Ablick Pekwa Seketa

I grew up in Thokoza in the East Rand. Katlehong, Thokoza and Vosloorus were called Kathorus. I grew up during the time when violence between the IFP and the ANC erupted. Zulu people aligned to the IFP from the hostel on the main road, Khumalo street, were fighting with Self Defense Units aligned to the ANC based in the township. It is believed the hostel dwellers were sponsored with arms by the apartheid police, and would often be accompanied by Army caspers when they went into the township to attack. They would attack indiscrimately, hacking families with spears and pangas, breaking windows, burning houses etc. Chris Hani and them were involved in providing arms to the SDF's to defend themselves against the apartheid sponsored IFP. Fortunately for my family, this happened immediately after my father, who was a priest in Thokoza, had just lost my mother and his closest friend, a Taxi owner Ntate Sanie, who was shot in his presence just a month after my mom. The family in the Free State insisted he leaves Gauteng and come back home because it was no longer safe. I was at UCT at the time, and never went back to Thokoza. Families of friends that I went to High School with were killed, others displaced. It was a dirty war. In Soweto, where my boyfriend then lived in Senaone, it was the same conflict. Zulus from Merafe hostel attacked townships of Phiri, Mapetla, Chiawelo etc. Kids that were born in the 90's and 2000's do not know what it was like when there were scenes of communities fearful that the Zulus will come and kill anyone who did not speak isiZulu. You are Xhosa, Mosotho, Kendall, Shangaan, anything they came across that didn't speak Zulu would be hacked to death. In KZN it became Zulu against Zulu, with IFP vs ANC, which the boers called "Black on Black violence", knowing very well they were the sponsors of this conflict. It took a very long time for peace to prevail between these two parties and for communities to heal. Many families remain with scars and trauma from that period. The same way that political killings have continued during election time, which led to the establishment of the PKTT. I have no problem with Zulu pride. Some of us can speak and write isiZulu fluently, and love the language and culture. What I have anxiety about, it's mobilization of society under the "Hlangana Zulu" banner. The notion that "Zulu people will fix this country" by dealing with foreign nationals because of their supposed bravery. I'm not sure if that is where it will end. However, in the absence of Government leadership and State Intelligence on the foreign nationals crisis, people are resorting to Zulu Hlangana leadership. What can we say.