What do leaders of society do when their territory is threatened by invaders wanting to dislodge their self-professed authority?
The ANC leadership has over the years routinely described itself as “the leader of society”, and in many ways rightfully so because in large measure the party has dominated the political space and other spheres of social space.
And certainly, the liberation struggle project, which started in earnest after the Sharpeville massacre of 1960, thanks to the inspirational leadership given by the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania’s own struggle endeavours, a project led forcefully by its leader, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, the ANC began to politically assert its authority.
In a variety of ways, perhaps even ironically, the 1960 Sharpeville political spark gave life to the ANC struggle, after many lives of anti-pass laws resisters were mowed down by the apartheid police in Sharpeville – leaving more than 200 protesters maimed and more than 70 dead.
Sixteen years later in 1976, the Soweto students’ uprising against Bantu education added more impetus to the struggle the ANC was to wage – increasing its footprint as it increased the tempo, intensifying the recruitment process to strengthen its military capability as a primary effort to dislodge apartheid.
No political party in the country has had as much pull and attractiveness for more than 100 years, and increasingly so after the National Party came into power in 1948, than the ANC.
This would lead to many watershed moments, culminating in the final political victory marked by the first democratic elections in which the ANC won the vote with a huge majority, with Nelson Mandela ascending to become the first democratically elected president of the country.
But what makes the ANC the leader of society, a tag they claim for themselves, and have been doing so for a long time, even today as the party’s fortunes appear to dwindle?
If we think of the Congress Alliance of the 1950s, the ANC was the leading component of the entity, and so the tag “the leader of society” must surely fit the bill. Additionally, if you think of the Congress of the People and the Freedom Charter finalised in Kliptown, Johannesburg, in 1955, you see a movement that is leading society from the front.
The ANC has always believed in alliances. If you think of the trade union federation – the Congress of South African Trade Unions – you will not miss the insatiable desire by the organisation to be at the centre of all leadership of society – including of church. During the 1980s and early 1990s, the South African Council of Churches, was seen as an ANC ally or appendage – “an ANC in prayer”, as many would aver.
The country’s civic organisations such as the SA National Civics Organisation, the SA Communist Party and many other organisations, independent as they are, owe their allegiance to the ANC, and this is a historical fact that requires not too much ventilation.
This must surely attest to the influence the ANC has had in society – its tentacles running deeply and spanning a wide area of leadership – rooted in almost every area of human endeavour.
The Mandela personality as the messiah and a mystical figure to save the world; the Oliver Tambo charisma as an inspirational figure; Chief Albert Luthuli, a calming and yet a powerful character and powerful voice appealing to reason; and Chris Hani’s military stature embraced by the young, restive and militant young combatants spoiling for a fight to end apartheid’s unjust rule.
Today, though, the ANC’s aura of invincibility is challenged on all fronts, with the mushrooming of new political parties, albeit small and insignificant.
It is a challenge they need to take seriously. The new political kids on the block are ganging up to put an end to the ANC’s hegemony.
Also, the ANC has many internal battles. If the leader of society is fractured by internal strife, the brand suffers, and communities tend to de-link.
The big question to be answered is: can the ANC hold onto the claim of being “the leader of society” after the 2024 national general elections?
Let’s wait and see.
- Mdhlela is a freelance journalist, an Anglican priest, ex-trade unionist and former editor of the SA Human Rights Commission journals
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