A noisome clang of clashing agendas

It's a well known fact that President Jacob Zuma never rises to the occasion.

He is better off in a moment of silent meditation applying his mind rather than being a rough rider with a big stick.

In his presidential basket there are many reports that are still pending and Marikana happens to be the heaviest. We don't expect him to break the mould and attend to it.

The matter has now been shifted to a judicial commission.

Zuma's immediate mission is to make sure that the organisation underwrites his second term insurance. The pulpit fight is a game of geniuses he does not want to play.

It's a game played by those who get perceptibly agitated, such as Julius Malema, Zwelinzima Vavi and Blade Nzimande.

The real pulpit bullies, Gwede Mantashe and Jackson Mthembu, are un characteristically quiet and have given Juju the job of splitting the baby in half.

You might have heard about Cosatu's truth telling session with the media on Friday, where they promised to set the record straight.

Journos must have walked out disappointed. What they heard didn't meet the standard for news.

The record will never be straight. This press conference was about apportioning blame.

The truth is there are many characters in this Marikana tragedy who are embedded and many on this gravy boat can't afford to be stabby.

It was uncivilised to believe Cosatu would come out and set the record straight. All they wanted was to save their skins.

They wanted to change the soundtrack of this tragedy to a conspiracy plot. They wanted to tell the world a dummy was being puppeteered in this tragedy and they are not involved.

Cosatu is just sad that the pulpit on which they wanted to stand and cleanse their Marikana conscience and cauterise the wound was being spoilt by the performance art comic book of Malema and company.

Malema beat them to it and for that they'll be eternally sad and lash out by blaming a rightwing element.

Malema, with the terminal button of one neuron activated, beat government up before a cheering crowd. Even North West premier Thandi Modise walked out.

Juju was in Marikana to lay it to the more tractable protesters who saw him as caring and loving.

He appealed to young men who were drunk on youth.

Small committees with dubious credentials and faith-based institutions were set up to answer to the Marikana tragedy. All we saw was creatures addicted to buzz.

Malema will be remembered as the only guy with the stones to tell the "truth". He made sure that anyone who spoke after him would seem ambivalent.

But after the 30 seconds of soundbites are gone and everyone is in their little intimate nooks reflecting, Marikana's tragedy aftermath will be chalked up as a circus.

Lies were spewed. Everyone at the memorial service came with an agenda, if not to falsify information, then to satisfy an ideology.

They were all predatory humanitarian hoodlums, with no one worthy of a title of the truth telling variety. Whoever said "lies after all, are the heart and soul and the sword and shield of politicians" is owed a case of beer at The Snorting Grunter.