OPINIONS & PERSPECTIVES: Old Battles Never Died, They Merely Froze

Twenty-nine years ago today, as a 14-year-old, I accompanied General Bantu Holomisa to the then Independence Stadium in Mthatha for the launch rally of the United Democratic Movement (UDM).

I remember that day vividly.

It was a sunny morning and day, we left his house for the Bhunga Building where we found Roelf Meyer, Sifiso Nkabinde and others, ready to proceed into what was a packed stadium. The excitement was visibly overwhelming and the atmosphere electric. Masses had come out to take orders and follow the new path that was being paved. The anger at the General’s dismissal from the ANC was still very strong and evident. There was a strong sense of betrayal that many felt. The tension equally palpable.

As an activist of the ANC myself, I was not convinced that this new path, from what we had been taught and groomed into from our immediate pre-teen years, was the correct path. Our revolutionary teachings were very much still firmly rooted in the Freedom Charter, the ANC as the leader of society and the National Democratic Revolution as the course towards total liberation. The enemy lines were still very clear, the ANC on the one end, the Boers (National Party/Democratic Party) on the other and abathengisi (IFP) on another front. So this new political vehicle and its significance or role was quite frankly lost to us in this context.

Equally, the tensions internally in the ANC were quite evident. The contestation between the former Ciskei, Border Region and Eastern Province comrades and those who were from the former Transkei were also very alive and active. Lobby groups had been actively engaged in discussions around the establishment of a 10th province which would carve the former Transkei, into a province in the new dispensation.

Some of these tensions, feelings of neglect and abandonment, created a fertile ground for the new organization to form and build. These were obviously viewed as counter-revolutionary emotions but reflected the real fears and anxieties of sections of society on the promises of a new South Africa.

I was also fortunate to have accompanied General Holomisa to the launch of the ‘SAICA Thuthuka Bursary Fund’ in 2005 at Cicira in Mthatha, where former President Nelson Mandela made his impassioned public appeal for General Holomisa to ‘return home’ to the ANC. This had followed a massive UDM victory in the Local Government elections of 2002 where the UDM outrightly won the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality.

Again, the moment and time were unique. The ANC was losing ground and needed to salvage confidence and regain lost ground.

Fast forward to 2026, it is becoming more and more pronounced as to how some decisions and actions misunderstood at a particular moment shape history and create avenues for hope in a different context and time.

The leader of society has all but decimated into a painful tumour that pains all South Africans. The general neglect and decay of public infrastructure has evidenced gross mismanagement and incompetence in the administration of public affairs. Corruption has become a cancer that has deprived us of a bright and propersous future for our children. The political system has as a whole suffered an incessant credibility crisis.

Happy Birthday to the United Democratic Movement. Once more, a new set of circumstances obtain and demand new approaches and solutions.