ACCORDING to the Wikipedia reconciliation means settlement, resolution, reunion and bringing together. So I am flabbergasted by Jonathan Jansen's bastardisation of this term.

To proclaim that his ill-conceived gesture is reconciliatory is ludicrous at best and utterly insulting at worst. He says he contacted the victims to offer an apology but did not engage, let alone, warn them of his impending bombshell.

Reconciliation is about parties having differences but being willing to find one another. For this to succeed issues of acceptance of wrongdoing and remorsefulness need to be adequately dealt with. If either party is in denial or does not show remorse, reconciliation is impossible.

Did he think his investiture was not newsworthy so he pulled a stunt? Is it pandering to the whims of a backward lot? Or are his intentions noble?

Whatever the answer, good intentions do not justify bad actions. Fortunately he seems realise the folly of his actions and has reopened engagements with stakeholders.

Mogomotsi Mogodiri, Johannesburg