The Springboks did well, but Busisiwe Mkhwebane did better

Dear Sis Joyce, 

I trust this email finds you well and truly liberated from the “chain of satanism”.

I just had to write this short message to let you know how heartening it was to see that you too found great inspiration in the Springboks’ recent World Cup quarterfinal match. Inspiration to, at least in your case, attempt to snatch victory from the jaws of definite defeat. 

Much more so than their lauded performance, your recent announcement on 16 October, the very morning after their victory, filled me with great pride to be a single passport-carrying South African. It reminded me that ours is a land of impossible possibilities and possible impossibilities; a land that, as you have demonstrated many times over, knows no rock bottom.

Your detractors thought you were finished as they unfairly snatched the title of Public Protector from you, citing startling incompetence and misconduct, but you rose to alliterate another day and swapped your tired old former title for Freedom Fighter. Brava!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn1FxMaSW4o&t=19s

I grew up in the Eighties, back when the apartheid government banned smart TVs and the streaming platforms we enjoy today; Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. We were forced to watch only three channels; big sporting events were a terrible time for me as a non-athletic child. The Olympics were the worst as my favourite shows disappeared while sports programming took over their slots. Thanks to Tata Madiba, streamers and iPads were unbanned and big sporting events needed no longer mess with my entertainment. 

That said, even I was inspired by the way the Springboks played that match, and again a week later when they decolonised Stade de France against the English team. Their victories and resilience reminded me of the Stage 8 resilience of the South African spirit. But that doesn’t compare to the incredulous surge of inspiration that coursed through my resilient veins as I watched you put on your red beret and inform the people that you “voluntarily join the EFF without any motive of personal gain or material benefit”. 

It’s the selflessness for me! 

As Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said in his post-quarterfinal match interview, “it’s about the people back home. That’s what’s driving us.” In my humble opinion, you did one better just a few hours later as you announced your new “political home”. 

“I always said I will protect the poor and the marginalised… I am here to learn and to continue to fight and protect South Africans,” you confidently told the populace that fate deemed fit for life at the bottom of Africa. When it comes to national unity, the consequences of your actions during your time in the Office of the Public Protector seriously deserve far more attention than they have received thus far, truly.

I hope that during this transitional period and through the challenges that shall surely come, you will hold on to your faith. As you said in your June 2019 speech to the SA Sheriff Society: “I know some of you may not be Christian but I strongly believe I was placed in this position by the God that I serve and I believe that only He can remove me if He is of the view that I have failed.” 

I am truly sorry that the “God that [you] serve” did in fact deem you a failure and sided with Parliament in removing you from your former position. Trust that He walks with you still.

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is seen at the Constitutional Court during judgement on her investigation into the SA Reserve Bank’s apartheid-era Bankorp bailout on July 22, 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Constitutional Court upheld the North Gauteng High Court judgment that Mkhwebane be personally liable for some of the costs in her litigation against Reserve Bank and Absa. (Photo by Gallo Images/Netwerk24/Felix Dlangamandla)