In political terms, especially within our liberation movement led by the ANC, today the biblical story of Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver on Good Friday, is real, relevant and repeating itself.
As the Bible teaches us, one of the Twelve Apostles called Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and asked them: “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?”. They counted to him 30 pieces of silver and later Judas betrayed Jesus and handed him to them.
As the story goes, when Judas Iscariot’s girlfriend asked for money to do her hair and nails, he told her that he was expecting some payment on Friday. The rest is history as he betrayed Jesus.
Judases in ANC
One of the main reasons why the ANC is plunged into crises of divisions, factions and infighting today is because there are many Judases who have no shame in betraying comrades close to them for financial, material and personal gains. For the love of money, status, glamour, prestige and opulence, such characters become disloyal to their own friends and comrades and betray them like Judas.
They become political chameleons as they frequently change their political beliefs, ideologies or public behaviours to blend in with their surroundings and to please those in power to gain success, especially money. They act as social shape-shifters, often vacillating from one faction to the other or reversing positions to please and align with whoever is popular or holding a powerful position.
Be careful who you trust
Depending on who is in charge, such characters become spaghetti revolutionaries with no backbone but change positions and views in order to secure re-election, money and material advantages.
I remember when I was growing up, my father cautioned me. He said: “For a snake to bite you, it must be very close to you. The one who betrays you is never far away from you. Please be careful who you trust but never stop being a good person. Most times the people who hurt you the most are the people you trusted the most. But don’t let betrayers change your good heart. God sees everything.”
In modern politics, there are many examples of such characters. In Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaoré, whom Thomas Sankara trusted as a brother, closest friend, childhood companion and deputy, betrayed him by masterminding his assassination in 1987 in pursuit of foreign interests, notably France.
Bruno Mtolo sold out and testified in the famous Rivonia Treason trial, which involved ANC leaders, namely Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada, Raymond Mhlaba, Dennis Goldberg, Elias Motsoaledi and Andrew Mlangeni, who were later found guilty of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment.
In court, Bruno Mtolo testified that his financial and family reasons led him to abandon the ANC and accused the trialists of not keeping their promise that he would be paid. He complained that the accused lived in better houses, dressed in proper clothes, owned flashy cars and had money to pay bail when arrested but did not care about him and other recruits who were arrested.
Traitors and good men
In defining such comrades, Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary and leader said: “Along the wicked, there are always good men; along the coward, there are many heroes; along with each traitor, there are many loyal men and along with evil, there are also many fine men.”
In his famous 1953 address called No Easy Walk to Freedom, President Nelson Mandela said: “….. There were many shady characters ranging from political clowns, place-seekers, splitters, saboteurs, agents, provocateurs to informers and even police [officers], who infiltrated into the ranks of Congress…. Whilst some of these men were discovered, there are many who have not been found out. These many shady characters, masquerade as progressive but are in fact the bitterest enemies of our organisation”.
Remember, traitors sell their country for a position as if that position were worth a drop of blood. They batter the most noble things, no matter how contemptible and contemptuous, as they clamour for “soft life” positions, status, recognition and financial resources.
He’s not heavy, he’s my brother
In order for the ANC renewal project to succeed, its members must see each other as brothers and sisters and not act like Judases. ANC leaders must do what a young boy did with his brother in Japan. During the war, the young boy was carrying his dead brother on his back to bury him.
A soldier noticed him and asked the boy to throw the dead child so that he would not get tired. The boy replied: “He is not heavy, he is my brother!”
The soldier understood and broke down in tears. Since then, the image of a young boy carrying his brother to bury him has become a symbol of unity in Japan.
Let this be our motto. “He is not heavy. He’s my brother (She is my sister)”.
If he falls, raise him, even if you get tired, still help him. If he makes a mistake, forgive him. And if the world abandons him, carry him on your back, because he is not heavy. He is your brother.
If we do all these things, we won’t be like Judas Iscariot but like a Japanese boy. For posterity, we will not only be embracing the values of the ANC but also honouring all the departed freedom fighters who were driven by an abiding sense of human solidarity, a genuine empathy for the people and a concern for the suffering of the low income earners and the downtrodden.
- In political terms, especially within our liberation movement led by the ANC, today the biblical story of Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver on Good Friday, is real, relevant and repeating itself.
- As the Bible teaches us, one of the Twelve Apostles called Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and asked them: “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?”.
- They counted to him 30 pieces of silver and later Judas betrayed Jesus and handed him to them.
- As the story goes, when Judas Iscariot’s girlfriend asked for money to do her hair and nails, he told her that he was expecting some payment on Friday.
- The rest is history as he betrayed Jesus.
