Senekal is a ticking time bomb

We cannot speak of transformation in the rainbow nation and reserve it only for urban South Africa. We cannot speak of inclusion but continue to exclude communities divided on race – farming communities that have failed to find their way into post-apartheid South Africa – 26 years later.

While not every town may be an Orania, we must be honest there are pockets of towns were racism is rife. My father was born and bred in the eastern Free State, in a little-known town (up until now) called Senekal, Matwabeng. I have travelled this road from the city of lights, Joburg, through Steynsrus to Senekal for many family gatherings, birthdays, funerals and would be received warmly.

We got all the attention with our sensational City of Gold stories. We captured the hearts of those who had no ambition to ever leave the one-horse town, their home. This liberal before you, her roots are there.

The standoff that has now gripped the town is so much than alleged stock theft or a brutal farm murder – it is a story of pockets of society we have left behind. It is a story of racism on both sides of the fence – and the perfect example of inferiority and superiority complexes coming out.

On the one side, there’s a stench of poverty in squatter camps and RDP settlements. There’s scarcely any food on the table; and the bucket toilets overflowing with nothing but leftovers of poverty. On the other side, there is wealth in such dorpies – huge fields of agricultural wealth that have been amassed over the years for the inheritance of future generations.

The poverty, the opulence, the segregation and the division are a recipe for a disaster. For as long as we do not address the core problems – we will remain faced with the excuses of crimes committed because “I had nothing to eat” or because of retaliation driven by fear.

We can come in numbers now to show brute strength but the truth is little towns like Senekal and Paul Roux, also in the Free State, are a ticking time bomb.

Kekeletso Nakeli-Dhliwayo.

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