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Ahead of the court appearance today of two people who are charged with the brutal beating to death of a Zimbabwean man, it is time for South Africans to ask ourselves the question - are we on the verge of becoming a barbarian state? It is even more shocking that the people who are appearing in court are minors, their bloodlust captured on video, their violence too graphic to even put into words.
The Congress of the People contends that the government must take on its fair share of the blame for this killing. The police, both by their absence on the streets and the presence of their General in the media, espousing a "shoot to kill" policy for suspects, have made our society more violent.
The failure of government in dealing with the problems of spiralling inflation, a lack of real job creation and education projects has seen our working class become the impoverished class.
Our efforts at forging a common national identity, of African solidarity and the principles of ubuntu have failed and need to be put back on track immediately.
Finally, the fact that the suspects appearing in court are minors is the most shocking thing. Government has let the dream of a generation "born free" of the burdens of hate slip through its careless hands. You cannot be "born free" if you are enslaved to hate and fear.
Whether or not the man committed the crime of theft is a question that will never be tested in a court of law. What is clear is that the alleged crime of theft does not under any circumstances warrant the punishment of death by lynching. He was judged and executed without a fair trial, a victim of the kind of mob justice that is becoming all too common in South Africa.

His name was Farai Kujirichita. He was 26 Years old. His death should be a wake up call to all of us.