Opposition parties in Mangaung Metro have drawn parallels between the darkness of apartheid and the ruling ANC.

In a charged council meeting in the Bram Fisher Building, Bloemfontein, DA Mangaung Councillor Dulandi Leech acknowledged that indeed apartheid remains the ghost of the past which does scare and still haunts them. 

She was, however, quick to remind the council of present monsters that are very much alive, citing cadre deployment, tender fraud, and the staggering unemployment rate as contemporary manifestations of systemic injustice. “When they’re in power, the lights go off and the monsters come out to play,” she said.

‘Nthatisi called out opposition parties for failing to acknowledge Dingaan Thobela’

Her sentiments came after the council meeting took an unexpected turn when Mayor Gregory Nthatisi shifted the focus to the contentious issue of honouring apartheid-era figures. In a move that sparked controversy, Nthatisi called out opposition parties for failing to acknowledge the late iconic boxer, Dingaan Thobela, drawing parallels between apartheid heroes and contemporary political figures.

The South African boxing legend known to his fans as “Rose of Soweto” died in his flat in Johannesburg at the age of 57 on Monday (29/4) after reportedly battling illness for some time. Nthatisi's remarks incited a flurry of responses, exposing deep-seated divisions within the council.

Opposition voices, such as the African Alliance of Social Democrats’s (AASD) Lucky Mongale, echoed Nthatisi’s sentiments, condemning apartheid as a stain on humanity. But Mongale questioned the efficacy of democracy in dismantling entrenched systems of oppression.

‘Even today people are still being sent to prison by apartheid legislation’

“In the next council meeting, I will be describing how democracy can be demeaning and relating that to Mangaung. Even today people are still being sent to prison by apartheid legislation, Criminal Act Procedural Number 51 of 1977.”

“When we meet our loved ones and want to marry them, we marry them with apartheid legislation of 1958. When we are fed up with them, we want to divorce them, we are expected to divorce them with apartheid legislation. Now what is that which you have been doing for the past 30 years except embracing apartheid,” said Mongale.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi mvh