The ubuntu code for confronting the TikTok smear against SA's Indian community

TWO weeks ago, a short, venomous video appeared on TikTok.

In it, a speaker claims that South Africans of Indian origin - some whose families have lived here for more than 165 years - are not really part of “us.”

“They have their own country … they can always go to India,” it suggests.

“If shit hits the fan, they got India to run to not South Africa.”

The reaction was swift. Leaders across society condemned it as dangerous and divisive.

But the uncomfortable question remains: why does this poison still find fertile ground in 2025?

The answer lies not just in the failure of our laws, but in the failure to install a shared moral operating system (OS) in our society. To build true social cohesion and national character, we must actively integrate the core tenets of Ubuntu and human values into our response.

This incident is a stark test of whether we are running on the outdated, corrupted software of “us vs them,” or the open-source, resilient code of “I am because we are.”

The distortion of history is a violation of Ubuntu

To dismiss South Africans of Indian origin as perpetual foreigners is not just an insult; it is a wilful deletion of their lines from our shared codebase.

For over 165 years, this community has lived, struggled, sacrificed, and built alongside others. From indentured labourers in Natal’s foundations to founders of businesses, schools, and civic institutions like the Natal Indian Congress - a pillar of the anti-apartheid struggle - their contributions are woven into our national fabric.

Ubuntu recognises that my dignity is tied to yours, and my history is intertwined with yours. Erasing the Indian community’s legacy is an attack on the integrity of our collective story, damaging the system for everyone.

What the video reveals: a system error in our society

That such content resonates points to critical bugs in our societal Operating System (OS):

- Ignorance as a virus: many are ignorant of the full, multiracial history of our build. We teach apartheid as a binary, neglecting the shared struggle. Without this education - a core human values of truth and respect - empathy fails to compile, making it easy to "other" a community.

- Scapegoating as malware: instead of diagnosing complex systemic issues like unemployment, the lazy algorithm of prejudice redirects blame to a visible minority. This is the antithesis of Ubuntu, which calls for shared responsibility and cooperative problem-solving.

- Platforms amplifying hate: social media allows hateful code to execute with impunity. The suggestion that a community has a “backup country” is not humour; it is a command meant to exclude, to revoke their belonging. It is hate speech that corrupts the network of mutual trust.

Condemnation is not enough: we need a system update

Our official responses - condemning the video as racist - are necessary but insufficient.

They are like applying a band-aid to a system crash. We must go deeper:

- Beyond “free speech” to responsible dialogue: defending all speech under a blanket term ignores that hate speech is a denial of the other’s humanity. Ubuntu frames dialogue as a sacred space for understanding, not a weapon. We must champion speech that builds, not destroys, our communal bonds.

- Teaching a shared history is installing Ubuntu: we must urgently rewrite the curriculum to include the full narrative of all builders of South Africa. Knowing each other’s stories is the fundamental driver of the empathy required for social cohesion. This isn’t optional; it’s essential system documentation.

- Accountability as a security protocol: perpetrators and platforms must face consequences. Our laws and social norms must be the firewall against divisive content. Ubuntu’s focus on the collective good justifies holding accountable those who would harm the social fabric.

- Confronting all prejudice: Ubuntu’s honesty demands we also address intra-community prejudices. Silence within any group weakens the moral authority to challenge prejudice from outside. True cohesion requires integrity at every node.

The 2025 update: patching our society with Ubuntu and human values

This unpleasant and derogatory incident is a chance to commit to a decisive upgrade.

Here is our patch log:

- Educate with Ubuntu as the framework: schools and media must tell the full, intertwined story. Highlight not just contributions, but moments of multiracial solidarity - the living proof of "I am because we are” in action.

- Facilitate dialogue, not debates: create Ubuntu-inspired spaces for communities to share fears and histories, grounded in the human values of listening and respect. Move from sound bites to shared understanding.

- Enforce with constitutional Ubuntu: use our laws not just punitively, but as tools to affirm the constitutional value of human dignity for all. Encourage platforms to see their role as stewards of social cohesion, not just engagement.

- Build solidarity through shared projects: the ultimate test of Ubuntu is cooperative action. Inter-community projects - in welfare, arts, business - are where we write new code together, building a tangible sense of shared destiny.

Final compilation: we are stronger together

Some may dismiss this as fringe noise. But we who understand systems know that unchecked hate is a virus that migrates from margins to mainstream.

To tell any community, “You do not belong,” is to corrupt the entire program of our democracy.

It insults every South African who believes in our shared future.

As we move forward, let our condemnation be rooted not only in outrage, but in the active, hard work of installing Ubuntu.

Let us choose the operating system that says our differences of origin, culture, and faith are not vulnerabilities to be exploited, but diverse libraries that make our national software more robust, creative, and resilient.

Our tapestry was woven through shared struggle. Let us protect its every thread with courage and conscious care. That is how we build a nation of character. That is how we ensure social cohesion is not just a slogan, but our society’s most stable, running process.

Siva Naidoo is a social justice advocate and an Ubuntu and Human Values practitioner.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media. 

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