Johannesburg - When the police released a full list this week of the 36 people who were killed in Phoenix in the recent protest action that gripped KwaZulu Natal, it confirmed what many had known or suspected.
Almost all those who were shot or hacked to death, in what is being referred to as the Phoenix Massacre, are black people. Of the 36 people who lost their lives, three are Indian.
For black people in this country, the developments are a grim reminder of the dark history as a consequence of the brutal system of apartheid. It is a sad reality that even post-1994, black lives continue to be invaluable and of no significance. There have been too many incidents that fatally affected black lives.
Most of the people who were killed are predominantly from the African townships around Phoenix in the north of Durban. The brutal manner in which they were killed underscored the heightened violence that has manifested in most parts of our country.
It is a gross negation of their most basic constitutional right to life.
South Africa certainly does not need this anymore.
The case of Phoenix cannot be taken lightly. There have been previous incidents of clashes in the area. Importantly, the killings highlighted the serious issues of race relations in Phoenix. The racial tension between blacks and Indians in the area come a long way. We do not need to sugarcoat it. The question should rather be: What have we, as a country, done to resolve it? For far too long, the situation has been left to deteriorate.
Some have said that had law enforcement acted swiftly, the situation could have been averted.
I disagree. This assertion seeks to divert attention from the real issue that has plagued that area for many years – racial tension. We need to deal with polarised racial tension there. Phoenix remains a time bomb as racial conflicts have become persistent.
Sadly, 27 years into the democratic dispensation, the communities in the area cannot co-exist. At least, this is what the recent collision has confirmed. Perhaps time has come for us as a country to pause and reflect on this?
This augurs badly for our moral fibre. Does it mean it has been tarnished to an extent that we neither fear nor respect human lives?
This week, Police Minister Bheki Cele said a high-level team of detectives had been deployed to investigate the killings. While the arrests are welcome, it is of utmost importance to investigate the role of private security firms in the violence.
The investigation should cover all the corners and reveal the truth. It is common knowledge that vigilante groups seized the moment, resulting in the assault and killings of many people. Lawlessness.
The situation in Phoenix reminds us that our efforts to build a non-racial and non-sexist democratic state remains under threat. Our efforts should be intensified. The involvement of all sectors of the society is critical to attain this.
For many black people, a luta continua (the Struggle continues). The lives of many black people remain less meaningful. The killings in Phoenix come a few years after 34 striking miners at Marikana in North West were murdered. Those who lived in pursuit of freedom and died at the hand of the apartheid system should be turning in their graves.
The killing of black people did not end during the Soweto uprising during which more than a hundred people lost their lives. It certainly did not end in 1960 ,during the Sharpeville massacre when 69 people died when apartheid police opened fire on a group that was peacefully protesting oppressive pass laws.
Morwane writes in his personal capacity.