Quigney CPF bust up by City Councillors
1.. Anonymous Pony Express regarding Councillor Siyabonga Jabavu
2.. The Chief Whip, ANC Buffalo City Denunciation
3.. Culminating cycles of ANC Denunciations
4.. Political Parties and social movements
5.. Footnote: Pony Express dated 7th July 2006
1.. PONY EXPRESS CONCERNING COUNCILLOR JABAVU
A Pony Express, an occasional newsletter distributed "samizdat style"
in the Quigney and signed by a "Brian Botha", was circulated by Councilor
Jabavu at a Special Branch Executive Committee Meeting held in the ANC
Constituency Offices in Buffalo Flats. Nobody knows who Brian Botha is, but
his name did crop up previously as a signatory to a letter of allegations
against the Quigney Community Policing Forum, targeting myself, Berend
Schuitema, which was hand delivered by Bobby Button to the Chairperson of
the East London Community Policing Forum some weeks ago. That letter was
written ostensibly on behalf of the "Quigney Residents Association". That
letter from "Mr. Botha" was read out at an East London Executive Committee
Meeting and a decision taken not to make any mention of it in the minutes
because it was regarded as part of a work of mischief continued by Bobby
Button.
However, the anonymous Pony Express signed by the same name caused a
stir of first order proportions when Jabavu got to read it. Other letters
containing similar flavors and accusations as the initial Mr. Botha letter
as the one rejected out of hand by the Executive Committee of the EL CPF but
reaching the Executive Committee of the ANC Branch Executive are taken at
face value and treated as matter of fact. While the recent Pony Express was
anonymous (no one is owning up to the name "Botha", apparently its contents
are not contested.
There is then this mysterious origin of the letter. But its contents
are no mystery as all the information can be found in records of proceedings
where these exist, however much is based on hearsay as many meetings where
statements are made go unrecorded. An example is a meeting held in the
Imbizo Café by a group calling itself "Quigney ANC Task Team / Quigney
Residents Association" convened a public meeting under pretences that it
would be addressed by a number of Members of Parliament. However, having
duped some 50 residents into attending this meeting without there ever
having been any arrangements made for these Members of Parliament to show
up, the main item of the meeting was an attack on Berend Schuitema and the
Quigney Sector Crime Forum. As there were no minutes taken, no attendance
register signed, the meeting can be regarded not only as mischievous, but
stirring of rumors with everyone able to take their own conclusions, most of
which are of the nature, "the community in the Quigney is very unhappy with
Berend Schuitema". So even though the Pony Express exposing Councillor
Jabavu's antics have caused him to rave and forward the contents to the
Minister of Police, whatever its contents they are based on hearsay from a
ghosted meeting which gave rise to waves of rumors and lies.
On my computer I also have lots of information. Much has been shared
via emails with a hundred or more people. I have my suspicions about who
compiled the Pony Express but given the circumstances this is not my own
primary concern to pursue, let alone impute any bad faith motive for the
information having been distributed in the first place. The reason is that
the information is all factually correct. The only problem is that from my
own personal perspective some of the information is privileged and not for
public consumption as it was gleaned from minutes and unrecorded proceedings
from an ostensibly secret organization, the ANC Ward 5 Branch Executive
Committee.
What I have been able to ascertain is that the person who compiled the
apparently libelous Pony Express, was not the person who did the
distribution of it. A copy was shifted under the door at the flat of Dai
Williams who, noticing that the name of Joe de Vries was mentioned in the
Pony Express, decided to confirm with him whether he knew or had received a
copy. Joe did not have a copy and Dai let him have one.
That is the best I have to offer with regard to the production and
distribution of the Pony Express regarding the Councillor's role in the
Quigney. I have read the contents, and once more have to affirm that what is
read is the truth and nothing but the truth, and very evidently the
information has spilled from one mailing address to another and eventually
found a jacket in the very conventional format of a Microsoft Publisher,
much like the Quigney Voice, with a Mistral letterhead. And with regard to
the distribution of the Pony Express, if people who had received it had
given some thought to checking back to the sources rather than liberally
distributing themselves, then probably the while furor would have been
unnecessary as by now it is evident, not proven, that only one copy went
astray and that one copy was ventilated along by the hasty readers who all
felt that they had either been exposed, or had something to hide.
As to the motive for why someone felt that editing the text and putting
it into Pony Express form there is no reason to look much further than the
evident feelings of solidarity with the real victim in the past months of
slander and maligning, namely Berend Schuitema. There has been duplicity and
collusion for the past few months with a constant ratcheting up of the
malicious campaign against him. This started before the3 last local
government elections when Councillor Jabavu, and evidently a good many ANC
apparatchiks in the Buffalo City Council were of the opinion that the
Quigney could only be won taking control over the QCPF because this was a
"DA stronghold". Bobby Button was found prepared to push this point as an
"informer" with promises for a "job" by the candidate Councillor Siyabonga
Jabavu and went on a door-to-door slander campaign against the QCPF in
general and Berend Schuitema in particular.
This campaign was unrelenting. When slanderous letters were handed in
to motivate "investigations" against me at the QCPF failed, it took another
parallel course and elaborated through the Branch Executive Committee. As I
is a member of the Branch Executive Committee he had his hands tied as
information stopped or let ahead at the BEC had to be left unchallenged
because of the way normal political parties work. Eventually it got so bad
that he was maligned by the Chief Whip of the ANC, a certain Mr. Sonny du
Plessis and roundly denounced. Du Plessis bullied the meeting into the
position that I "should have been suspended a long time ago", and that 8in
any case I was not to be addressed as "comrade" by any members of the
branch. This had such an impact on the man that that very same night he
spilled his feelings to his Internet community who were appalled by what
they had heard.
How can a veteran stand for such abuse, slandering the man for
achievements over 40 years, and still remain loyal to the ANC? Friends were
asking what sort of a fool I am to stand for these insults without
retaliating. Eventually it became clear to many of my friends that actually
I do feel stuck in a lousy and misplaced loyalty situation and that the best
thing I can and should do is to renounce my ANC membership.
2.. THE CHIEF WHIP ANC BUFFALO CITY DENUNCIATION
Getting back for a while to the letter written by Botha of the
so-called "Quigney Residents Association", the fact that the allegations it
was making against the QCPF and Berend Schuitema was rejected out of hand
and not even seriously considered, did not mean that a stop was put to this
mischief. Having failed to achieve their objectives in the QCPF the
plotters, including Councillor Jabavu, Councillor S Du Plessis and
Chairperson of ANC Ward 5 Branch continued their onslaught in the ANC
itself. Just before the local government elections held in March this year,
Jabavu employed Button to spread the rumor that the QCPF was now only a
"Democratic Alliance stronghold" but that I, as a QCPF leader, was forcing
members, principally Button, to canvass and vote for the Democratic
Alliance. This rumor was sent in shock wave to all possible areas and levels
of the ANC lections apparatus and I was called to account. While it was
evident to everyone in the QCPF, and especially those not simply members of,
but serving in the Branch Executive Committee of ANC Ward 5, that these were
rumors being employed by Jabavu to discredit Thembakazi Tuku as the Quigney
backed candidate as Ward Councillor, there was nothing stopping people like
Jabavu and Young from pursuing the matter literally to the street level.
Roy Young then was able to call together a small group of ANC members
doing canvassing work on a sidewalk in the Quigney that by coincidence
included myself, Button and a few of Young's supporters. He decided on the
spot "to put an end to the problems" and myself and Button to give an
account of Democratic Alliance "meddling" in the QCPF. Even though I
objected to this impromptu decision of Young that looked like a witch-hunt,
I nevertheless took the opportunity to counter the story that Button had
concocted. While we thought that Button's lies had been exposed were amazed
to receive a "report" made of this "meeting" according it formal status and
calling for disciplinary action to be taken against me.
This report read as follows:
Report Barend Schuitema versus Bobby Button - 18th February 2006
The purpose of the meeting was to establish the correct version of
events leading to the allegations by Cde Button that Cde Schuitema
encouraged/advised him to canvass for the DA.
With the very important upcoming local government elections on 1st
March 2006, it was prudent for the local branch leadership to intervene as a
matter of urgency, to resolve the issue between the two comrades.
Each of the two comrades was granted an opportunity to air their views
respectively. It was established that Avis Rens (DA) appraoched Cde Button
to canvass for her in the Quigney, after which he would be compensated. Cde
Button, as an ordinary member of the ANC, appraoched Cde Barend Schuitema
(Deputy Chairperson of the Branch) for political guidance in this regard.
Cde Schuitema, as part of the leadership, warned Button that he
(Button) would be treading on dangerous ground should he accede to Rens'
offer, as he was now an IEC Official/volunteer (temporary). However,
Schuitema alluded to Cde Button that he (Schuitema) would vote for Avis Rens
if circumstances were different, as he regards her as a very competent
Councillor. At this juncture, Cde Schuitema apologised to Councilor-elect
Jabavu, being the present Candidate for the same Ward 5. He added though,
that he was unable to support Rens as an ANC member.
He further informed Cde Button that the choice to do whatever was his
to make. Button told the committee that Cde Schuitema nevertheless told him
to canvass "privately" for the Democratic Alliance, as the ANC would not
know about it. Cde Schuitema did not deny this statement and in defence,
intimated to the committee that he made these remarks in "passing" ("by the
way"), to Cde Button at his house, and was not in a formal situation.
I was left with no other alternative as the Chairperson of our Local
branch, to admonish Cde Schuitema's conduct as a leader. Our humble opinion
is that Cde Schuitema, being an experienced cadre and leader of our
movement, should have provided political direction to the politically
immature Cde Button to eradicate any possible doubts in this regard,
especially realizing that the stakes were high. I have conveyed this
sentiment to Cde Schuitema in no uncertain terms. It needs to be accepted
that he accepted this admonishment in a very humble manner.
In conclusion we appealed to both of them to find each other and
continue to work together as a united force as members of our movement. We
further appealed to them to give their support and to have confidence in
Councillor-elect Jabavu as the legitimate, nominated candidate for the ANC
in Ward 5.
Recommendations:
1.. Cde Schuitema should be called to order as a matter of urgency by the
ANC Disciplinary Committee
2.. The Quigney CPF is huge and vibrant. He appraoched a few very
influential DA members to serve on the CPF Exco. Although the CPF is
apolitical, this forum could become an opposition to the ANC. The ANC should
be driving all Forums/projects where possible to ensure service delivery to
our communities.
3.. Political education workshops of ANC policies and procedures for our
45 branches should be ongoing throughout the year.
4.. A vigorous campaign should be launched on the entire Quigney Area by
all ANC members, (including MPL's and MP's), in order to restore the
confidence of the people in the ANC.
I sincerely trust that this report will shed light on the matter
between Comrades Schuitema and Button.
Yours Comradely,
Roy Young (Chairperson Mediator)
This "report" reached me more than a month later, literally through the
gutter press. It came in an opened envelope that was finally handed by Bobby
Button to Dai Williams to hand to me on the 28th March 2006. So despite its
serious implications, Roy Young made no attempt to present a draft of the
report for confirmation among at the very least in a top five meeting of the
ANC Branch Executive Meeting, but sent it to all concerned to eventually
reach this bully Chief Whip of the ANC in the Buffalo City Council, Mr.
Sonny du. Plessis. When Roy Young was questioned on this irregular practice
he said that I was afforded an opportunity for rebuttal or corrections
before it ended up in the hands of the higher up authorities. However, there
was no opportunity for either me or any one else whose names are mentioned
as having "attended" the "hearing", robbing us of the opportunity to
question Roy Young's highly questionable credentials for this "hearing", its
veracity and obviously prejudicial nature reflecting not simply his own
opinion, but a hidden motif.
On the 28th of March I replied to Roy Young reminding him that the
meeting was held in public with passersby peering in, and that I was in no
position, nor had any desire to tell the meeting anything else than I had
conveyed to him shortly prior the meeting. I was prepared for a hearing, but
not in the form of a kangaroo court he then opted for. The issue was the
behaviour of Jabavu who was using Button as his "private canvasser",
sidelining the local Quigney ANC members in the process. There was also huge
dissatisfaction with the manner in which Jabavu was nominated as against
Tembakazi Tuku, which is a burning issue of dissatisfaction in the Quigney.
In my letter the bottom line was that this "report' of his amounted to a
highly prejudiced opinion and nothing else. There was no register taken of
the proceedings, no terms of reference, in fact as it was held even
pedestrian passersby were privy to the proceedings.
Symptomatic of Roy Young's leadership of the ANC Branch, meetings are
scarce and when held the minutes and records of proceedings are even
scarcer. Long after this report of his was written and distributed to the
leadership in the entire region, it finally came up for discussion in a
branch meeting which of which there is no record of proceedings. A Task Team
was set up to investigate my "issue" but never met. An issue "arising from
the minutes of the Branch Executive Committee (5th April 2005) made
reference to the concerns expressed by the Quigney members present regarding
the irregular process of the AGM at which Councillor Jabavu was nominated.
By then the "Schuitema issue" had fallen off the radar as, in the words, of
the Chairperson Young, the matter "had gone stale", and in the light of my
own letter of response it was decided to leave things at that.
But laced in between continuing activities of Jabavu directed against
me personally and the QCPF, came a surprise revisit of this so-called
"report" of Mr. Roy Young. At an impromptu called ANC Branch Executive
Meeting some two weeks ago, we found a number of top ANC PR Councilors
present, including the Chief Whip in the Buffalo City Council, Mr. Sonny du
Plessis. This meeting was about the problems being experienced with
Councillor Jabavu in the Ward, with regard to a letter of support required
of him by the Buffalo City Development Agency, for a Bicycle Project of the
QCPF. The meeting was not going well and Roy Young was losing control and
allowing du Plessis to dominate proceedings. This hit a stalemate when
Councillor Young denounced me, saying that I should have been "suspended
long ago". He also admonished the members of the Executive Committee for
referring to me as "comrade". This came out of the blue and had me
thunderstruck and in shock. Amongst other things, he referred to the
"report" of Roy Young.
Even though I made the intervention and told the meeting that du
Plessis was making bland and cruel statements based on pure allegation and
an untested opinion expressed on paper by Roy Young, neither he nor Young
were in any way perturbed about what was said, and refused to have the
remarks retracted and apologised for. I was furious and felt bitterly
betrayed. In effect I was being told that there was already a consensus that
I did not belong in the ANC, let alone earn the epitaph of "comrade", out of
respect for the many years of dedicated work in the liberation struggle and
a matter of honor. Indeed, the word "comrade" as used by the ANC got a
bitter taste in an instant as it had been turned into a social construct, an
organizational chauvinism, a fetish, a collective lie. It all also is
self-evident to anyone reading either the Pony Express written by Brian
Botha, or what is being written here.
That night, after this ultimate insult, only matched a few times in
similar instances of having a run in with the collective lies of the ANC,
trying to keep a sound mind as the worst memories of betrayal and insults
came mind, I sought walls to touch, find reference points to justify a
selfless dedication to struggle of some forty years, I gave Roy Young a call
and told him that I was renouncing my membership of the ANC. As he seemed
entirely unaware of the insult and humiliation I had suffered, I was
emphatic about this and took him to task for not defending me at the meeting
he was supposed to chair, against the vicious labeling by the Chief Whip,
Mr. Sonny du Plessis. He said nothing. No response, not even asking whether
I could let him have my "renunciation" in writing. But what he did do,
likewise as he did with his impromptu and highly irregular "report" earlier
on, was to convey this message to all and sundry, including the REC
leadership. Remarkably, given the serious implications of the attacks coming
from Roy Young and Mr. Sonny du Plessis, I had to take it for granted that
they were not merely acting with the endorsement of the mainstream
leadership, but actually these attacks are being managed from higher up.
When I vented my anger over the phone to Roy Young, there was nothing,
no word of response, it was almost asif what he was hearing was what he
wished to hear. There was no attempt at an explanation, no attempt to cool
things. No attempt at an apology. In a later discussion with Ursula Crisp he
confirmed that when I told him this, he replied that "I had no alternative"
but to convey my outburst to everyone up the line to the Regional ANC
leadership. As this news reached me through various channels, and after more
slanders, insults and devious actions thrown into my path, I could only
contemplate the reality that there was a perception in the mainstream
leadership that my being an active member in the ANC from the beginning on
was misplaced and unwelcome. Given the history of which everyone is well
aware of, of my connections with Oliver Tambo, I found it inconceivable that
via the chain of noises from Roy Young there could not even be a whimper of
concern.
That I was angry stands to reason. That I was shocked is testified by
the fact that the next day I had a severe bout of amnesia. An otherwise cool
carbuncle was lanced and it spewed volcanic words. I felt insulted to the
core and any form of anger management would only have been band aid as I
knew, in my heart, that I have come to the end of the road and that finally,
at the age of 66 I rid myself of the bars of lies that have kept me crippled
politically and emotionally with a memory in a dark and fading past.
3.. CULMINATING CYCLE OF ANC DENUNCIATIONS
This unhappy situation in the ANC East London Branch Ward 5 completes a
cycle of events in which I find myself being renounced and trodden down with
obvious force beyond the hammer so to speak. In this instance Jabavu is the
hammer, du Plessis the fist and the body of the lot belong to a certain
faction in the ANC regional leadership. At the crest of each setback is an
up curve where I have took matters in hand and trusted that at some time the
favorable and honourable in the ANC mainstream leadership would take a hand
and help me out of this interminable winding, indeed this hole in which I
seem to be digging myself deeper into because after each resurrection after
a downfall I keep trusting but then nothing happens.
Having said this it is also difficult for me to say when and where the
main crest of these cycles appeared. I could point back to a series of
articles that appeared in a Dutch Newspaper in June 1976, each article
promising that in the next the "proof" would be revealed that I was working
as an Apartheid Spy, but each in turn failed to reveal anything until the
series ended after the fifth weekly one pager ended and nothing was said
except that my proven integrity in the struggle was ripped to pieces. Then
again, four years later, my name landed on the front page of the Sunday
Times blatantly declaring "Another Spy Confesses" - a complete falsification
of fact that even had Craig Williamson protesting my innocence.
But for convenience sake in dealing with matters in the most
appropriate manner, let me unpack a denunciation that came from the ANC in
May 1981 by a combination of ANC leaders, including Thabo Mbeki who at that
time was a humble "ANC Official" just emerging from the cotton wool of a
British University.
I was deported from Zimbabwe in May 1981, after taking refuge soon
after my release from detention in South Africa in January 1980. There were
a number of journalists around being primed by various instances, and of
course my being deported from Zimbabwe back to South Africa made the news in
all South African and Zimbabwean (then still Rhodesian) newspapers. One
article in particular can be singled out for enlightening the current
predicament with regard to my still being an awful memory from a dark and
forgotten past in the archives of the ANC. It appeared in the Salisbury
Herald, titled "ANC rejects man's claim to be agent", that appeared on the
1st of May 1981. The journalist who wrote the story was Mike Overmeyer. I
was in jail in Salisbury Remand C Max for a number of weeks preceding the
deportation so there was no contact with Mike when he was busy doing the
rounds among his informants putting the story together. It is quite possible
though that he interviewed me before hand as earlier on, while I was still
free on the streets in Salisbury and under the protection of the Minister of
State in the Prime Minister's Office, Emerson Mnungagwa, there was an
article that appeared in one of the Sunday Newspapers concerning my
connections and solidarity with the Bobby Sands Hunger Strikers in the
notorious H-Blocks of British-occupied Northern Ireland. That story also
spoke of my involvement with Okhela, but mentioned no facts other than my
connections with the Irish Republic Socialist Party in Ireland.
But it is quite possible, inconceivable had the journalist not been
aware of or pursued the question around my involvement in South Africa in
the previous years. Certainly the name of Breyten Breytenbach would have
come up, and as certain my having been inside South Africa incognito on two
separate missions in 1974 and 1975 respectively. The story speaks of
"Schuitema who is now in Zimbabwe", but the truth is I was on my way out in
chains to be dumped at Beit Bridge and handed over to the South African
authorities when the article appeared. It may well have been that the story
itself was cause for my expulsion from Zimbabwe given the awkward first
serenades of the ANC to establish a base in the newly independent Zimbabwe.
At the time Emerson Mnungagwa had Louise Stack, also with Okhela, as part of
his entourage for going out to rallies, and attending selective meetings. At
one of these meetings Thabo Mbeki was present. The report that I got from
Louise was not too rosy and it was clear that the past tension around
international alignments was far from resolved. No doubt Mbeki was enraged
by being confronted by someone at a meeting of that nature openly
identifying as a member of the highly contentious Okhela.
In the article it was therefore understandable that Mbeki, plus a
number of other ANC spokespersons from London and Lusaka, would lay it on
thick to demolish the Okhela "myth" once and for all. I was shunned and it
was made clear never to have been a member of, let alone a member of a
"white wing" of the ANC. However, even this would have been too kind a thing
to say as not being a member of the ANC during that year was nothing
unusual, as since the Morogoro Conference held in 1969 white members of the
SACP could be ANC members, but until 1985 were not allowed to serve in
leadership positions. So I was set beyond this pale altogether and the bland
statement was that I was "never worked as an agent for the ANC", meaning I
was never an ANC spy.
Again - the mythologizing, Berend "spy", Berend the "agent", Berend
this and that - in the meantime Berend was working for nobody but motivated
as an activist, a militant, a revolutionary or an anarchist, take your
choice. Once you put the "spy" or "agent" connotation to the story at once
the human content, motivation, relevance to context and context itself is
cannibalized.
Whatever the case, I never spoke of myself as a "member of the MK". At
that time to me the very existence of "MK" was a rumor and nothing more. We
always spoke of the "camps". So if I had spoken about anything remotely
constructible as "agent", or "member of MK", the most I would have said was
that I went underground in 1974 and 1975 as part of the Okhela plan, and
this had the blessing of at least a few leaders of the ANC who were in the
know.
However, it was the involvement of these ANC leaders who had a hand in
establishing Okhela that became a more and more rancorous issue over the
years. That Tambo himself had played a major role in setting up Okhela was a
burning hot issue and was never confirmed, let alone accepted by the ANC as
a whole. This division in the ANC at the time was severe and the wounds left
gangrenous patches that had to be surgically removed. And what was
considered ultimate rot was the existence of a group called Okhela that was
operating for a number of years under the radar of contention. So while the
existence of Okhela was never denied, the denial that it had any connection
to the ANC was denied with surgical precision.
Indeed, a critical question. Okhela was never set up as a "white wing".
In fact, it was supposed to have been nameless and totally discrete.
Makatini defined Okhela as "an invisible support group for armed struggle".
This made total sense. Whites living in a white environment could do things
as whites in the confines of their own environment. This could mean
anything - for example taking from the Curiel / FLN solidarity between
French metropolitan citizens it could mean carrying a briefcase from point a
to point be, have a safe house for militants on the run, etc, etc. It would
also have meant garnering ideological information such as, for example,
locating a verligte professor who was prepared to give spins to information
or pass on information for the ANC.
Connie Braam protested that the very idea of organizing white support
in a clandestine and discrete way was another form of Apartheid. I think she
even says as much in her half biography "Bokslagter".
So, indeed for outsiders, especially looking over the distance of time
where we have grown cold on even the relevance of the question then, very
confusing. If the ANC and MK were vibrant living movements then these
questions would never have become issues. Why, for example, compromise a
white student who could pass on a passport to some one else, by linking him
as a member of the organization?
At another level of course the idea of a "white wing" implies much more
than simply a coincidental or an intelligence-type arrangement. It implies
a political structure that is organized in parallel to the main structure.
Thus the ANC has a "youth wing", i.e. ANC Youth Leagues, "women's wing", i.e
ANC Women's League. Also prior to 1969, Morogoro, there was an a "Congress
Alliance", namely a Congress of Democrats ("white wing"), the Natal Indian
Congress, ("Indian wing"), etcetera - these wings were done away with by the
Morogoro Conference 1969.
A good reading of the Tambo Biography will clarity a lot for you.
2.. The Chief Whip, ANC Buffalo City Denunciation
3.. Culminating cycles of ANC Denunciations
4.. Political Parties and social movements
5.. Footnote: Pony Express dated 7th July 2006
1.. PONY EXPRESS CONCERNING COUNCILLOR JABAVU
A Pony Express, an occasional newsletter distributed "samizdat style"
in the Quigney and signed by a "Brian Botha", was circulated by Councilor
Jabavu at a Special Branch Executive Committee Meeting held in the ANC
Constituency Offices in Buffalo Flats. Nobody knows who Brian Botha is, but
his name did crop up previously as a signatory to a letter of allegations
against the Quigney Community Policing Forum, targeting myself, Berend
Schuitema, which was hand delivered by Bobby Button to the Chairperson of
the East London Community Policing Forum some weeks ago. That letter was
written ostensibly on behalf of the "Quigney Residents Association". That
letter from "Mr. Botha" was read out at an East London Executive Committee
Meeting and a decision taken not to make any mention of it in the minutes
because it was regarded as part of a work of mischief continued by Bobby
Button.
However, the anonymous Pony Express signed by the same name caused a
stir of first order proportions when Jabavu got to read it. Other letters
containing similar flavors and accusations as the initial Mr. Botha letter
as the one rejected out of hand by the Executive Committee of the EL CPF but
reaching the Executive Committee of the ANC Branch Executive are taken at
face value and treated as matter of fact. While the recent Pony Express was
anonymous (no one is owning up to the name "Botha", apparently its contents
are not contested.
There is then this mysterious origin of the letter. But its contents
are no mystery as all the information can be found in records of proceedings
where these exist, however much is based on hearsay as many meetings where
statements are made go unrecorded. An example is a meeting held in the
Imbizo Café by a group calling itself "Quigney ANC Task Team / Quigney
Residents Association" convened a public meeting under pretences that it
would be addressed by a number of Members of Parliament. However, having
duped some 50 residents into attending this meeting without there ever
having been any arrangements made for these Members of Parliament to show
up, the main item of the meeting was an attack on Berend Schuitema and the
Quigney Sector Crime Forum. As there were no minutes taken, no attendance
register signed, the meeting can be regarded not only as mischievous, but
stirring of rumors with everyone able to take their own conclusions, most of
which are of the nature, "the community in the Quigney is very unhappy with
Berend Schuitema". So even though the Pony Express exposing Councillor
Jabavu's antics have caused him to rave and forward the contents to the
Minister of Police, whatever its contents they are based on hearsay from a
ghosted meeting which gave rise to waves of rumors and lies.
On my computer I also have lots of information. Much has been shared
via emails with a hundred or more people. I have my suspicions about who
compiled the Pony Express but given the circumstances this is not my own
primary concern to pursue, let alone impute any bad faith motive for the
information having been distributed in the first place. The reason is that
the information is all factually correct. The only problem is that from my
own personal perspective some of the information is privileged and not for
public consumption as it was gleaned from minutes and unrecorded proceedings
from an ostensibly secret organization, the ANC Ward 5 Branch Executive
Committee.
What I have been able to ascertain is that the person who compiled the
apparently libelous Pony Express, was not the person who did the
distribution of it. A copy was shifted under the door at the flat of Dai
Williams who, noticing that the name of Joe de Vries was mentioned in the
Pony Express, decided to confirm with him whether he knew or had received a
copy. Joe did not have a copy and Dai let him have one.
That is the best I have to offer with regard to the production and
distribution of the Pony Express regarding the Councillor's role in the
Quigney. I have read the contents, and once more have to affirm that what is
read is the truth and nothing but the truth, and very evidently the
information has spilled from one mailing address to another and eventually
found a jacket in the very conventional format of a Microsoft Publisher,
much like the Quigney Voice, with a Mistral letterhead. And with regard to
the distribution of the Pony Express, if people who had received it had
given some thought to checking back to the sources rather than liberally
distributing themselves, then probably the while furor would have been
unnecessary as by now it is evident, not proven, that only one copy went
astray and that one copy was ventilated along by the hasty readers who all
felt that they had either been exposed, or had something to hide.
As to the motive for why someone felt that editing the text and putting
it into Pony Express form there is no reason to look much further than the
evident feelings of solidarity with the real victim in the past months of
slander and maligning, namely Berend Schuitema. There has been duplicity and
collusion for the past few months with a constant ratcheting up of the
malicious campaign against him. This started before the3 last local
government elections when Councillor Jabavu, and evidently a good many ANC
apparatchiks in the Buffalo City Council were of the opinion that the
Quigney could only be won taking control over the QCPF because this was a
"DA stronghold". Bobby Button was found prepared to push this point as an
"informer" with promises for a "job" by the candidate Councillor Siyabonga
Jabavu and went on a door-to-door slander campaign against the QCPF in
general and Berend Schuitema in particular.
This campaign was unrelenting. When slanderous letters were handed in
to motivate "investigations" against me at the QCPF failed, it took another
parallel course and elaborated through the Branch Executive Committee. As I
is a member of the Branch Executive Committee he had his hands tied as
information stopped or let ahead at the BEC had to be left unchallenged
because of the way normal political parties work. Eventually it got so bad
that he was maligned by the Chief Whip of the ANC, a certain Mr. Sonny du
Plessis and roundly denounced. Du Plessis bullied the meeting into the
position that I "should have been suspended a long time ago", and that 8in
any case I was not to be addressed as "comrade" by any members of the
branch. This had such an impact on the man that that very same night he
spilled his feelings to his Internet community who were appalled by what
they had heard.
How can a veteran stand for such abuse, slandering the man for
achievements over 40 years, and still remain loyal to the ANC? Friends were
asking what sort of a fool I am to stand for these insults without
retaliating. Eventually it became clear to many of my friends that actually
I do feel stuck in a lousy and misplaced loyalty situation and that the best
thing I can and should do is to renounce my ANC membership.
2.. THE CHIEF WHIP ANC BUFFALO CITY DENUNCIATION
Getting back for a while to the letter written by Botha of the
so-called "Quigney Residents Association", the fact that the allegations it
was making against the QCPF and Berend Schuitema was rejected out of hand
and not even seriously considered, did not mean that a stop was put to this
mischief. Having failed to achieve their objectives in the QCPF the
plotters, including Councillor Jabavu, Councillor S Du Plessis and
Chairperson of ANC Ward 5 Branch continued their onslaught in the ANC
itself. Just before the local government elections held in March this year,
Jabavu employed Button to spread the rumor that the QCPF was now only a
"Democratic Alliance stronghold" but that I, as a QCPF leader, was forcing
members, principally Button, to canvass and vote for the Democratic
Alliance. This rumor was sent in shock wave to all possible areas and levels
of the ANC lections apparatus and I was called to account. While it was
evident to everyone in the QCPF, and especially those not simply members of,
but serving in the Branch Executive Committee of ANC Ward 5, that these were
rumors being employed by Jabavu to discredit Thembakazi Tuku as the Quigney
backed candidate as Ward Councillor, there was nothing stopping people like
Jabavu and Young from pursuing the matter literally to the street level.
Roy Young then was able to call together a small group of ANC members
doing canvassing work on a sidewalk in the Quigney that by coincidence
included myself, Button and a few of Young's supporters. He decided on the
spot "to put an end to the problems" and myself and Button to give an
account of Democratic Alliance "meddling" in the QCPF. Even though I
objected to this impromptu decision of Young that looked like a witch-hunt,
I nevertheless took the opportunity to counter the story that Button had
concocted. While we thought that Button's lies had been exposed were amazed
to receive a "report" made of this "meeting" according it formal status and
calling for disciplinary action to be taken against me.
This report read as follows:
Report Barend Schuitema versus Bobby Button - 18th February 2006
The purpose of the meeting was to establish the correct version of
events leading to the allegations by Cde Button that Cde Schuitema
encouraged/advised him to canvass for the DA.
With the very important upcoming local government elections on 1st
March 2006, it was prudent for the local branch leadership to intervene as a
matter of urgency, to resolve the issue between the two comrades.
Each of the two comrades was granted an opportunity to air their views
respectively. It was established that Avis Rens (DA) appraoched Cde Button
to canvass for her in the Quigney, after which he would be compensated. Cde
Button, as an ordinary member of the ANC, appraoched Cde Barend Schuitema
(Deputy Chairperson of the Branch) for political guidance in this regard.
Cde Schuitema, as part of the leadership, warned Button that he
(Button) would be treading on dangerous ground should he accede to Rens'
offer, as he was now an IEC Official/volunteer (temporary). However,
Schuitema alluded to Cde Button that he (Schuitema) would vote for Avis Rens
if circumstances were different, as he regards her as a very competent
Councillor. At this juncture, Cde Schuitema apologised to Councilor-elect
Jabavu, being the present Candidate for the same Ward 5. He added though,
that he was unable to support Rens as an ANC member.
He further informed Cde Button that the choice to do whatever was his
to make. Button told the committee that Cde Schuitema nevertheless told him
to canvass "privately" for the Democratic Alliance, as the ANC would not
know about it. Cde Schuitema did not deny this statement and in defence,
intimated to the committee that he made these remarks in "passing" ("by the
way"), to Cde Button at his house, and was not in a formal situation.
I was left with no other alternative as the Chairperson of our Local
branch, to admonish Cde Schuitema's conduct as a leader. Our humble opinion
is that Cde Schuitema, being an experienced cadre and leader of our
movement, should have provided political direction to the politically
immature Cde Button to eradicate any possible doubts in this regard,
especially realizing that the stakes were high. I have conveyed this
sentiment to Cde Schuitema in no uncertain terms. It needs to be accepted
that he accepted this admonishment in a very humble manner.
In conclusion we appealed to both of them to find each other and
continue to work together as a united force as members of our movement. We
further appealed to them to give their support and to have confidence in
Councillor-elect Jabavu as the legitimate, nominated candidate for the ANC
in Ward 5.
Recommendations:
1.. Cde Schuitema should be called to order as a matter of urgency by the
ANC Disciplinary Committee
2.. The Quigney CPF is huge and vibrant. He appraoched a few very
influential DA members to serve on the CPF Exco. Although the CPF is
apolitical, this forum could become an opposition to the ANC. The ANC should
be driving all Forums/projects where possible to ensure service delivery to
our communities.
3.. Political education workshops of ANC policies and procedures for our
45 branches should be ongoing throughout the year.
4.. A vigorous campaign should be launched on the entire Quigney Area by
all ANC members, (including MPL's and MP's), in order to restore the
confidence of the people in the ANC.
I sincerely trust that this report will shed light on the matter
between Comrades Schuitema and Button.
Yours Comradely,
Roy Young (Chairperson Mediator)
This "report" reached me more than a month later, literally through the
gutter press. It came in an opened envelope that was finally handed by Bobby
Button to Dai Williams to hand to me on the 28th March 2006. So despite its
serious implications, Roy Young made no attempt to present a draft of the
report for confirmation among at the very least in a top five meeting of the
ANC Branch Executive Meeting, but sent it to all concerned to eventually
reach this bully Chief Whip of the ANC in the Buffalo City Council, Mr.
Sonny du. Plessis. When Roy Young was questioned on this irregular practice
he said that I was afforded an opportunity for rebuttal or corrections
before it ended up in the hands of the higher up authorities. However, there
was no opportunity for either me or any one else whose names are mentioned
as having "attended" the "hearing", robbing us of the opportunity to
question Roy Young's highly questionable credentials for this "hearing", its
veracity and obviously prejudicial nature reflecting not simply his own
opinion, but a hidden motif.
On the 28th of March I replied to Roy Young reminding him that the
meeting was held in public with passersby peering in, and that I was in no
position, nor had any desire to tell the meeting anything else than I had
conveyed to him shortly prior the meeting. I was prepared for a hearing, but
not in the form of a kangaroo court he then opted for. The issue was the
behaviour of Jabavu who was using Button as his "private canvasser",
sidelining the local Quigney ANC members in the process. There was also huge
dissatisfaction with the manner in which Jabavu was nominated as against
Tembakazi Tuku, which is a burning issue of dissatisfaction in the Quigney.
In my letter the bottom line was that this "report' of his amounted to a
highly prejudiced opinion and nothing else. There was no register taken of
the proceedings, no terms of reference, in fact as it was held even
pedestrian passersby were privy to the proceedings.
Symptomatic of Roy Young's leadership of the ANC Branch, meetings are
scarce and when held the minutes and records of proceedings are even
scarcer. Long after this report of his was written and distributed to the
leadership in the entire region, it finally came up for discussion in a
branch meeting which of which there is no record of proceedings. A Task Team
was set up to investigate my "issue" but never met. An issue "arising from
the minutes of the Branch Executive Committee (5th April 2005) made
reference to the concerns expressed by the Quigney members present regarding
the irregular process of the AGM at which Councillor Jabavu was nominated.
By then the "Schuitema issue" had fallen off the radar as, in the words, of
the Chairperson Young, the matter "had gone stale", and in the light of my
own letter of response it was decided to leave things at that.
But laced in between continuing activities of Jabavu directed against
me personally and the QCPF, came a surprise revisit of this so-called
"report" of Mr. Roy Young. At an impromptu called ANC Branch Executive
Meeting some two weeks ago, we found a number of top ANC PR Councilors
present, including the Chief Whip in the Buffalo City Council, Mr. Sonny du
Plessis. This meeting was about the problems being experienced with
Councillor Jabavu in the Ward, with regard to a letter of support required
of him by the Buffalo City Development Agency, for a Bicycle Project of the
QCPF. The meeting was not going well and Roy Young was losing control and
allowing du Plessis to dominate proceedings. This hit a stalemate when
Councillor Young denounced me, saying that I should have been "suspended
long ago". He also admonished the members of the Executive Committee for
referring to me as "comrade". This came out of the blue and had me
thunderstruck and in shock. Amongst other things, he referred to the
"report" of Roy Young.
Even though I made the intervention and told the meeting that du
Plessis was making bland and cruel statements based on pure allegation and
an untested opinion expressed on paper by Roy Young, neither he nor Young
were in any way perturbed about what was said, and refused to have the
remarks retracted and apologised for. I was furious and felt bitterly
betrayed. In effect I was being told that there was already a consensus that
I did not belong in the ANC, let alone earn the epitaph of "comrade", out of
respect for the many years of dedicated work in the liberation struggle and
a matter of honor. Indeed, the word "comrade" as used by the ANC got a
bitter taste in an instant as it had been turned into a social construct, an
organizational chauvinism, a fetish, a collective lie. It all also is
self-evident to anyone reading either the Pony Express written by Brian
Botha, or what is being written here.
That night, after this ultimate insult, only matched a few times in
similar instances of having a run in with the collective lies of the ANC,
trying to keep a sound mind as the worst memories of betrayal and insults
came mind, I sought walls to touch, find reference points to justify a
selfless dedication to struggle of some forty years, I gave Roy Young a call
and told him that I was renouncing my membership of the ANC. As he seemed
entirely unaware of the insult and humiliation I had suffered, I was
emphatic about this and took him to task for not defending me at the meeting
he was supposed to chair, against the vicious labeling by the Chief Whip,
Mr. Sonny du Plessis. He said nothing. No response, not even asking whether
I could let him have my "renunciation" in writing. But what he did do,
likewise as he did with his impromptu and highly irregular "report" earlier
on, was to convey this message to all and sundry, including the REC
leadership. Remarkably, given the serious implications of the attacks coming
from Roy Young and Mr. Sonny du Plessis, I had to take it for granted that
they were not merely acting with the endorsement of the mainstream
leadership, but actually these attacks are being managed from higher up.
When I vented my anger over the phone to Roy Young, there was nothing,
no word of response, it was almost asif what he was hearing was what he
wished to hear. There was no attempt at an explanation, no attempt to cool
things. No attempt at an apology. In a later discussion with Ursula Crisp he
confirmed that when I told him this, he replied that "I had no alternative"
but to convey my outburst to everyone up the line to the Regional ANC
leadership. As this news reached me through various channels, and after more
slanders, insults and devious actions thrown into my path, I could only
contemplate the reality that there was a perception in the mainstream
leadership that my being an active member in the ANC from the beginning on
was misplaced and unwelcome. Given the history of which everyone is well
aware of, of my connections with Oliver Tambo, I found it inconceivable that
via the chain of noises from Roy Young there could not even be a whimper of
concern.
That I was angry stands to reason. That I was shocked is testified by
the fact that the next day I had a severe bout of amnesia. An otherwise cool
carbuncle was lanced and it spewed volcanic words. I felt insulted to the
core and any form of anger management would only have been band aid as I
knew, in my heart, that I have come to the end of the road and that finally,
at the age of 66 I rid myself of the bars of lies that have kept me crippled
politically and emotionally with a memory in a dark and fading past.
3.. CULMINATING CYCLE OF ANC DENUNCIATIONS
This unhappy situation in the ANC East London Branch Ward 5 completes a
cycle of events in which I find myself being renounced and trodden down with
obvious force beyond the hammer so to speak. In this instance Jabavu is the
hammer, du Plessis the fist and the body of the lot belong to a certain
faction in the ANC regional leadership. At the crest of each setback is an
up curve where I have took matters in hand and trusted that at some time the
favorable and honourable in the ANC mainstream leadership would take a hand
and help me out of this interminable winding, indeed this hole in which I
seem to be digging myself deeper into because after each resurrection after
a downfall I keep trusting but then nothing happens.
Having said this it is also difficult for me to say when and where the
main crest of these cycles appeared. I could point back to a series of
articles that appeared in a Dutch Newspaper in June 1976, each article
promising that in the next the "proof" would be revealed that I was working
as an Apartheid Spy, but each in turn failed to reveal anything until the
series ended after the fifth weekly one pager ended and nothing was said
except that my proven integrity in the struggle was ripped to pieces. Then
again, four years later, my name landed on the front page of the Sunday
Times blatantly declaring "Another Spy Confesses" - a complete falsification
of fact that even had Craig Williamson protesting my innocence.
But for convenience sake in dealing with matters in the most
appropriate manner, let me unpack a denunciation that came from the ANC in
May 1981 by a combination of ANC leaders, including Thabo Mbeki who at that
time was a humble "ANC Official" just emerging from the cotton wool of a
British University.
I was deported from Zimbabwe in May 1981, after taking refuge soon
after my release from detention in South Africa in January 1980. There were
a number of journalists around being primed by various instances, and of
course my being deported from Zimbabwe back to South Africa made the news in
all South African and Zimbabwean (then still Rhodesian) newspapers. One
article in particular can be singled out for enlightening the current
predicament with regard to my still being an awful memory from a dark and
forgotten past in the archives of the ANC. It appeared in the Salisbury
Herald, titled "ANC rejects man's claim to be agent", that appeared on the
1st of May 1981. The journalist who wrote the story was Mike Overmeyer. I
was in jail in Salisbury Remand C Max for a number of weeks preceding the
deportation so there was no contact with Mike when he was busy doing the
rounds among his informants putting the story together. It is quite possible
though that he interviewed me before hand as earlier on, while I was still
free on the streets in Salisbury and under the protection of the Minister of
State in the Prime Minister's Office, Emerson Mnungagwa, there was an
article that appeared in one of the Sunday Newspapers concerning my
connections and solidarity with the Bobby Sands Hunger Strikers in the
notorious H-Blocks of British-occupied Northern Ireland. That story also
spoke of my involvement with Okhela, but mentioned no facts other than my
connections with the Irish Republic Socialist Party in Ireland.
But it is quite possible, inconceivable had the journalist not been
aware of or pursued the question around my involvement in South Africa in
the previous years. Certainly the name of Breyten Breytenbach would have
come up, and as certain my having been inside South Africa incognito on two
separate missions in 1974 and 1975 respectively. The story speaks of
"Schuitema who is now in Zimbabwe", but the truth is I was on my way out in
chains to be dumped at Beit Bridge and handed over to the South African
authorities when the article appeared. It may well have been that the story
itself was cause for my expulsion from Zimbabwe given the awkward first
serenades of the ANC to establish a base in the newly independent Zimbabwe.
At the time Emerson Mnungagwa had Louise Stack, also with Okhela, as part of
his entourage for going out to rallies, and attending selective meetings. At
one of these meetings Thabo Mbeki was present. The report that I got from
Louise was not too rosy and it was clear that the past tension around
international alignments was far from resolved. No doubt Mbeki was enraged
by being confronted by someone at a meeting of that nature openly
identifying as a member of the highly contentious Okhela.
In the article it was therefore understandable that Mbeki, plus a
number of other ANC spokespersons from London and Lusaka, would lay it on
thick to demolish the Okhela "myth" once and for all. I was shunned and it
was made clear never to have been a member of, let alone a member of a
"white wing" of the ANC. However, even this would have been too kind a thing
to say as not being a member of the ANC during that year was nothing
unusual, as since the Morogoro Conference held in 1969 white members of the
SACP could be ANC members, but until 1985 were not allowed to serve in
leadership positions. So I was set beyond this pale altogether and the bland
statement was that I was "never worked as an agent for the ANC", meaning I
was never an ANC spy.
Again - the mythologizing, Berend "spy", Berend the "agent", Berend
this and that - in the meantime Berend was working for nobody but motivated
as an activist, a militant, a revolutionary or an anarchist, take your
choice. Once you put the "spy" or "agent" connotation to the story at once
the human content, motivation, relevance to context and context itself is
cannibalized.
Whatever the case, I never spoke of myself as a "member of the MK". At
that time to me the very existence of "MK" was a rumor and nothing more. We
always spoke of the "camps". So if I had spoken about anything remotely
constructible as "agent", or "member of MK", the most I would have said was
that I went underground in 1974 and 1975 as part of the Okhela plan, and
this had the blessing of at least a few leaders of the ANC who were in the
know.
However, it was the involvement of these ANC leaders who had a hand in
establishing Okhela that became a more and more rancorous issue over the
years. That Tambo himself had played a major role in setting up Okhela was a
burning hot issue and was never confirmed, let alone accepted by the ANC as
a whole. This division in the ANC at the time was severe and the wounds left
gangrenous patches that had to be surgically removed. And what was
considered ultimate rot was the existence of a group called Okhela that was
operating for a number of years under the radar of contention. So while the
existence of Okhela was never denied, the denial that it had any connection
to the ANC was denied with surgical precision.
Indeed, a critical question. Okhela was never set up as a "white wing".
In fact, it was supposed to have been nameless and totally discrete.
Makatini defined Okhela as "an invisible support group for armed struggle".
This made total sense. Whites living in a white environment could do things
as whites in the confines of their own environment. This could mean
anything - for example taking from the Curiel / FLN solidarity between
French metropolitan citizens it could mean carrying a briefcase from point a
to point be, have a safe house for militants on the run, etc, etc. It would
also have meant garnering ideological information such as, for example,
locating a verligte professor who was prepared to give spins to information
or pass on information for the ANC.
Connie Braam protested that the very idea of organizing white support
in a clandestine and discrete way was another form of Apartheid. I think she
even says as much in her half biography "Bokslagter".
So, indeed for outsiders, especially looking over the distance of time
where we have grown cold on even the relevance of the question then, very
confusing. If the ANC and MK were vibrant living movements then these
questions would never have become issues. Why, for example, compromise a
white student who could pass on a passport to some one else, by linking him
as a member of the organization?
At another level of course the idea of a "white wing" implies much more
than simply a coincidental or an intelligence-type arrangement. It implies
a political structure that is organized in parallel to the main structure.
Thus the ANC has a "youth wing", i.e. ANC Youth Leagues, "women's wing", i.e
ANC Women's League. Also prior to 1969, Morogoro, there was an a "Congress
Alliance", namely a Congress of Democrats ("white wing"), the Natal Indian
Congress, ("Indian wing"), etcetera - these wings were done away with by the
Morogoro Conference 1969.
A good reading of the Tambo Biography will clarity a lot for you.
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