SA’s post-apartheid nationhood is a fragile construct built on personalities and mythologies which seldom reflect the realities of the lives of her people. From the flimsy notion of a “Rainbow Nation” denoting a nation characterised by racial co-existence, to invoking the reconciliatory words of figures like Nelson Mandla as examples of what makes us SA, we have allowed nation-building to be a series of vanity projects such as national sporting events that produce a sense of unity and pride.

Often that is fleeting such as the moment of joy experienced when Simphiwe Tshabalala scored the opening goal at the 2010 World Cup, only for Bafana Bafana to crash out of the tournament without advancing to the next stage...