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27 April 2021 | Story Prof Sethulego Matebesi | Photo Sonia Small
Prof Matabesi
Prof Sethulego Matebesi is a Senior Lecturer and Academic Head of the Department of Sociology at the University of the Free State.

This year’s Freedom Day marks an important milestone in the history of South Africa. It will be 27 years since the first non-racial elections were held in the country, a figure that equals the number of years Nelson Mandela spent in prison.

If equating Mandela with the freedom we enjoy today is not already disingenuous enough, we sunk even lower by assuming that we are close to achieving the civil liberties he embodied. You do not have to go further than read the daily media headlines to understand the extent of the onslaught on the pillars of democracy. That this onslaught comes from political leaders is one of the main reasons why most South Africans are disillusioned with politics, democracy and social issues.

Anarchy wreaking havoc in weak societies

Sociology taught me about the relevance of institutions to a social structure: they control human conduct by setting up predefined behaviour patterns. For example, throughout history anarchy has wreaked havoc in settings where organisations are weak, fragmented, and the citizenry is inactive. Similarly, while peace, unity, and the preservation and the restoration of human dignity are the hallmarks of Freedom Day celebrations, we have become a nation increasingly influenced by symbolic politics and the politics of offence.

It would be hard to find a better example of a significant threat to the pillars of democracy than the widespread onslaught on the judiciary. At the heart of the broader political, legal, and moral issues confronting SA today is how the right of all to equal respect and equal protection under the law has been compromised. Casting doubt about the independence of the judiciary conceals the motivations that most endanger the principles of freedom and equality.

My stance is not aimed at muting the expression of unpopular opinions – a basic tenet of democracy. However, we need to be mindful of events that have and will become powerfully symbolic in altering the nation’s social fabric.

Freedom under attack by populist politics

Any societal change requires some form of flexibility. No doubt, the first decade of democracy was accompanied by hope and the euphoria of the Rainbow Nation. This period demonstrated how different racial groups could live together in harmony, play together, and attend the same school without being required to forsake values they hold dear. This period was punctured by notions of active citizenship and the promotion of democratic cooperation that is based on the acceptance of universal human rights and the rule of law and values of diversity.

While millions of people elsewhere in the world have been forced to flee hunger, war, terrorism, and emboldened autocrats in their countries of birth, the euphoric wave of the Mandela years has, unwittingly and dramatically, worn off during the past decade in South Africa. This turn of events is linked to populist politics that seriously compromise democratic institutions in the country.

In my opinion, there are no heroes in situations like these.

In a country characterised by rampant corruption, violent crime, gender-based violence, human trafficking, racial intolerance, and teenage drug abuse, are politicians the only ones to be blamed for the threats to democracy?

Conquering immorality and safeguarding our freedom

Despite all the challenges we face as a country, we remain a remarkably resilient nation, as is widely acknowledged. This resilience is echoed by how we have navigated our way around a highly divisive and intolerant society to embrace and celebrate our rich and vibrant cultural heritage.

Nevertheless, we have become complacent. We have been vocal against any narrative aimed at restricting our legal, religious, human, civil, economic and political rights. Yet, partly due to our collective inaction, we have failed to use the means to provide a compelling counter-narrative of resistance to the manipulation of state institutions and broader immorality permeating society. This inaction affects the lives and livelihoods of millions of those who do not have the organisational capacity and means to advocate for the causes that affect them.

Let us use this year’s historic Freedom Day celebrations to demonstrate our firm resolve to protect the critical pillars of democracy from further exploitation. This kind of collective responsibility is what South Africa has always been about. Only when our government at all levels, the private sector, and concerned citizens across the country begin a critical partnership and commitment to maintain our democratic institutions and processes that our past losses as a nation become gains and defeats become triumphs.

* Prof Sethulego Matebesi works on all current affairs such as political and social issues. More specifically, he focuses on social movements and protests, community-mining company conflict, and local municipal governance.

News Archive

Bloemfontein’s Visser brothers to wow hometown fans
2013-03-27

 

From left: Vincent Visser, Gareth Cliff and Vicus Visser
Photo: Supplied
27 March 2013

South Africa’s YouTube singing sensation, Vicus Visser, will wow Bloemfonteiners on 18 April 2013 with a musical performance at the University of the Free State.

He and his talented brother Vincent will perform at the Wynand Mouton Theatre giving their hometown fans a taste of their recent performances in the United States. Vicus, who has been dubbed Bloemfontein’s Justin Bieber, performed overseas for the first time in February this year when he and his brother performed at events for Black History Month in Washington DC and New York. One of their performances was at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC where they paid tribute to Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King.

Vicus rose to fame in 2010 when a music clip of him as a ten year old boy, singing “These Arms” by All for One, appeared on the internet. After a massive seven-year search on social media channels by local and international record companies, he was tracked down to Heidedal in Bloemfontein. Vicus and Vincent moved to Johannesburg in 2012 where they were managed and mentored by Gareth Cliff, top radio presenter and judge on Idols South Africa.

Gareth will join the Visser brothers in Bloemfontein on 18 April and will be master of ceremonies at the concert titled Singing the Dream for South Africa - The Kennedy Centre Performance. As with their performance in the United States, the brothers will treat the hometown crowd to a selection of songs in English, Zulu, Sesotho and Afrikaans.

Vicus, Vincent and Gareth will also make special appearances at the two graduation ceremonies hosted at 09:30 and 14:30 on 18 April 2013. Gareth will be guest speaker and the two brothers will give a short performance. They will also have a meet and greet session with students at the Thakaneng Bridge at 11:45.

Tickets for the Singing the Dream for South Africa - The Kennedy Centre Performance cost R 20 and are available at Room 5, Thakaneng Bridge. The show starts at 19:30.

For more information contact Nicoleen Snyman at snymann@ufs.ac.za or 051 401 9598 / 051 401 9102.


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