One of the speakers at the Enyobeni funeral last week was Police Minister Bheki Cele, who vowed to crack down on taverns selling alcohol to under-age children.
He did so in a calm and collected demeanour, which belied the angry bile that erupted from his mouth in Cape Town a few days earlier.
I understand that politicians are also human and therefore prone to outbursts and foul language.
But as I’ve said before, I do expect a lot more self-control and decorum from my political leadership when they are in public.
Repeatedly screaming “shut up” from the pit of his lungs at someone making a few salient points in a meeting called to address community concerns, was not only bad form; it was also an extreme abuse of power.
The man who tackled Cele at that meeting is Ian Cameron, who says as head of the group Action Society, he was mandated by Gugulethu and Nyanga residents to verbalise their concerns about crime to the minister.
If you’ve seen the video, you can appreciate that Ian took on a very combative approach and interrupted Cele during his response, in what can be described as an antagonistic style.
It’s then that Cele lost his cool, after which Ian was unceremoniously removed from the meeting.
Cele has since conceded that he could’ve handled the incident better, while Ian has laid charges against the minister and the police who removed him.
Cele made several missteps and squandered a golden opportunity to get those communities, and Cape Town at large, to understand his challenges.
He is known for nostalgic political speeches that are self-indulgent rather than addressing practical issues at hand.
In the video, he draws on racial stereotypes by talking about how his mother used to be treated and telling Ian he would not be treated like a garden boy.
Now granted, Ian was stressing his points in a very robust fashion, but at no point could it be interpreted as belittling the minister.
To the contrary, it afforded Cele the opportunity to counter with an equally robust and intelligent response. “Shut up. You shut up! Shut up,” doesn’t qualify as that!
It was a juvenile outburst that together with Ian’s forceful removal, can be defined as bullying.
Clearly the community felt that Ian was the most eloquent person to verbalise their anger and discontent.
They must’ve also felt that he would be able to hold the minister to account and demand answers, like he attempted to.
Maybe they also didn’t want their concerns to be ignored and their questions brushed aside and for the minister to derail their meeting.
Perhaps they wanted guarantees and some tangible results and felt that Ian might be able to achieve that for them.
These are very valid reasons for why he did what he did and spoke with the angry passion that he did.
Instead, Cele confirmed their worst fears, leaving them right back where they started.
They have asked nicely, begged repeatedly and now demanded angrily … and still the answer remains the same – “Shut up. Just shut up. You shut up!”
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