🇿🇦 South Africa Is Bleeding – And We Cannot Pretend It’s Normal Anymore 🇿🇦

By a South African writer,  who has lived through apartheid, democracy, and the decay in between

The facts.

When Nelson Mandela became president of this country, he stood before the nation and made a promise: freedom, dignity, and a better life for all. That dream, shared by millions across race, culture, and class, gave birth to the new South Africa.

But today, we must ask a painful question:  What happened to that promise?

Last week in Better Life, Philippi East, a six-year-old boy was shot dead.

A Child.

Shot in what should be the safety of his own home.
Two others, a 17-year-old boy and a 24-year-old woman are fighting for their lives in hospital.

According to police, the shooting might be linked to a house robbery.  But what kind of country have we become when a child is gunned down during a robbery? What kind of society accepts this as just another crime scene?

This tragedy comes barely a month after another massacre in the same area, where three men were killed and one wounded in a drive-by shooting. No answers. No justice. No change.

South Africa is bleeding, and far too many have become numb to the sight of blood.

We must stop pretending this is normal.
We must stop acting like this is just the way things are.
We must stop being afraid to speak the truth.

Our justice system is collapsing.

The police, many of whom still serve with courage, are often outgunned, underpaid, or worse, compromised. Politicians make endless promises, but little changes in the lives of ordinary people.

The so-called “Government of National Unity” is just another performance, while the nation bleeds backstage.

–  This is not about race.
– This is not about politics.
– This is about our humanity.

It is time we wake up as a nation. Because if we don’t, we will lose what little we have left.

I’ve been a writer for over three decades.

I wrote during the dark days of apartheid.

I celebrated our first democratic elections.

I believed in this country’s healing.

But what we are living through now… cannot be described as normal.

We must:

Demand accountability – not just during election season.

Protect our children – not bury them.

Rebuild a justice system that doesn’t laugh in the face of the poor.

Refuse to let criminals run our communities – while leaders run from responsibility.

To the parents in Philippi East who lost their child yesterday,  your pain must not be in vain.
To every South African who still believes, let this be the moment we say, “No more.”

– Because if we accept this as normal… then we have already lost.