White Supremacy & Arrogance at the Core of DA's Appropriation of Madiba
26 July 2016
The African National Congress (ANC) views the continued attempts by the DA to appropriate the persona of Isithwalandwe/Seaparankoe late ANC President Comrade Nelson Mandela as cheap politicking bordering on desperation. It is a glaring sign that the DA's attempts to woo the black electorate are floundering and they will stop at nothing to "blackwash' their chequered history as a whites-only party by thrusting a few token blacks into positions of leadership and appropriating even symbols that have always shunned them.
Comrade Nelson Mandela himself said as much, telling a COSATU rally in December 2000 that the DA was a party of 'white bosses and black stooges'. He said, "no matter how they cover up by getting a few black stooges, they (the whites) remain the bosses. They remain a white party."
Throughout this election campaign the DA has offended the memory and integrity of Comrade Madiba, using him and his legacy callously for their narrow political gains. In a manner typical of the white supremacist party that the DA is, they are dismissive and irreverent of the feelings of Madiba's family and even his own words in the latter years of his life that: "I will join the nearest branch of the ANC in heaven. If I do not find one, I will launch my own ANC branch."
Because Madiba was black, the white supremacy at the core of the DA holds no regard for his words, his wishes and the historical record that lays bare Madiba's unwavering commitment to the ANC. The DA displays a shocking form of arrogance and presumptuousness in claiming that Nelson Mandela would endorse its organization, were he still alive. Because he was black, they can think for him and show utter disregard for that which he committed himself to. What is most sinful is that all this is done after Comrade Madiba has departed and no longer able to speak for himself as he did all those times before saying "they know they have not produced any credible policies with which they can challenge the vision of the renewal of our country… their success lies in projecting themselves as tireless fighters for the defeat of the ANC."
The DA continues what their forebears could not finish - continued attempts to strip Madiba and his family of their sense of dignity and abusing them to further their own agenda. It is insensitive to Madiba's memory, his family, his organization, the ANC, and the millions of South Africans who suffered at the hands of the white apartheid regime for Comrade Madiba's image to today be used as a tool to advance those who represent all that which he fought against - the protection of white privilege and racism. Throughout his presidency, the DA (then Democratic Party) opposed President Mandela and the ANC, going to the extent of launching a "Fight Back" campaign in 1999 in response to his term of President of the Republic.
The DA has been at pains to remind black voters that it is a party founded on the principles of non-racialism, when in fact it is a reconstitution of the National Party, which found refuge in the DA to carry forward the baton of racist oppression under a new guise. The ANC reiterates its long-held position that the DA is a haven for racists, and its upper echelons dominated by individuals who hark back to the days of apartheid.
The party proudly counts amongst its members known apartheid collaborators such as Haniff Hoosen, who is the DA EThekwini Mayoral Candidate and murderers of our people such as Sam Pienaar, a Cape Town City Councillor, who took part in the orchestration of the Trojan Horse mass killing of our people in Athlone and Crossroads. Hoosen and Pienaar join the ranks of other leading DA personages who claim a commitment to the values of the new South Africa, but whose utterances and histories indicate otherwise.
If the DA were committed to the realization to Madiba's vision, Cape Town, where they govern, would not be a tale of two cities, one rich and white, and another poor and black. It would not be the only city in which the number of informal settlements has increased in the last five years. White representation at senior management level of the City, would not be sitting at 70%, compared to a white population of just over 15% in the province. If the DA wanted to realize Madiba's vision, they would never have opposed the Expropriation Bill intended to redress the injustices of apartheid through fair redistribution of land; a lifelong commitment of Madiba's of which he said, "would foster national reconciliation and stability". The DA would not continue blocking transformation through opposition to affirmative action and Black Economic Empowerment.
As the skeletons continue to tumble out of the DA's closet, we are confident that the public will ultimately see the DA for what it is, the Trojan Horse of apartheid, draped in the deceptive colours of non-racism.
Issued by
Zizi Kodwa
National Spokesperson
African National Congress
Enquiries
Khusela Sangoni 072 854 5707
The African National Congress (ANC) views the continued attempts by the DA to appropriate the persona of Isithwalandwe/Seaparankoe late ANC President Comrade Nelson Mandela as cheap politicking bordering on desperation. It is a glaring sign that the DA's attempts to woo the black electorate are floundering and they will stop at nothing to "blackwash' their chequered history as a whites-only party by thrusting a few token blacks into positions of leadership and appropriating even symbols that have always shunned them.
Comrade Nelson Mandela himself said as much, telling a COSATU rally in December 2000 that the DA was a party of 'white bosses and black stooges'. He said, "no matter how they cover up by getting a few black stooges, they (the whites) remain the bosses. They remain a white party."
Throughout this election campaign the DA has offended the memory and integrity of Comrade Madiba, using him and his legacy callously for their narrow political gains. In a manner typical of the white supremacist party that the DA is, they are dismissive and irreverent of the feelings of Madiba's family and even his own words in the latter years of his life that: "I will join the nearest branch of the ANC in heaven. If I do not find one, I will launch my own ANC branch."
Because Madiba was black, the white supremacy at the core of the DA holds no regard for his words, his wishes and the historical record that lays bare Madiba's unwavering commitment to the ANC. The DA displays a shocking form of arrogance and presumptuousness in claiming that Nelson Mandela would endorse its organization, were he still alive. Because he was black, they can think for him and show utter disregard for that which he committed himself to. What is most sinful is that all this is done after Comrade Madiba has departed and no longer able to speak for himself as he did all those times before saying "they know they have not produced any credible policies with which they can challenge the vision of the renewal of our country… their success lies in projecting themselves as tireless fighters for the defeat of the ANC."
The DA continues what their forebears could not finish - continued attempts to strip Madiba and his family of their sense of dignity and abusing them to further their own agenda. It is insensitive to Madiba's memory, his family, his organization, the ANC, and the millions of South Africans who suffered at the hands of the white apartheid regime for Comrade Madiba's image to today be used as a tool to advance those who represent all that which he fought against - the protection of white privilege and racism. Throughout his presidency, the DA (then Democratic Party) opposed President Mandela and the ANC, going to the extent of launching a "Fight Back" campaign in 1999 in response to his term of President of the Republic.
The DA has been at pains to remind black voters that it is a party founded on the principles of non-racialism, when in fact it is a reconstitution of the National Party, which found refuge in the DA to carry forward the baton of racist oppression under a new guise. The ANC reiterates its long-held position that the DA is a haven for racists, and its upper echelons dominated by individuals who hark back to the days of apartheid.
The party proudly counts amongst its members known apartheid collaborators such as Haniff Hoosen, who is the DA EThekwini Mayoral Candidate and murderers of our people such as Sam Pienaar, a Cape Town City Councillor, who took part in the orchestration of the Trojan Horse mass killing of our people in Athlone and Crossroads. Hoosen and Pienaar join the ranks of other leading DA personages who claim a commitment to the values of the new South Africa, but whose utterances and histories indicate otherwise.
If the DA were committed to the realization to Madiba's vision, Cape Town, where they govern, would not be a tale of two cities, one rich and white, and another poor and black. It would not be the only city in which the number of informal settlements has increased in the last five years. White representation at senior management level of the City, would not be sitting at 70%, compared to a white population of just over 15% in the province. If the DA wanted to realize Madiba's vision, they would never have opposed the Expropriation Bill intended to redress the injustices of apartheid through fair redistribution of land; a lifelong commitment of Madiba's of which he said, "would foster national reconciliation and stability". The DA would not continue blocking transformation through opposition to affirmative action and Black Economic Empowerment.
As the skeletons continue to tumble out of the DA's closet, we are confident that the public will ultimately see the DA for what it is, the Trojan Horse of apartheid, draped in the deceptive colours of non-racism.
Issued by
Zizi Kodwa
National Spokesperson
African National Congress
Enquiries
Khusela Sangoni 072 854 5707
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