Mmusi Maimane drops in on the EFF

By RIAAN DE VILLIERS

NOT that he’s going to lose any sleep over it, one way or another, but I really like Mmusi Maimane. He is smart, principled and personable. Most important, I do think he is capable of bridging the gap in South African politics between the suburbs and the townships. So, after all, did Miss Helen – for a while, at any rate. Sure, Mmusi made some mistakes, but I also believe he got a raw deal from the DA.

After being imported and propped up as leader, and then summarily dumped, he resigned, and said he was going to consult people at the grass roots. He eventually formed Build One South Africa (BOSA), which contested last year’s general election. In the event, BOSA got 194 000 votes, and Mmusi and one other person went to parliament. For some reason I can’t quite unravel on the internet, BOSA did not join the GNU, but plays some kind of role as an independent voice from the sidelines.

Given all of this, I would not have associated Maimane with fraternising with the EFF. And for a long time, of course, the EFF derided him as — you know, some kind of hard-shelled tropical fruit, with one colour on the inside and another on the outside. I can’t quite bring myself to say it.

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So my interest was piqued when I discovered – in the course of research for another project – that he had made a guest appearance at the end of the EFF’s elective conference last December, just before the closing speech by the Commander-in-Chief.

It’s actually fascinating to view and listen to (courtesy of YouTube). Among other things, it reveals something of the hidden processes at work in South African politics that don’t often surface in the media. A reasonably complete version follows – but I would urge readers to watch it themselves.

Delivered without notes, the speech was vigorous and full of bonhomie, including bits in various indigenous languages, including Afrikaans.

After embracing several EFF luminaries, Maimane bounded up to the podium. For safety’s sake, he was wearing a Madiba shirt in neutral beige rather than anything blue or orange – as well as a designer stubble.

‘Amandlaaaaaa!” he boomed. [Faint Awethu’s].

“Amandlaaa … ! Dumelang …” [then a bit I can’t quite make out, about some pesky forces standing in the way of the EFF].
“But the struggle will continue, and I want to congratulate you on the work you are doing … I also want to acknowledge and congratulate the leadership elected here today … under your Commander-in-Chief, Julius Malema …

“I come on behalf of Build One South Africa, but I come also as part of what Fanon described as a new generation that must usher in a new freedom in this country… “ [Fanon? Not sure he ever raised that in the suburbs.]

“We may not all agree on ideology, and we form streams in this country that are fighting, but will one day coincide as a river that will march on towards a new freedom in South Africa …” [applause]

‘That freedom must speak … When there’s a new and a true freedom, people will stand up and say, the forces have delivered freedom in our society ….” In the form of water, electricity, food and jobs. “For what’s the use of freedom when too many are dying hungry? … We must stand up and say, genoeg is genoeg, now is the time for change, amandlaaaaa …

“Because we can’t have multiple South Africas … we can’t have one South Africa where people are enjoying true freedom and too many are lingering in poverty … Those are material conditions of instability in our nation …

“So, in those short words, I am merely here to say, along with many others [a pause before the high point]: “A time is coming when revolution will sweep over this country and deliver significant change. …” [bemusement, and then more applause. CIC nods approvingly.]

He then went on to say that he and the CIC had collaborated in many places in recent times – notably the Eastern Cape. [H’m – very interesting. It says something about the CIC too. Seriously, I’d love to know what they were doing.] So when he received the invitation, he did not find it strange. At any rate, Kea Leboha … thanks for the invite.

“I want to invite many more South Africans to say: freedom is never won, but must be fought for in every generation … so let us take the struggle forward, from our grandmothers, for the sake of our children … “

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The speech seemed spontaneous, but it was very carefully crafted. Among others, despite his nods to Fanon and the revolution – both of which burn brightly in the commander-in-chief’s conceptual firmament — Maimane did not throw in his lot with the EFF, but emphasised that ‘the struggle’ was a wider one involving many more South Africans. And ‘revolution’, after all, can be interpreted in many different ways. It chimes with my sense that Mmusi can indeed talk in one voice to anyone in the country. Well, almost.

You know that thing when Some People in this country (let’s just call then colonials) talk to Other People in this country (let’s just call them the colonised, or formerly disadvantaged) in fake accents, mimicking what they believe to be theirs? Just to convey their empathy or shared understanding? This dictionary term also starts with a ‘c’. Just thinking about it makes a certain part of my anatomy pucker up. (Not least because I myself — but let’s not go there … )

So here’s the thing: I think Mmusi was also doing this when he was speaking to the Fighters. He accent seemed, well, more homey, and his r’s decidedly more guttural (we Afrikaners call it a brei, or bgy) — quite different from his diction when he used to make speeches in the suburbs. A bit, in fact, like Trevor Noah trying to speak like Gwede Mantashe.

But then, nobody is perfect. Moreover, the chasm in our politics is deep and wide, and it’s a shape-shifter to boot. So never mind one man, one vote — maybe, one man, one accent will signal our true liberation.

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Featured image: Mmusi Maimane in action at the EFF elective conference. Image: YouTube.