The passing of Pravin Gordhan, the last public enterprises minister, revealed positive traits about us as a new nation. More concerning, however, his death has also shown us how cruel we can be towards each other.
Quite rightly, since his passing on September 21 a majority of South Africans have remembered Gordhan as a self-effacing hero of the struggle. His memorial services and official funeral were attended by people of all races, an indication of the man’s unimpeachable nonracial credentials.
Much of what was said about him, especially how he fought for a democratic SA and against corruption and state capture in the new country, was true. For this we owe Gordhan a debt of gratitude. There has also been some valid criticism, particularly of his handling of the public enterprises portfolio.
However, away from the official events and obituaries a less savoury side of SA came to the fore, on the grubby X streets in particular. These cowardly attacks on Gordhan when he was no longer able to defend himself were not from the usual suspects — his political opponents and the enemies he inevitably made trying to stop state capture. The most openly racist posts on social media trashing Gordhan’s character and Indian heritage purportedly came mainly from black South Africans.
Gordhan’s passing offers us an opportunity to reflect on the kind of society we want to be. A good start should be rejecting racism from all quarters and supporting the work of antiracism lobbyists such as the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation.
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