Walter Rubusana, Saul Msane, John Dube, Josiah Gumede, Pixely ka Isaka Seme and Sol Plaatjie founded the South African Native Congress, which later became the ANC, in Mangaung in 1912 as an omnibus: opening up membership to people of all backgrounds. Little did they know that, years later, the giant liberation movement would become a shadow of its former self.
That list is currently laced with enough poison to deter any potential voter whose interest it is to see proper governance of the country taking shape. For a party whose president has campaigned on the ticket of a “new dawn” – synonymous with what former US president Bill Clinton once referred to as “a new day” during his campaign – we wonder whether, after the elections, we are likely to see the same we have been accustomed to under Jacob Zuma.
For a party carrying scandal-dogged leaders – now hard at work to rebuild its damaged brand – Duarte’s outburst is certainly a new low.