Jacob Zuma recently claimed that the Democratic Alliance is a confused political party, not knowing whether they are a black or white party. He also claimed that Mmusi Maimane, the DA’s leader, is a “lost feather in the sky.” These claims were made while speaking at the Letlhabile Stadium, in the North West province. These are but some of the latest race-focused comments by the ANC.

Zuma also claimed that the DA are trying to “steal Nelson Mandela” from the African National Congress (ANC), after the DA’s launch of their most recent campaign poster, which reads “Honour Madiba’s dream by voting DA”. He questions whether Maimane knows the history of South Africa and claims that the DA leader is only serving white people. This is apparently where the ANC and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) agree: Julius Malema, like his erstwhile mentor, claims that Maimane is merely a face to sell out black people.

In April, Zuma casually claimed that black people were too lazy to go vote, unlike white people. In July, Zuma said that black people must vote so that the ANC can win.

“White people, they all vote even though they are a small percentage of the population because they know the importance of voting,” Zuma said in isiZulu. He said that black people must not believe that because black people are the majority in South Africa, that someone else would vote on their behalf.

“Don’t say that because we are many, others voted and it doesn’t matter if you don’t vote… no then you have not understood the importance of changing our country.”

Zuma, arrogant as is his normal way, told people in his most recent campaign to remember who brought them the freedom to vote.

“We fought for this freedom very hard, and we sacrificed.” He continued, stating that the people of South Africa must not doubt the ANC.

But I say that is exactly what we must do. We cannot vote for political parties based on what the previous members of the party did. We must vote for a party based on what its current members have done and are doing. It is not the voter’s job to vote out of blind loyalty, it is the voter’s job to scrutinise the government and push for what he (or she) believes will move the country forward.

Looking at his talk about fighting and sacrificing: Zuma makes no mention of the time he spent in Russia, being hosted and trained at their expense, or his inept intelligence work that left the ANC surprised and unprepared when peace talks were offered by the Apartheid government. What he sacrificed personally seems a little vague at best, unlike the sacrifices of Struggle stalwarts who have denounced his actions in recent months.

The ANC recently claimed that Madiba “belongs to [them]”. They are angry because the DA uses the memory and words of Nelson Mandela to promote themselves. I say the ANC are the ones betraying Madiba. Mandela belongs to South Africa, the democratic nation he fought so hard for, not to a single party. It is, after all, Mandela who said that if the ANC oppresses the people like the apartheid government oppressed them, they must do to the ANC what they did to the apartheid government. He believed in democracy.

Nelson Mandela believed in a South Africa where all races were equal, and right now it is the DA who are representing all races and encouraging South Africans to move forward as one. This is in contrast to the ANC and the EFF’s campaigns, which are encouraging black South Africans to “vote against” white South Africans. Both the ANC and the EFF accuse the DA of serving white people, while what South Africans have seen is that the DA are serving South Africans of all types – clearly the leaders of the ANC and the EFF are merely serving themselves with this propaganda.

The ANC may have fought for our right to vote, but that certainly does not mean we owe them our votes without question. The change to a proper democracy was also not accomplished alone: there were various other groups that aided the ANC. Ultimately, the government yielded, it was not beaten. The ANC is also no longer made up mostly of the members who fought for our rights, so why should we believe that the present ANC is the same as the ANC of back then?

The ANC was born from racism, it mobilised due to racism, and now they are pushing for racial division in South Africa. The ANC has become what it fought against in the first place, and it is our job, our duty as South Africans, to acknowledge not only the past, but also the present, and base our votes on what is happening now, not on nostalgic images and ideals of the old ANC.

Why should a political party be black, or white, or even mixed? Why can a party not just be South African?

I want to live in a land without hate, and while that might be just a futile dream, I know where I’ll start: my democratic power, my vote.

It’s up to you to vote for the party you think will bring us to a future of peace. For my part, I see hate in the ANC, and hate in the EFF. The DA is not perfect, but with them I see much more peace. That is what I vote for;

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