A veteran anti-apartheid operative has compared the ANC to an AK-47 in the hands of criminals, saying the liberation movement has become a danger to the very people it once sought to free.
Jacques Modipane, Mpumalanga’s first finance MEC under premier Mathews Phosa, broke his silence after last week’s arrests linked to the 2022 murder of musician DJ Sumbody. Police said one suspect was linked to a weapon believed to be an AK-47, used in political killings, taxi wars and celebrity hits.
Modipane said the AK-47 is symbolic of how something noble can become dangerous when held by the wrong people.
“The ANC is a weapon. It was initially forged to liberate our people from racial oppression. It was a good weapon in the hands of our people, just like an AK-47 in the hands of liberation armies,” he said.
“Sadly, as we are witnessing today, the ANC has become a dangerous weapon in the hands of criminals who are armed with AK-47s in a bid to rob the liberated taxpayer or to silence those who dare to speak out.”
Modipane, a former underground operative for uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), knows the weapon well, both politically and personally. Between 1989 and 1991, he survived four assassination attempts, including a petrol bombing and AK-47 gunfire at his home.
“On the third attempt, I got hit twice by an AK-47. I’m grateful I survived,” he said.
He explained that during apartheid, thousands of AK-47s were smuggled into South Africa, mostly from Mozambique, as part of the ANC’s armed resistance.
Modipane believes the ANC today has been hijacked by what he calls “blue-coloured comrades”, a reference to an apartheid-era colour chart used by special branch officers to categorise activists.
“Those who were captured and broke were given money to sell out the revolution. Whoever they sold out became a high target – usually placed on red, which represented elimination,” he said. “As with the AK-47, so with the ANC.”
He praised Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s revelations for leading to key arrests in recent weeks.
“Today, the weapon of the people is being used against the people, both figuratively and literally. As a country, we must thank Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi for being a good weapon in the hands of the citizens of South Africa.
He dropped a bomb on that Sunday morning in July, and today we see those who have weaponised both the ANC and the AK-47 against our republic being exposed and arrested.”
But Modipane fears for Mkhwanazi’s life.
“Remember, the enemy recruited blue-coloured comrades who were later strategically placed in democratic institutions of power. Some became premiers, some ministers, and some presidents,” warned Modipane. “Mkhwanazi might not enjoy Christmas with us. We hope for him to remain alive and inspire many to speak out against the criminals.”
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