Editorial | ANC vs IFP: Don’t let the hatred spawn violence again

VOICES

On the surface, the very public clash between KwaZulu-Natal ANC chairperson Siboniso Duma and senior IFP leader Thulasizwe Buthelezi was an entertaining episode of the election season drama – two powerful men behaving like ill-disciplined juveniles.

The incident will be remembered for the theatrical manner in which Duma snatched the microphone from Buthelezi in front of ZuluKing Misuzulu kaZwelithini and President Cyril Ramaphosa during the commemoration of the legendary King Dinuzulu.

Duma was incensed by Buthelezi, who is also the traditional prime minister of the king, using the stage to attack the ANC. 

READ: ANC's Siboniso Duma disrespected entire Zulu monarchy and he must apologise, say royal advisors

There were even reports of physical altercations between ANC and IFP supporters. A video showing bloodied supporters of the governing party went viral on social media.

So no, this was not just an entertaining episode of two big egos gone awry. The wounds from the low-intensity civil war that raged between the two parties in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in the 1980s and 1990s are still raw.

READ: Former spokesperson for King Misuzulu claims he was axed for disrupting looters in Zulu monarchy

The negotiated deal that brought peace between the parties has held for two and half decades but the hatred has not gone away altogether. South Africa’s political leaders have been able to manage the loathing and turn it into a healthy rivalry.

With the country in the middle of the campaign ahead of the most bitterly contested general elections in its democratic history, the last thing we need is for the latent hatred to spill into the open and spawn violence again.