayoral candidate for Tshwane is worrying.
It has happened despite her having lived in Pretoria since her election to parliament in 1994. But that is beside the point.
This is not the only incident of this type.
In Vuwani, Limpopo, 24 schools were burnt down last month, all because the communities in the area – dominated by Venda speakers – do not want their villages to be incorporated into the Malamulele Municipality which is dominated by Tsonga speakers.
A pattern would seem to be emerging in our society – on the ground and on social networks – where disagreements are premised on racial or ethnic differences.
This is a recipe for disaster.
By yesterday afternoon President Jacob Zuma had not said a word about the protests or the danger presented by communities stoking ethnic fires.
Perhaps he lacks the courage to do so. After all he won the ANC presidency on a “100% Zuluboy” ticket. He allowed a dangerous phenomenon to gain traction within the ANC when his ethnicity became a rallying point for his supporters.
This is in contrast to the ANC’s success record since its formation, in managing to mobilise people beyond ethnic or race lines. This was possible because of the exceptional leadership of the likes of Nkosi Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo and the Mandelas of this world.
The protests in Vuwani and Tshwane are yet another demonstration that the ANC under Zuma is no longer able to claim it is “the leader of society”. Our society is leaderless and that is dangerous.
This is not the time to blame “outside forces” and other imaginary enemies. The ANC must rein in its supporters and restore order in Tshwane. But more than that it must find a leader. We don’t need a civil war.
OPINION: Deadliness of ruddlerlessness
The French were responding to a call by the United Nations for the international community to mobilise a humanitarian mission to stop the genocide. The stench of rotting human flesh hung in the air.
The butchers had been indiscriminate in their slaughter. Bodies of mothers, fathers, children and the elderly were strewn across streets in every part of the country.
There were not enough graves to bury the dead. Ethnic differences between the minority Tutsis and the majority Hutus, which had been stoked by the political elite, had almost wiped out an entire people.
As this was happening the world was toasting the last – others argue that it was the major – “miracle” of the 20th century. A prisoner had become president in South Africa.
Not only did Nelson Mandela not show any bitterness but he was magnanimous enough to share power with his former jailers. It was truly a moment to savour. The world duly raised its glass and toasted the moment.
But equally, it turned a blind eye to what was happening in Rwanda. By the time anyone or even the UN acted, between 500000 and a million people had perished in a three- month orgy of violence.
It was a painful lesson in what philosopher Edmund Burke warned of hundreds of years earlier, that evil thrives when “good men do nothing”.
Today it is exactly 22 years from the day the French soldiers entered Rwanda.
It is also the day on which, thousands of kilometres to the south of Kigali, the people of Tshwane are still counting their losses and clearing debris from their streets.
The unrest which started in the townships around Tshwane on Sunday and spread to the city centre on Tuesday, is apparently because the communities do not want “that Zulu woman” to be the ANC’s mayoral candidate for the city.
The tribalism evident in the response to the announcement of former agriculture minister Thoko Didiza as the ANC’s mayoral candidate for Tshwane is worrying.
It has happened despite her having lived in Pretoria since her election to parliament in 1994. But that is beside the point.
This is not the only incident of this type.
In Vuwani, Limpopo, 24 schools were burnt down last month, all because the communities in the area – dominated by Venda speakers – do not want their villages to be incorporated into the Malamulele Municipality which is dominated by Tsonga speakers.
A pattern would seem to be emerging in our society – on the ground and on social networks – where disagreements are premised on racial or ethnic differences.
This is a recipe for disaster.
By yesterday afternoon President Jacob Zuma had not said a word about the protests or the danger presented by communities stoking ethnic fires.
Perhaps he lacks the courage to do so. After all he won the ANC presidency on a “100% Zuluboy” ticket. He allowed a dangerous phenomenon to gain traction within the ANC when his ethnicity became a rallying point for his supporters.
This is in contrast to the ANC’s success record since its formation, in managing to mobilise people beyond ethnic or race lines. This was possible because of the exceptional leadership of the likes of Nkosi Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo and the Mandelas of this world.
The protests in Vuwani and Tshwane are yet another demonstration that the ANC under Zuma is no longer able to claim it is “the leader of society”. Our society is leaderless and that is dangerous.
This is not the time to blame “outside forces” and other imaginary enemies. The ANC must rein in its supporters and restore order in Tshwane. But more than that it must find a leader. We don’t need a civil war.
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