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Comrade Peter Mayibuye in not only dead, but is long buried: An open letter to comrade Joel Netshitenzhe

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Comrade Peter Mayibuye in not only dead, but is long buried: An open letter to comrade Joel Netshitenzhe

Comrade Peter Mayibuye in not only dead, but is long buried: An open letter to comrade Joel Netshitenzhe

24th March 2021

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On the 3rd September 2017, a digital publication Uncensored Opinion published an editorial piece titled; “Comrade Peter Mayibuye is dead”. The piece argued, amongst others that of late, you were all too fond to commit intellectual crimes. “Netshitenzhe’s impunity knows no bounds. He dares to suggest that in 1962 the SACP mistakenly used WMC as a “common day-to-day usage of the word, rather than as a category of economics or political economy”, the editorial asserted.

The editorial piece noted further, “perhaps the time has come finally to admit that our own have been captured to subvert the freedom to expressing black pain. They are determined to slumber our wokeness in order to nurse the wounds of white guilt. They want to kill black consciousness in exchange for white supremacy and arrogance”.

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I was immediately reminded of the spectacle you made in July 2017, at Nasrec, Gauteng. I was a delegate at the National Policy Conference, and I witnessed first-hand that indeed Comrade Peter Mayibuye is no more. In your pursuit to defend your and monopoly capitalists’ interests, you defied the ANC branches. Whilst the delegates were busy deliberating, you went out to address the media, to communicate a distorted, rented and personal view. 

Like many others of our generation who grew up drinking from Comrade Peter Mayibuye’s well of intellectual waters, I immediately veered into denial mode. There is no way Comrade Peter Mayibuye could cease to exist within you. But when you arrogantly refused to apologise to branches, I realised that Comrade Peter Mayibuye is not only dead, but has long been buried.

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I have just read an open letter you penned in attack of the Secretary General of the ANC, Comrade Ace Magashule. Firstly, had Comrade Peter Mayibuye been alive, he would never write an open letter to deliberate an ANC matter through public platforms. He would use organizational platforms to engage with his Secretary General or his NEC colleague and, in the process, provide political education to us, innocent bystanders and members.

When he was interviewed by Howard Barell in July 1989, in Lusaka, Comrade Peter Mayibuye proved why he amassed high levels of respect, and why he was an asset in the revolution. The line of questioning in that interview stretched from the period when the UDF was formed, to the second semester of 1986, when there were a series of localised uprisings, resulting in the Apartheid state instituting a state of emergency.

From his responses, one could sense some discomfort from Comrade Peter Mayibuye in so far as some tactics which were employed by the movement. Rather than make noise and insult the leadership of the ANC at that time, Comrade Mayibuye calmly explained the thinking of the ANC leadership, and correctly contextualised the path of the underground struggle, and tactics employed by the leadership at the time.

In your emotional, speculation-laden opinion piece, you did nothing similar to what Comrade Peter Mayibuye would have done, if he was alive. You go about claiming to speak for and on behalf of ANC members. You must be reminded that you possess no authority to speak on behalf of me as a member of the ANC.

I must inform you that I, a member of the ANC in good standing, fully agrees with the position by the SG on the matter of the ANC MPs voting with the opposition. The ill-informed decision that MPs must support a motion sponsored by a fascist, liberal and anti-poor party does not fascinate my political taste buds. I am convinced that all those who are involved in this act should be investigated. I also believe that a Special NEC meeting could have been convened. Till this day, the teachings you gave us that the NEC is the highest decision-making body between Conferences still occupy my political lexicon.

In your failed attempt to speak on behalf of the members of the ANC, you claim that many members asked; “Do we still have the ANC?” Well to me, this question arose the day the ANC President, Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa, addressed us as members through an open letter, and went on to accuse the ANC as being accused number one on corruption. I remain opposed to these Anti-ANC conducts, and have raised them internally. I hope my correspondences are still being processed, and will be responded to.

As an NEC member, you must know that there is no formation called RET Forces. The only force we know and recognise is the ANC, which is the disciplined force of the left. It is ludicrous that, instead of ensuring that the ANC deals with factions wherever they rear their ugly heads, you decide to come here and mourn with us, in the public domain for that matter. I am disappointed because it is clear that when Comrade Mayibuye left you, he didn’t inform you.

Late MK combatant and Marxist revolutionary, Comrade Joe Slove once said; “Sometimes, if you wear a suit for too long, it changes your ideology”. Little did Cde Slovo know that, in addition to suits, our leaders’ ideologies will be changed by sitting in air-conditioned boardrooms of monopoly capitalists. Little did Cde Slovo know that erstwhile freedom fighters like you will one day be confronted with severe conflicts of interests. Leaders will be daily confronted with a question; “Do I serve to protect the interests of a company where I am in the Board, or protect the interests of the people?”

As can be deduced in many of your ideological posturing, it is evident that you have often chose to serve the former, rather than the people. As South Africans, and as all in the congress movement, we tend to have extreme loyalty to individuals, especially those who served selflessly during the days of struggle. The time has come for all of us to accept that Comrade Peter Mayibuye is no more. He is long buried. What is left is a shell of his former self. Unless we accept and move one, we will continue to follow those whose primary interests are their pockets and those of their handlers. In penning this piece, I am officially letting Comrade Mayibuye go. It is my first effort towards healing. I accept that my hoping that you will one day go back to your revolutionary senses is an empty hope, and will torment me till eternity.

Just as a passing shot, may you educate me, if you care to read this piece or even find time between several Board meetings of white owned conglomerates; 1) in the context of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR), what is state capture? 2) When and how was the state captured? 3) Who has captures the state, in terms of names and description? Who are the beneficiaries of state capture? 4) What caused your recruitment into Boards of monopolistic conglomerates like Nedbank, Life Hospitals, etc.? 5) Are you still committed to the conclusion of the NDR?

 

Written by Tiisetso Makhele. Makhele is an African Marxist and a member of the ANC in Mangaung Region, Free State. He writes in his personal capacity

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