In his memoir titled The Story of my Life, the former leader of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu), Joshua Nkomo, makes a profound statement when he says: “The hardest lesson of my life has come to me late – it is that a nation can win freedom without its people becoming free.”

I found myself reflecting on this statement a week ago after reading the story of Thando Mahlangu, an Ndebele cultural activist who was humiliated in a Clicks store at Boulders Shopping Centre in Midrand – during Human Rights Month...