Little doubt exists in Kim Heller’s mind on who South Africa’s best politician is currently. She is emphatic in her answer.
“There are two politicians I regard highly. The first is Julius Malema, the leader of the EFF. I would have to rate him as the best politician in South Africa,” says Heller.
“He stands apart from others. Malema is commanding, focused, exceptionally smart and committed.
“The second person I regard highly as a top politician is BLF president Andile Mngxitama who I believe is the greatest thinker of our time. These two, love them or hate them, are our finest leasers. I respect both enormously.”
Heller, a political analyst and commentator, spoke of her admiration for Mngxitama and Malema following the launch of her book No White Lies, Black Politics and White Power in South Africa last week.
The Saturday Star caught up with Heller to chat to her about her book and her views on the state of politics in South Africa.
What is your new book No White Lies, Black Politics and White Power in South Africa about?
My book is a compilation of 36 newspaper columns published over the past few years. I write about uncomfortable truths that we, as South Africans, shy away from, such as the persistence of white power and privilege, structural racism and the glaring lack of social and economic transformation and justice. I unmask the Rainbow Nation as a palace of white power, where whiteness reigns supreme, even though the governing party, the ANC, is black.
What are your thoughts behind the title of the book?
The Rainbow Nation is fake news – I have described it as an optical illusion – a ‘smash and grab’ of hope in the quicksilver of hopelessness.
The material conditions of millions of black South Africans remain dire while white South Africans continue to prosper and hold onto the lion’s share of economic wealth and land.
Socially and culturally, it is the white voice that is horribly supersized. South Africa is in the curtsey of whiteness, and we will remain so until we ask hard, uncomfortable questions about the true state of our nation and the omnipotence of white interests. We need to ask questions about land return, reparations for apartheid and colonialism, and the restoration black dignity and rights after centuries of oppression. We need to ask why we celebrate a stillborn democracy rather than mourn the fact that black liberation is not yet in sight and unlikely to be witnessed in our lifetime. We need to be brave enough to be true and truthful.
How long did you work on the book for, and what were the challenges?
I was encouraged by a thought leader who respects my writing, to compile this book of my columns.
This became my Covid-19 lockdown project, achieved over the past few months. It is a prelude to a dedicated work on white supremacy that I am writing and will be publishing in mid-2021.
The greatest challenge in writing such books is the intolerance and abuse from those who are captured by and beholden to the master narrative. Independent voices such as mine are shunned. Speaking truth in the New Dawn often feels like a blood sport.
What are you hoping to achieve from your new book?
This book and my upcoming book on white supremacy are both aimed at trying to shift the social and political discourse and consciousness, so that we can radically alter the economic power relations in South Africa, and finally start the journey towards genuine and meaningful social transformation and justice.
What is your opinion on the state of politics in SA?
We are a nation in crisis. There is a shocking lack of leadership. Never has the ANC been so distant from its people. It is as if the governing party is social distancing itself from its own constituencies. In general, political parties seem more concerned about electoral performance than the daily well-being of ordinary South Africans.
Ugly factionalism and self-serving politicking are trumping public interest.
Parties are placing their principals over their principles and this results in an ideologically and ethically bankrupt band of politicians.
Post-1994, who would you say has been SA's best president, and why?
I don’t think any of the presidents have been exemplary but if I had to choose, I would say Jacob Zuma, simply because he refused to kneel down to the dictates of white interests. He was villainised for this reason. If we care to look at the tangible and measurable socio-economic achievements over his administration, rather than the allegations of transgressions and misconduct, we will see a man who did much for his people.
Who has been SA’s worst president?
Cyril Ramaphosa may turn out to be worst post-apartheid president this country has seen.
He is more concerned about the interests of the privileged white sector and the elites rather than the poorest of the poor. His lack of ideological coherence, transparency, doubles speak and signature failure to deliver has unmasked him as a poor statesman.
Can you tell me a little bit about your interest in politics and when it started?
I was a devotee of the ANC until the ‘Lonmin Marikana Massacre.’ This epic tragedy exposed the true colours of the ANC – as a party that placed the interest of white business above that of black life.
It broke my heart and destroyed my faith in this party. I joined the EFF in 2014 and worked with some of the most dedicated activists that I have ever met. I was humbled to be elected as the first deputy secretary of the EFF Gauteng, although today my position is that white people should not be in black organistions, especially in leadership positions.
There is much to commend in the EFF, but I was extremely disappointed when the party gifted the DA with votes during the 2016 local elections, as I felt this emboldened white economic domination.
I am happily politically homeless. I intend to remain happily independent.
What is the one most brutally honest thing you feature in the book?
My plea to white South Africans is to return stolen land and repent for apartheid and colonial atrocities committed by our forefathers.
Has South Africa ever been a rainbow nation in your opinion?
No. The Rainbow Nation is a wonderland for white South Africans and a wasteland for Black South Africans. Black people remain landless in their country while white South Africans live like squires on stolen land. One of my pieces in the book is titled It is time to shut down the Rainbow Nation.
What is the one thing you want people to remember you for when you are gone?
I was so honoured to have Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, a leading social activist, write the foreword to my book.
She describes me as a truth teller and writes that history will remember me as such.
This is a beautiful tribute. I would also like to be remembered as a person who fought, with courage, and conviction, against injustice and against the blatant propagandist mainstream media discourse.
Were you criticised by the white community at large for the political stance you have taken?
Constantly! I am the black sheep of the white community. Almost daily I am insulted, I have received death threats and abusive notes. It makes my resolve stronger. Fortunately, popularity is not something I strive for or want, from white or black people for that matter. What is important to me is to speak truth to power, whatever the cost, without fear or favour.
What was it like growing up in the Heller home? Were your parents very politically conscious?
I was the rebel in the family. I caused my family much grief, especially when I was arrested for political reasons during apartheid. Today, our political views are still not aligned but there is a deep and genuine level of respect and support, for which I am grateful.
If you found yourself in SA’s hot seat as president, what are the first three things you would address?
First, I would ensure that there was land justice and fast-track the unconditional return of land to black South Africans. There can be no true liberation without land.
Second, I would make it compulsory for every South African to access and read Steve Biko’s I Write What I Like’ – this will change the national consciousness and free the mind. Liberation will not occur until the mind is liberated.
Third, I would implement a national reparations fund which would see every white South African pay a monthly ‘historical justice’ toll which would be used to uplift the poorest black communities, after all black poverty is not a natural phenomenon but a direct creation of white oppression. Justice must be done if we want to build a peaceful and equitable South Africa for our children and future generations.