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“We fight Rhodes because he means so much for oppression, injustice, & moral degradation to South Africa - but if he passed away tomorrow there still remains the terrible fact that something in our society has formed the matrix which has fed, nourished and built up such a man.”
Jo’burg is unkind. The broke do not deserve love. And should you become out of pocket stemming from whatever trepidation or misfortune, the city of greed will not hesitate to remind you of your predicament on a daily basis.
It’s a mammoth task for the most gifted of wordsmiths; that means that it would be virtually impossible for me. How does one contextualise a force so great that it made its greatest contribution to a movement that ensured my ability to become a contributing member of society? How does one encapsulate the complexity of a personality so large that it has solely guided an entire movement and influenced history? How to include her work as a social worker, wife, mother, struggle icon, anti-apartheid activist, murder-accused and prisoner 1323/69?
Today, things have changed. There is a definite element of greed in most communities and some use lobola as a get rich quick scheme. It is suggested that Tau paid R200,000 for his former lady’s hand in marriage, and some years ago it was rumoured that Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper, Itumeleng Khune, was asked to fork out a million rand for his then lady friend, Minnie Dlamini.
I hope that our efforts and energy will be reflected on screen. I think Tjovitjo is one of the realest township stories that has ever been told. It’s not based in Soweto, it’s not based in Alex, and it’s not based in any specific township. It’s based in a world where there is hardship, hopes, dreams and problems. It is about us and our lives.
The last time I ever found myself trapped inside a people-carrying contraption of the taxi industry was shortly before the launch of the now demonized taxi recapitalisation programme that sought to reduce the number of a washed-out herd of Datsun E20s, the Toyota Super Series and the late 1970s favourites, amakatshibane.
Why do they speak in that accent? Whiteness which has actual power responds to these errant blacks by sidelining them in business just because they don’t speak like Vusi Thembekwayo or might not fit into the “company culture” due to excessive ghettoness.
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