SOUTH AFRICA- THE MOVIE

HELLO all- welcome to “South Africa -The Movie” premiere - note not the “premier”.

So, haul out the popcorn and coke and get ready for the ride of your life. You need not add spice to your popcorn because this column promises to be cheesy cheesy enough!

Our country is undergoing a metamorphosis that is actually unprecedented.

We are daily ear and eyewitnesses to parallel commissions whereby sensitive goings on are being uncovered and laid bare unlike previous ones in which there was no real minute-by-minute live coverage.

In the Madlanga commission and the Ad Hoc committee investigating irregularities alleged by a senior police official, dirty linen is being aired openly, shocking corruption is being unearthed for the citizenry to see firsthand.

I put it to you that not even the most award-winning Hollywood screenwriter could have envisaged a storyline such as is unfolding across our country currently. So captivating is it that even I who had almost no interest in politics have forsaken my usual weekly movies to unwind with from the rigours of daily existence.

By no means am I knowledgeable in the cut and thrust of political shenanigans, but neither am I ignorant of it. Just that of recent, I am receiving a crash course on the subject and honestly things are crashing around us on a daily basis. Sacred cows are being slaughtered, errant politicos are being held to account, fear and intimidation is on the daily menu of our country. How did this originate?

It all was precipitated on a  Sunday afternoon by KZN Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla ‘Lucky’ Sibusiso Mkhwanazi, 52.

The much spoken about press conference on July 6, was both praised and vilified, as was the dedicated police commissioner.

He was accompanied by a tight phalanx of heavily armed officers mostly brandishing automatic weapons and this was widely pilloried mostly by his detractors. The most popular theory was that the approach had the makings of a coup d`eta tat. Then followed the expected conspiracy theories spun around the good General.

Several allegations were made against him, most of them casting aspersions on his motives and his integrity. However, those that know Mkhwanazi, and I know a retired police captain who worked with him, who testifies that he is “as straight as an arrow”.

Efforts to besmirch his reputation are met with resistance from an adoring public who have come to accord him hero-status. He is fast becoming a national treasure, most especially in the province which falls under his jurisdiction. Such is his fanfare that there are suggestions that July 6  should be declared a national holiday named in his honour. I, for one, would willingly support that.

Because of his bravery, honesty and candour, a lot of corruption and rot has been revealed, some of it tracking back to the upper echelons of government.

Scary times indeed, but so welcome. The Cat has definitely been thrown among the pigeons. Puzzling cases like the assassinations of our beloved Babita Deokaran and Vereeniging engineer, Armand Swart, are being solved. The commissions of Inquiry are being officiated by competent individuals. Retired judge Mbuyisele Madlanga and Mr Molapi Soviet Lekganyane are navigating difficult territories, but are doing so admirably. Legal heroes are emerging and taking their place in history. A few of the commission investigators are getting caught up in grandstanding and ego-stoking, but then so are skilled and dexterous legal minds who are doing excellent work. I have witnessed the EFF’s Julius Sello Malema maturing in front of the nation, which is not a bad thing. It bodes well for our country. It’s a start at least. I must make mention of the popular and prestigious Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga which has been revealed as a watering hole and meeting place of some scoundrels.

I have been there several times on press and media junkets and leisure weekends too and I understand the allure of the edifice. One of the most famous residents was the now deceased feline stray cat that one day wandered in and never left and became quite a fixture of the luxurious resort.

He was named Skabenga, meaning “hooligan” or “vagabond” in Zulu. So, I call the Oyster Box Hotel the “Place of Skabenga”. After recent revelations of it being the notorious meeting place of some key players in corruption, I find the name very apropos. Once again, a cat is involved. Meow until another fortnight!

CRY OUR BELOVED COUNTRY, BUT RISE WE SHALL.

And that is certainly not movie fiction, but a given.

*Ravi Govender is a former POST sub-editor and Lotus FM radio presenter. He is a published author of four books, a freelance editor and film producer in training. He can be contacted at: [email protected]