The struggle against corruption

16 December is a Public Holiday in South Africa. It is the Day of Reconciliation. The reasons are numerous. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission held its first meeting on 16 December 1995. Before that Umkhonto we Sizwe ("Spear of the Nation" or MK), the armed wing of the ANC, began its first campaign on 16 December 1961. Afrikaners used to commemorate 16 December as the Day of the Vow also known as Day of the Covenant.  This has to do with the Voortrekker victory over the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River in 1838. But today it is the Day of Reconciliation.

I would like to dedicate this blog post to one of our family’s dear friends, Mr Sekhopi Malebo. I met him in Sweden in 1981 before I left for South Africa, where I worked in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA) for one year. Sekhopi belongs to the very same church. He spent the same period in Sweden and coincidentally he attended the same training as my wife. That was in a folk high school and they studied pedagogy and Christian education.

When Sekhopi returned to South Africa he got even more involved in the struggle against apartheid. He was involved in the Constitution Assembly that led to the Constitution of the New Democratic South Africa. He became a member of parliament after 1994 and after that a Minister in the Free State. 

When we moved to South Africa in 2002 with our family, we lived in Bloemfontein, Mangaung, where Sekhopi and his family also lived. Our children were schooling together. We belonged to the same Lutheran Congregation in Batho. Many times, we have underscored how much the whole Malebo family meant to us during those years. Sekhopi is involved in the leadership of ELCSA both on Congregational, Diocesan and Church wide level.

You don’t find many photos of Sekhopi on the web, but this I borrow from the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Northern Germany. They also provide a good summary of who Sekhopi is. You find the link here.

Sekhopi is a person who carries the legacy after Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Right now, he is involved in a new struggle to fight the phenomenon named state capture. He is one of the organisers of a march to ANC headquarters at Luthuli House that took place some time ago. Mail and Guardian states that one person that is targeted is the Secretary General of the ANC, former Premier of the Free State, Ace Magashule. 

A few days ago Ace Magashule appeared before the ANC Integrity Commission. Magashule is facing 21 charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering from his time serving as Free State premier.

My wife and I cannot do much to support this struggle. But this is one way. We also keep Sekhopi and his family in our prayers as we understand that his part in this is pivotal. South Africa is our second home country. We really wish the rainbow people a just sharing of the wealth that this rich country has.

I know that we are many in Sweden who support this struggle in the same way as we supported the fight against apartheid. And I also know that there are many South Africans who wants this fight to succeed.