SOWETAN SAYS | Shivambu and Mashatile should both know better

The adage “show me your friends and I will tell you who you are” suggests that the people we choose to be around shape our personality, values and world view.

This barometer ought to apply to Floyd Shivambu, secretary-general of the MK party, and deputy president Paul Mashatile for their indiscretions at the Easter weekend.

Shivambu, who holds a powerful position in SA’s official opposition party, received backlash for visiting fugitive pastor Shepherd Bushiri in Malawi. His visit, during which he was paraded in front of congregants and pictured in meetings with Bushiri, has been widely condemned as an affront to the rule of law.

Ironically, his party also sought to distance itself from the visit, describing it as personal and not sanctioned by its leadership. Whatever the party says, the optics are an indictment of both Shivambu, in his capacity as a leader, and the MKP.

Not only is Bushiri wanted in SA to answer for his alleged crimes, but he is also accused of exploiting his followers for self-enrichment in a bogus investment scheme that defrauded them of about R100m.

In its public posture, the MKP has defined itself as the party of the “poor and marginalised” that fights injustices in SA. The party has also committed to upholding the rule of law through its MPs, who swore by the constitution when taking the oath of office.

It is, therefore, inconceivable that a man serving the same party as its secretary-general could be found fraternising with alleged criminals in whatever capacity. It amounts to spitting in the face of the poor, especially the victims of Bushiri’s alleged crimes. The party’s attempts to distance itself from Shivambu’s faux pas ring hollow without stating what firm action it is going to take.

Equally incomprehensible is another visit by Mashatile, the country’s second most powerful politician, to the controversial KwaSizabantu Mission in KwaZulu-Natal. The mission has faced allegations of human rights abuses and failing to deal with alleged sexual abuses, which led to an exodus of its members.

The Commission for Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights recommended that the mission apologise to its former members for the hurt caused by its practices. It made no findings on the criminal allegations.

Whether proven or not, the allegations levelled against the mission are serious enough to warrant Mashatile to have carefully considered the message that his visit would send. Despite attempts to fob off questions about this, Mashatile’s visit to the mission dilutes the government’s messaging and stance against GBV. Both Shivambu and Mashatile’s church visits during Easter show that hypocrisy is the lifeblood of our politics.