Nation, we are living in the wild, wild west.
Over the weekend, someone brazenly shot dead AKA - arguably South Africa’s best rapper - in front of a lounge in Durban’s famous Florida Road, in full view of onlookers. Someone walked up to him on foot and shot him in the back of the head, also killing a friend of his, celebrity chef Tibz.
This week, a group of armed men stormed the home of KZN premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, demanding service delivery.
Last week, as President Cyril Ramaphosa tried to deliver his 2023 State of the Nation Address, members of the EFF stormed the podium and were swiftly - and forcibly - removed from the House.
There are mass shootings weekly, and the headlines are becoming tiresome to write - five gunned down in KZN, three shot dead in Eastern Cape, another tavern shooting, another child struck by a stray bullet...
We are living in the wild, wild west.
Where is the rule of law? Where is the enforcement of gun control?
In the newsroom, following AKA’s murder, we journalists lamented the fact that Senzo Meyiwa’s murder trial had been dragging on for years. There would probably be another press conference from SA’s most stylishly-dressed minister, Bheki Cele, but what more after the promises of swift justice? Where is the justice for Len Cloete?
Justice delayed is justice denied.
Are we just an inherently violent nation? Or do we act violently with impunity because the repercussions are not severe, or swift enough?
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not calling for harsher punishment for criminals as a deterrent. I’m calling for better social reforms to address our violence in the first place.
Are we so hard-up for cash and so desperately under pressure that it’s become easier to pick up a life of crime? Do we feel so undervalued as people that we no longer value the sanctity of the lives of others?
Some among us look at violence and violent behaviour and, very quickly, brand the perpetrators as criminals and hooligans without acknowledging the circumstances that may have led to this violence.
Something drastic needs to change, and it needs to change from the ground up. As parents, we must do more to instil in our children the value of life, the value of things. And for that to happen, we ourselves need to feel valued.
But sadly, it feels like we’re living in a country and in a world where we are not valued at all.
We are on our own.
IOL
* JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Send your submissions to [email protected] and be sure to include a short bio, contact details and your full physical address (not for publication).