HIV and Aids: it begins with you!

By: Darlington Majonga

Every day we are reminded of the grim reality of HIV when we see relatives, friends, neighbours and workmates succumbing to Aids-related illnesses.

Depressing statistics are always at hand to complete the picture of the crisis we are facing in our country.

More than five million South Africans are said to be living with HIV, including over 300 000 children under the age of 15.

Latest reports from the department of health indicate that the Free State province has the third highest HIV infection in the country at 35 percent, with the provincial capital Mangaung having a 31 percent rate.

KwaZulu-Natal has the highest HIV infection rate in South Africa at about 40 percent, followed by Mpumalanga at just below 40 percent.

Yet these figures are no longer shocking to the majority of South Africans.

What’s rather appalling is how these numbers have failed to jolt us into becoming a responsible people.

We were pleased to learn that leading anti-HIV and Aids group, New Start, will give couples from Mangaung Metro Municipality a chance to get tested for HIV in a week-long campaign starting today.

The campaign running until August 22 will see mobile testing units set up at the Mangaung Taxi Rank where couples can voluntarily go for counselling and testing for the Aids virus.

New Start says the exercise is aimed at encouraging couples to know their HIV status and to be open to each other about their health concerns in order to lead healthy lives.

We can only applaud this campaign and encourage all couples and individuals to seek a new start to their lives by getting tested for the virus that causes Aids.

In the meantime we also hope everyone will always remember there is one thing every responsible person, including the poorest of the poor, can do in this battle against the scourge.

Behavioural change!

Indeed, it’s high time we all accepted that Aids is a serious battle on our hands.

If we don’t step up our fight against the scourge – and we are not trying to be alarmist or to perpetuate stigmas associated with the epidemic – we will, sadly, continue losing our loved ones in numbers.

The painful truth, which we will have to live with, is that our salvation lies not in the discovery of a cure but in stopping new infections.

It’s a battle that requires the efforts of the infected, affected and the uninfected.

We must realise that through our actions we either help fight or worsen this pandemic which has wreaked havoc in South Africa and the world over.

For example, experts say multiple concurrent sexual partnerships are one of the biggest causes of the high rates of HIV infection in the country.

The practice, defined as having more than one sex partner at a time, is blamed for fuelling the spread of the pandemic.

However, HIV infection could be curbed drastically if people stopped having multiple sexual partners.

This is what we see as the biggest challenge for South Africa.

The problem is not necessarily the lack of information.

It’s our cavalier attitude.

Most men and women see it as fashionable to have multiple sex partners at a time.

And many of them do it recklessly too!

A recent study revealed that more than 60 percent of the sexually active people in the Free State did not constantly use the condom which largely shields against the spread of the Aids virus and other sexually transmitted infections.

Yet the number of deaths from HIV-related illnesses must by now have jolted everyone to change their dangerous ways.

Also, men and women must be equal partners in making decisions about sex.

It is the responsibility of every one of us to help those around us to know the importance of abstinence, safe sex and getting tested early.

There are those who have tested positive already – this is not the end but rather the beginning.

Those who are infected with the virus have an even bigger responsibility of being role models in society and showing those around them that one’s HIV status does not limit their horizon.

That way we can conquer this pandemic. 

Oscar and injustice for the poor

By: Darlington Majonga

Nothing could have buttressed the widespread perception that our justice system tends to treat celebrities and prominent individuals with kid gloves more than the sentencing of athlete Oscar Pistorius did last week.

Five years in jail seems like a slap on the wrist considering the athlete was found guilty of killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in the wee hours of Valentine’s Day last year.

What exacerbates the whole issue, at least in the court of public opinion, is the possibility that Pistorius is likely to effectively serve only 10 months behind bars before parole is considered.

We understand the courts, as emphasised by Justice Thokozile Masipa when she sentenced the Olympian, are not there to pander to the public’s every whim.

It indeed matters little that the majority of South Africans and many others in the nook and cranny of the globe who have been following the Pistorius trial feel the sentence was too lenient and somehow trivialised the tragic loss of human life.

The courts are there to serve the public interests, not public opinion, so we have been told.

While we maintain our respect for our justice system, we absolutely understand the public’s exasperation with cases involving not only Pistorius but other high-profile people as well.

Recently, musician Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye and his friend saw their murder convictions being converted to culpable homicide on appeal.

Their sentences were subsequently reduced from 20 years to 10 years, two of which were suspended.

The two are likely to be released on parole within two years.

If you ask any ordinary person, they will tell you – like in the Pistorius case – that was a travesty of justice.

Of course, our competent judges know better and wouldn’t lose sleep over criticisms of their judgments and sentences.

But what should worry them is the social understanding that celebrities, politicians and other prominent and wealthy people are typically judged less harshly than average citizens when it comes to breaking the law and being punished for those crimes.

We are not in any way suggesting that celebrities are always guilty of the crimes they are charged with.

Yet it’s not a secret that one’s wealth and social status have a direct impact on the degree to which society applies laws to them.

And we are well aware too that failure to secure the services of a good legal team normally militates against the efforts of the poor to prove their innocence before the courts.

Not everyone can afford to have Barry Roux in their corner tearing into the state case to convince the court to reduce a murder charge to culpable homicide.

It’s not every man rotting in jail for murder who can afford to appeal against both conviction and sentence, like Jub Jub successfully did.

And, by the way, it’s not anybody’s problem that the majority of people are of no means and cannot afford top-notch legal representation when they are charged.

We have heard the pathetic excuse that celebrities face higher levels of social scrutiny because their crimes are more widely publicised.

Pistorius’s counsel tried to use the same line of defence during the mitigation proceedings, arguing the Blade Runner had already been punished by the court of public opinion.

While those assertions are certainly valid, they are not substantial excuses for the lenient nature of our legal system.

This whole sad scenario actually places a heavier onus on the entire justice system to do thorough work from investigation to prosecution to trial to sentencing.

It’s not the fact that Pistorius has been sentenced to five years in prison for culpable homicide that’s difficult to accept.

It’s the sad realisation that many others who were convicted of similar or less serious charges are doing more time behind bars.

In some cases, the lucky ones among the average citizens are released years after their sentencing when the case is reviewed or new evidence is discovered.

We have also seen celebrities getting away with other less serious crimes like drug possession or driving under the influence of alcohol – transgressions that would see ordinary people locked up in prison.

If our correctional centres are good enough to modify the behaviour of ordinary offenders, they should be good enough to rehabilitate our celebrities and the wealthy too.

Indeed, South Africa’s justice system needs to hold prominent citizens to the same standards to which it holds the rest of us.

And that standard must include the same degrees of punishment.

Wait . . . you ain’t heard about Antimalaria, Candida and Bigknock!

Darlington Majonga



Candida Mosoma



WHAT’S in a name, really?

So much – especially if your name is Lovemore, Givemore, Reason or Setfree!

We don’t normally realise the weirdness of such names until you are somewhere outside Zimbabwe.

Or unless a foreign visitor in Harare asks: “Did you just say your nephew is named Tedious?”

I’m not sure if my auntie who named me Darlington had heard about the English town in the Tees Valley.

In any case, the origin of my name must be the easiest considering how often the term “darling” is used by lovers, friends and the like.

The Holy Book has been a source of many names.

That’s why we have the likes of Naboth, David, Samuel, Israel, Abel, Cain, Esther, Mary and so on.

Film, television, music and books as well as sport have also influenced mothers and fathers in naming their offspring.

The likes of Aaliyah, Brandy, Beyonce, Rihanna, Ronaldo, Enzo, Usher, Denzel, Bryan, Alan, Gary, Sachin, Romario and Chris, to name but a few, are among popular celebrity names.

But why would parents name their child Trymore, Punishment, Silent, Godknows, Danger, Limited, Method or Credence?

My friend Shakeman has never told me how that name became his, but I guess his dad used to idolise Shackman Tauro, one of Zimbabwe’s former soccer greats.

Parents have tended to name their children to reflect their wishes or experiences.

My brother is named Gilbert.

Fine, right?

But if I tell you my dad was in love with a gin called Gilberts what do you think?

Your guess is as good as mine why a footballer in Zimbabwe was named Have-A-Look Dube?

Maybe some people had sworn that Have-A-Look’s mother would never have a child.

Or she wanted her enemies to watch how she would go up the social ladder in life?

Maybe, maybe, maybe.

As a journalist I have come across dozens of these strange names.

At Caps United there was Danger Fourpence and someone was claiming his sister was Dangerous.

Musareka Jenitala, Herbert Dick, Laughter Chilembe (Zambian), Givemore Manuella, Trymore Mtisi and so on were regulars on football team sheets.

However, some of the names end up subjecting the owners to ridicule, especially at school.

My other friend, Wishbone, must have not-so-fond memories of how we used to tease him.

Oh, we had Previous, Privilege and Smart too!

While we were covering Zimbabwe’s 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections, colleague Stephanie Nolen of Canada’s Globe & Mail thought an elderly man who gave his name as Bigknock Marikopo was joking.

You ain’t seen nothing gal, I told her.

I just referred her to the list of parliamentary candidates for that election.

There was Antimalaria, Cowboy, Dicky, Settlement, Moreprecision, Hotera (Hotel), Charm, Mainroad and Ready.

Phew!

My late sister once taught at a farm school in Bindura where names such as Size, Chocolate, Fitness, Bigboy, Shame and Tryness were ordinary.

Our Shona names leave a lot to be desired as well: Nhamo (Poverty), Sekai (You can laugh), Mandivavarira (You are on my case), Tinei (What do we have), Munodei (What do you want), Ticharwa (We will fight), Shupikai (Suffer) and Musorowegomo (Mountain crest)!

We do have them in South Africa too – Candida Mosoma, a former Rhythm City and Idols SA contestant, takes the cake.

Some of you, especially women, surely know about thrush – vaginal or oral.

But were you are aware that it’s a fungal infection known as candidiasis and caused by the candida yeast?

There you have it!

No, even if Tino had another man!

I CRINGED when I saw the image of a pulverised Tinopona Mapereke Katsande which was this week posted on social networks and online media after her alleged altercation with her boyfriend.


Not that this was my first time to see such harrowing pictures of victims of domestic violence.

I have, in fact, suffered from it in the worst way: one of my dearest relatives was murdered by the jilted father of her son after she had finally stood up to his abusive ways by moving out of their shared apartment and seeking refuge in my home.

You can imagine my horror on my return home to find blood splattered in my apartment after the man who was always professing perpetual love for our dear Sharon had ripped her throat open and lacerated her breasts and lungs simply because she had had enough of his antics!

It could have been the worst too for Tino.

Yet I found it more repulsive to read posts and comments – including by women – that apparently condoned the brutality suffered by the former Studio 263 actress.

Some felt Tino deserved the battering because she had “crossed the line” by reportedly asking her partner to help with some domestic chores.

Washing dishes, to be precise, she claims.

Whether that was the real reason for the altercation or not is neither here nor there.

Even if Mr Macho had found her in bed with another man!

Who beats up men for our philandering behaviour and failure to carry out our own roles in families and relationships?

In any case, there is nothing “unAfrican” about couples, married or not, helping each other with domestic chores – including laundry, cooking or making the bed!

It’s a tragedy that we seem to have accepted violence as part of our everyday life.

Yet in the history of mankind physical confrontations have routinely failed as the ultimate solution.

Social and cultural norms that tolerate violence as an acceptable way of resolving conflict are so stone-age I don’t believe we are in 2012!

The consequences of domestic and other forms of violence are devastating, with thousands dying from such abuse every year.

Others are left to cope with physical and emotional scars.

It’s high time we all accepted we have a big crisis on our hands.

We simply have to be civilised.

Preventive measures have always been the best and it’s imperative for all of us to focus on the root causes of violence – including poor parenting, bullying, drug and alcohol abuse and generally poor education.

This calls for concerted efforts from every one of us.



Battered . . . Tino after the alleged assault.



All smiles . . . Tino at work before the facial carnage

 Surely, we can’t be a barbarian society that tolerates violence or any other form of abuse.

Angry on God’s behalf

By Darlington Majonga


NOW, I’m about to reveal what would have made my late poor mother’s eyes pop out of their sockets.

I haven’t been to church since one Sunday, in April 2008, when helmeted and black-booted anti-riot police officers, brandishing batons and slinging rifles, stormed the Anglican Cathedral in Harare in the middle of a sermon.

We stampeded for the doors, with terrified women and children, the majority of the congregants, screaming and falling over each other.

The law-enforcement officers were doing it at the behest of renegade bishop Nolbert Kunonga – an ardent supporter of President Robert Mugabe – who made it clear anyone who did not recognise him as the leader of the church had no right to worship at Anglican properties.

I will come back to the moron – yes, that’s what he is – some other time.

But he’s not the reason I haven’t been to church for more than three years.

This was unacceptable when I was growing up, with my mother being a popular leader of the Mother’s Union at the St Mary’s parish in Chitungwiza.

In fact, anyone in our family who bunked church would not have tea with fried eggs – Sundays, not all of them of course, were the only days we could be treated to a somewhat decent breakfast.

So in a way the fried eggs became an incentive for going to church.

But I also believed that was the only right thing to do and, honestly, I have fond memories of my times at the Sunday school.

I always liked it when the big bell chimed.

The holiness that engulfed the church especially when servers, clad in white robes, paced up and down the aisle swinging a small urn pouting burning incense was quite unbelievable.

And the hymns were quite captivating and I sang along so much I thought I was a brilliant tenor until I couldn’t make the school choir.

You can imagine, when I was young, I actually thought the late Father Oliver Mutume, for example, could talk to God.

It meant so much and I felt God’s spirit entering me whenever the priest touched my head while we knelt around the pulpit.

By the time Kunonga started putting the name of the Anglican Church – and Christianity at large – into disrepute, I had long ceased seeing priests and pastors as pious.

With Kunonga wreaking havoc, I was tempted to look for another denomination but I found it hard to leave my Anglican and its traditions.

The only time I had done so – leaving my Anglican – was when I went to one Pentecostal church after learning the girl I wanted was an ever-present there.

Armed with my fairly good understanding of the Bible, which I had to somehow memorise when I was doing divinity at A-Level, I maneouvred my way close enough to the hot one to impress her with some verses.

The only thing I didn’t do was to speak in tongues.

In all honesty, I didn’t believe in their razzmatazz way of worshipping and only put up with it because I had a mission.

That’s exactly why I’m no longer interested in this church business.

The church, in general, is full of pretenders.

Some, like I did years ago, go to look for women.

And women too – especially when their marketability is teetering towards expiry – also go to church to look for potential husbands.

The place of worship has become a stage to show off fashion trends and wheels.

Yet that’s not my biggest problem with Christianity.

It’s the leaders stupid!

And the overzealous preachers!

And the pretenders

And the blind followers too!

Has anyone ever paused to think why some Christians thrive on striking fear into the hearts of non-believers?

Is it not because such Christians do not understand the life and teachings of Jesus Christ upon which the Christian faith is based?

Not that I understand the Bible better.

Yet that’s exactly my frustration!

Whenever I have tried to understand the religion and its teachings better I have been unfortunate to meet Christians who take pleasure in making other people feel “hellish”.

They tell you symbolic practices like brewing sorghum beer to remember or appease our ancestors are satanic — as if the white man who brought Christianity to the shores of Africa does not have his own traditions.

Like burning incense to chase away evil spirits!

If they are tired of stuffing that nonsense into your ears, the fear-mongers either spurt the crap about burning in hell or God meting out heavy punishment against sinners and non-believers.

When you ask them if that’s not the antithesis of the compassion, spirituality and love which the religion champions, they become so defensive.

They hide behind the “it’s the will of God” mantra in their desperate attempts to stifle and obfuscate meaningful debate on religion.

If you ask them what they don’t know, they label you blasphemous.

In fact, some of them get angry on behalf of God.

“You need prayers!” they usually quip.

Yet it is such people who need more prayers than anyone else for endangering a religion that has taught the world love, forgiveness and all the virtues that make us a peaceful and happy people.

The religion that I grew up loving so much is at the mercy of cults or sects led by fundamentalists who hide behind dogma and fake miracle works to sate their narcissistic desires.

We must watch out for such fundamentalists who thrive on isolating gullible followers from outside influences that might cause them to doubt their saintliness.

And these marshals of blind faith, who claim exclusive access to God’s will, normally target the very vulnerable in society — the loveless, the sick and hopelessly poor included.

Do I hear anyone saying Pastor Chris or Prophet TB Joshua or Pastor Makandiwa?

Yes, those are among the religious charlatans.

They thrive of fooling people by performing spell-binding miracles that heal wheelchair-bound people.

They can cure cancers and any other terminal ailments.

They can exorcise evil spirits by sending bearded men and breasted women tumbling into trances.

I saw TB Joshua doing that on his TV channel recently.

A trembling woman was told she had a spirit which made her not have any feeling of affection for her husband.

“It’s the crocodile spirit,” he “prophesied” to a deafening applause as the woman wriggled and snapped her mouth like a reptile.

Then a guy was told his family was battling a spirit that made them unfaithful to their spouses.

And, can you believe it, the possessed always exalt the Man of God for correctly prophesying their problems and dealing with the spirits!

Now, my problem is that I have relatives and friends who have terminal illnesses like Aids who believe TB Joshua can deal with that.

And those who chow their modest salaries like they are Bill Gates suddenly blame spirits when they find themselves penniless and unable to feed their families hours after payday!

Even prostitutes shout spirits when their addiction to sex suddenly overwhelms them.

Holy crap!

The whole idea, it seems, is for these charlatans masquerading as genuine prophets to sway people into believing they are all-powerful.

It’s about them, not Jesus or God.

That’s why most of them run TV channels which broadcast sermons and miracle works to hoodwink people.

Isn’t it why they are filthy rich?

Their dubious missions are more akin to occult practices than they are to genuine Christian modus operandi.

I know some Christians will regard this article in bad taste because they are already victims of fear-mongers who take every opportunity to misinterpret the Bible.

Maybe TB Joshua should try the “remote control” trick with me – but only if he pays me too and I will gladly join those telling the world the “Man of God” is great!



*Darlington Majonga is the editor of the Free State Times in South Africa. He previously worked for the Zimbabwe Independent and Daily News in Zimbabwe. You can email him at dmajonga@yahoo.com

Zimbabwe flatter to deceive

Darlington Majonga



WE laugh for different reasons.

Every millisecond someone somewhere is doing that – showing emotion through an explosive, often spontaneous, vocal sound.

Pakistan did a lot of that on their way to a seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe in their one-off Test match in Bulawayo this week.

Every time Zimbabwe gave away a wicket – and it happened in horrendous fashion in a forgettable second innings – howls, similar to those made by a pack of jackals, filled the rather empty Queens Sports Club.

Maybe that’s how they express impulsive delight in Pakistan, but their piercing cackling said it all about Zimbabwe’s sorry collapse.

As much as the home side’s capitulation was somewhat laughable, it was far from a laughing matter.

In all honesty, their disintegration came as surprise considering how they had amassed a respectable first-innings total of 412, anchored by Tinotenda Mawoyo’s unbeaten 163.

Yet it wasn’t something totally unexpected for a small cricket nation that has flattered to deceive since their first ever Test victory, ironically against Pakistan, by an innings and 64 runs in February 1995.

That historic match had Grant Flower unbeaten on 201 and his brother Andy being caught by Wasim Akram, now coach of Pakistan, off the bowling of Kabir Khan after stroking a massive 153.

Guy Whittall was unbeaten on 103 when Zimbabwe declared their first innings on 544-4.

That proved to be a match-winning total as Pakistan were wiped out for 322 and still could not make up for the deficit when they followed on, only managing a paltry 158.

Heath Streak, then a fresh-faced 20-year-old boy, did most of the damage, hauling six wickets in the first innings for 90 before following that up with 3-15.

No one can dispute that that Zimbabwe side had real talent, with Dave Houghton, Alistair Campbell, Stuart Carlisle, Paul Strang and Henry Olonga in the mix.

The Pakistani side that capitulated at Harare Sports Club in that historic Test match was quite strong too, unlike the “weakened” team which beat Zimbabwe this week.

That goes a long way to confirm what has for long been a public secret: that Zimbabwe doesn’t really have the quality to compete at the highest level.

Maybe I should say they do not have quality yet, because if it’s about potential, yes, Zimbabwe has quite a lot of it.

Many analysts have been decrying a lack of experience in the current Zimbabwe side.

As the match at Queens wore on with Pakistan replying in their first innings, the home side frittered away seven regulation catches that could have turned the duel in their favour.

One commentator said Zimbabwe were not yet used to the intensity of Test cricket.

Yet, in simple words, there was no excuse for such sloppiness.

And this has been and will continue to be Zimbabwe’s Achilles’ heel. It’s a trend that they have failed to overcome, even since the heady days of the Flower brothers.

Flash back to March 20, 2001.

Zimbabwe were on the verge of another historic win, needing just 99 runs to defeat the West Indies at Trinidad’s Queens Park Oval.

The Flower brothers were in the line-up. And so were the much-touted Neil Johnson and Murray Goodwin.

But against all expectations, even for Test cricket’s newest and weakest nation, Zimbabwe folded in spectacular fashion and by the time Curtly Ambrose sent last wicket Mpumelelo Mbangwa’s furniture flying they had only managed 63.

Besides Grant’s 126-ball 26, no other Zimbabwean went into the double figures that day and no one else beat the nine extras donated by the Windies.

Andy’s first-innings century went in vain, like what has just happened to Mawoyo’s mammoth knock.

Inexperience, a wearing pitch and poor batting were proffered as the reasons for the unbelievable capitulation.

We can offer the same reasons for Zimbabwe’s loss to Pakistan this week.

Zimbabwe’s first ever Test win was as significant as victory over the same Pakistan this week would have been.

In 1995, with questions being asked whether or not they had been admitted into Test cricket prematurely, it was important for Zimbabwe to prove they merited a spot in the game’s elite league.

That’s the same scenario Zimbabwe have found themselves in after six years away from Test cricket.

The celebrations that followed Zimbabwe’s 130-run victory over Bangladesh on their return to Test cricket last month were understandable.

But no one can say they expected the result to be very different.

Despite Zimbabwe’s exile, there has never been really anything to separate the two sides since Streak and 13 other players, with 257 Test caps between them, walked out on national duty on April 15, 2004.

You can look at their drawn match at Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka in January 2005 when Bangladesh were expected to overrun Zimbabwe’s greenhorns who had been thrown into the deep end following the senior player rebellion.

The litmus test for Zimbabwe was expected to come in the form of Pakistan, never mind they had the luxury to leave their premier pace bowlers, Umar Gul, Tanvir Ahmed and Wahab Riaz, back home.

The inclusion of relatively inexperienced players, including the uncapped Aizaz Cheema who went on to cause serious damage, was supposed to give Zimbabwe an equal chance.

But that was not to be.

Yet it wasn’t a victory given on a silver platter. Zimbabwe, to their credit, took the match, for the second consecutive time, to the fifth day.

They had failed to do so in innings defeats against Sri Lanka, South Africa and New Zealand – heavy defeats which forced Zimbabwe to take a break from Test cricket.

Solid batting, in both innings, is critical in Test cricket. So is consistently disciplined bowling and fielding.

So far, against both Bangladesh and Pakistan, Zimbabwe have shown they are capable of doing that.

But that will not happen as long as they do not quickly shift their mindset. They have to believe that they can beat or at least compete against the best.

They have the potential, which in simple terms refers to latent but unrealised ability.

Besides Brendan Taylor, Tatenda Taibu and Hamilton Masakadza, players such as Mawoyo, Brian Vitori and Kyle Jarvis can now also steal the headlines.

That’s what makes a team, not individuals.

While we can talk about Zimbabwe’s potential, it cannot be denied that they are still far from becoming a quality side that can compete against Test cricket’s big guns – not that they were under any illusions about that, I suppose.

What Zimbabwe need for now to become polished gems is to strike consistency in performance.

This means if they can score 412 in the first innings they should be able to do as much in the second. And if they can be brilliant fielders in one match, they shouldn’t be dropping easy catches in the next as if they are paid to do that.

The upcoming ODI series against Pakistan will be crucial for Zimbabwe to regain the momentum they had gained against Bangladesh and to convince the cricketing world that their self-imposed exile wasn’t all in vain.

And the players themselves must understand more than anyone else that they can only be taken seriously by winning and being competitive.

• Darlington Majonga is the editor of the Free State Times in South Africa.

Mandela's ex-political prisoners project falling apart

Darlington Majonga

Bloemfontein

FORMER president Nelson Mandela’s initiative to save thousands of South Africa’s ex-political prisoners from destitution is on the verge of collapse, the Free State Times can reveal.

The Ex-Political Prisoners Committee (EPPC), established in 1995 after Mandela led a reunion of South Africans who were jailed for anti-apartheid activities, has been debilitated by a lack of funding and internecine fights.

Only the KwaZulu-Natal wing of the EPPC is still running, with the rest of the provincial structures in limbo.

This was confirmed by Sibusiso Peter-Paul Ngwenya, a major player in the ex-political prisoners’ movement, in documents for an infringement case he has filed at the Bloemfontein High Court.

Ngwenya is the executive chairman of Makana Investment Corporation (MIC), founded in 1997 as the commercial vehicle of the Makana Trust which had been set up a year earlier to fundraise for the EPPC, then led by anti-apartheid hero Ahmed Kathrada.

In its formative years the trust, with the world-adored Mandela’s blessings, received millions of rands in donations which were meant to help integrate ex-political prisoners into a new, democratic South Africa by improving their educational, social, health and economic wellbeing.

To sustain its objectives, the Makana Trust then set up MIC in which it would have a 51 percent controlling stake.

Today MIC is a broad-based investment company with interests in broadcasting as well as a range of ventures spanning aviation, logistics and telecommunications.

The EPPC’s national conference in 1999 agreed that the organisation decentralise its operations by establishing provincial structures.

These provincial structures, it was agreed, would then start business ventures acting as MIC “subsidiaries” and in which MIC would have a 40 percent stake in return for financial support and mentoring.

Now Ngwenya has launched a legal battle to stop Free State businessman and ex-Robben Island inmate Ramakaudi Paul Ramakatsa – also known as Mpho Ramakatsa – and the provincial companies he contends were started under the EPPC ambit from using the name Makana.

The business ventures in question, also cited as respondents in the infringement case, are Makana Investment Free State (Pty) Ltd, Makana Women Construction (Pty) Ltd, Makana C&I Technologies (Pty) Ltd and Makana Infrastructure Developers (Pty) Ltd.

These companies were established in 2003, the same time that other provincial business entities such as Makana Investment KZN and Makana Investment Gauteng were established.

Ngwenya, in the court papers, however says the Free State companies no longer have anything to do with MIC because they were “closed down”.

“The operations of these commercial entities, including that of the second to fifth respondents, were all closed down due to a number of reasons, including the fact that there was a poor level of managing and that they did not submit business plans to the applicant for vetting,” he says.

Ngwenya, in his founding affidavit, contends that Ramakatsa has no “bona fide claim to the use and proprietorship of the Makana trademarks”.

“As is evident from the notice of motion, the applicant seeks that the respondents be interdicted and restrained from infringing the applicant’s registered trademarks by using the marks in the course of trade in relation to any of the goods or services the marks have been registered for,” he says.

MIC registered the Makana trademarks between 2006 and 2008.

Makana is the name of the first political prisoner, a Xhosa chief, to attempt to escape the notorious Robben Island jail in 1873.

He drowned while attempting to flee and ex-Robben Island inmates decided to honour him by naming their trust and investment vehicle after him.

In his responding affidavit, Ramakatsa says the companies had been established and used the Makana name and logo “with the assistance, consent and knowledge of the applicant, the trust and the EPPC”.

“Due to the fact that the provincial and national structures had the same object, being to generate income to benefit and support the ex-political prisoners and their dependants in South Africa, it was throughout agreed by the EPPC, as the founder of the Makana Trust being the main shareholder of the applicant, that the structures and its activities will all be identified by the name ‘Makana,’” he says.

“The business logo was also, since the establishment of all the national and provincial structures, used by all the structures, including the respondents.”

Ramakatsa says MIC forfeited its interests in the Free State businesses after allegedly failing to honour its “obligations” as agreed with the EPPC.

The case will be heard at the Bloemfontein High Court next Thursday.

It however turns out that there is more to the fight than just the Makana trademark.

Ex-political prisoners sympathetic to Ramakatsa believe the court case is a smokescreen for the real battle that has been tearing the EPPC apart.

It appears the problems for Ramakatsa started way back in 2006 when he, as the EPPC’s national deputy chairperson, and other provincial leaders of the organisation held an emergency meeting to oust Makana Trust chairman Tokyo Sexwale.

The meeting also demanded that the trust and MIC be accountable and explain why EPPC provincial structures were allegedly not “fully” benefiting from the investment company’s business interests.

David Moisi, who was the EPPC national chairman at that time, however distanced himself from the meeting which the organisation’s then secretary, Notty Ngcobo, also described as “illegal”.

A year later, Ramakatsa left his position as the EPPC national deputy chairperson after, according to Ngwenya’s affidavit, he “was found to have sexually harassed a female employee”.

Ramakatsa says the sexual harassment case was trumped up to “silence” him.

Since then, Ngwenya has apparently been trying to distance the Makana Trust, EPPC and MIC from the business ventures Ramakatsa spearheaded “for the benefit of ex-political prisoners” in the Free State.

In the meantime the EPPC’s structures elsewhere have also been disintegrating.

Of all the commercial entities established to take care of the EPPC provincial structures, only one – Makana Investment KZN – is doing well.

Incidentally, MIC boss Ngwenya comes from KZN.

“(MIC), currently, only permits Makana Investment KZN (Pty) Ltd to use the name Makana,” Ngwenya says in his affidavit for the infringement case against Ramakatsa.

“This is the only regional structure which has regular meetings with the applicants and Makana Investment KZN (Pty) Ltd has proper reporting structures, regular board meetings, regular financial and management reportings.

“It is important to note that Makana Investment KZN is managed by the applicant.”

Other provinces suspect Ngwenya has been channelling a large chunk of the MIC proceeds due to the EPPC to his home province.

This has left the EPPC tottering to its death, according to the organisation’s national deputy secretary Mpho Masemola.

“Since two years ago we have seen our provincial structures collapsing,” says Masemola, an ex-Robben Island inmate.

“We have been told many stories about the Makana Trust not having money for the EPPC’s activities and this is devastating.

“While we have been told there is no operational money for the EPPC look what’s happening in KZN . . .

“It’s only the KZN that’s fully functional because it’s supported by Peter-Paul because he comes from there.

“In the meantime comrades keep on dying as paupers because they can’t get help from their organisation.

“This is a joke and the mess has to be sorted out because we have people such as the president and deputy president as part of the movement.

“We were together at Robben Island.”

Masemola was apparently referring to President Jacob Zuma and Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe who were incarcerated at the infamous prison for their anti-apartheid activities.

Ngwenya could not be reached for comment.