Kameraad Mhambi did not know that Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo, the rape accuser of Jacob Zuma had written a poem which she had published and performed in Amsterdam.
It was first published in Dutch in ZAM Africa Magazine (04/2008) and a translation from Dutch to English is now doing the rounds.
I am Khanga
On May 8, 2006, the South African Judge Willem van der Merwe ruled that ANC leader Jacob Zuma was not guilty of the rape of Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo, the daughter of his late friend Judson Kuzwayo, his fellow prisoner on Robben Island who died in exile in 1985. Zuma did not deny having sex with her, but claimed since the victim wore a khanga, a wraparound cloth, she had “asked for it.” Following the verdict, Kuzwayo, moved to Amsterdam prompted by persistent threats from Zuma’s supporters. There she gained political asylum, partly through assistance from the AIDS Fonds and people involved in the former anti-apartheid movement. On September 26 [2008] Kuzwayo performed, dressed in a khanga, the poem below at the opening of the exhibition “Identity, Power and Connection,” on the eve of the bi-annual Afrovibes Festival. In this way, she responded for the first time to the court’s verdict:
I am Khanga
I wrap myself around the curvaceous bodies of women all over Africa
I am the perfect nightdress on those hot African nights
The ideal attire for household chores
I secure babies happily on their mother’s backs
Am the perfect gift for new bride and new mother alike
Armed with proverbs, I am vehicle for communication between women
I exist for the comfort and convenience of a woman
But no no no make no mistake …
I am not here to please a man
And I certainly am not a seductress
Please don’t use me as an excuse to rape
Don’t hide behind me when you choose to abuse
You see
That’s what he said my Malume
The man who called himself my daddy’s best friend
Shared a cell with him on [Robben] Island for ten whole years
He said I wanted it
That my khanga said it
That with it I lured him to my bed
That with it I want you is what I said
But what about the NO I uttered with my mouth
Not once but twice
And the please no I said with my body
What about the tear that ran down my face as I lay stiff with shock
In what sick world is that sex
In what sick world is that consent
The same world where the rapist becomes the victim
The same world where I become the bitch that must burn
The same world where I am forced into exile because I spoke out?
This is NOT my world
I reject that world
My world is a world where fathers protect and don’t rape
My world is a world where a woman can speak out
Without fear for her safety
My world is a world where no one , but no one is above the law
My world is a world where sex is pleasurable not painful
Kameraad Mhambi is legally trained. I followed the Zuma case closely.
And I have to say that when he was found not guilty, it did not surprise me. There simply was not enough evidence I thought to prove the quite heavy legal burden of a verdict being ‘above reasonable doubt’.
There was one or two doubts, and no, they were not unreasonable.
Had the burden been a ‘balance of probabilities’ the finding might well have been very different.
This is the end result of many rape cases around the world. Where its the word of one person against another.
But what was truly shameful was how Fezikele was hounded out the country and harassed by crowds at the court. What was shameful is how the ANC and South African society at large did not condemn this.
Related deployments:
If I recall correctly, she said in her testimony that she had said “Eh-eh, malume” when he undressed her, and became silent with shock thereafter.
If, as some accuse her, she was deliberately setting him up, she could have claimed to have refused more explicitly and later, and had a stronger case relative to the narrow legal definition of rape.
By admitting that her resistance was rather feeble, she gained credibility in my eyes and has a stronger case relative to the moral atrocity of imposing sex on someone who is unwilling.
Kameraad Mhambi , I think its a really beautiful poem but its just a bunch of words which are meaningless. In my opinion, she knew Zuma too well to go into that kind of shock when he wanted to get jiggy with her. I would have been screaming, “what the fuck are you doing?” If it was a surprise rape attack by a stranger – I could go into shock and not be able to scream.
“My world is a world where fathers protect and don’t rape
My world is a world where a woman can speak out
Without fear for her safety
My world is a world where no one , but no one is above the law
My world is a world where sex is pleasurable not painful”
That’s Africa man, the quicker we can accept and work within that the better as the amount of money, time and effort used to try make Africa a Western democracy with the same outlook on sex as the 1st world, is just a complete waste of resources.
Lilliput, your sentiments sound like that of J M Coetzee’s character, the daughter of prof Loerie – in his book Disgrace.
Culture and habits can change. Docile acceptance won’t hasten this process.
Lilliput, you made the comment, “In my opinion, she knew Zuma too well to go into that kind of shock…” Your statement has flaunted your ignorance about sexual assault. I have spent much of my time counseling and finding council on internet sites that have been developed for rape survivors. Believe me, women become very confused in such situations. Often the confusion comes from the conflicting feelings between body and mind. The body (Freud’s Id) has a natural response to want to respond and please but the mind (Freud’s Ego) objects. That conflict is much worse when it is someone you know and trust, like a father figure. There is no time to think and before you know it the rape has already happened. If you question me you can go and find examples for yourself on the internet. I can suggest a great site. Most people just don’t have the heart to bother.
I am the first to acknowledge that in Africa there is a very different way of doing things and I respect that. But you have to find the good in it and throw out the bad. To “accept and work within that” African way as you are suggesting is not possible. I am white and had exactly the same experience that she had. The circumstances were just much worse. I certainly would have been a very negative force in our society had I not gone through the healing process. The biggest part of healing is learning to object! Not to just accept.
Dear Khameraad and FishEagle,
Thank you so much for your responses.
I would love it if you sent me those sites and am sorry if I have offended. I am a psychotherapist in training and have no issue about saying I was wrong when I am presented with more knowledge which patently contradicts my theory – and you certainly sound like you know what you are talking about.
As for being docile and accepting, maybe its just Africa fatigue, I’m a white south african who really wanted to help Africa out of its poverty and into the first world. Now I feel that after decades and billions of charity and Aid sent, it still looks the very same, maybe that’s just the way its supposed to be and we are being very patronizing in wanting their society and culture to look like ours. Its not their culture, so why should we force them. Its a bit like the Christian missionaries bringing Jesus to Africa forcing them to convert. Thats my current view I suppose.
Lilliput, people tend to over estimate the changes that happen in society in the short term (and often end up disappointed) and completely under estimate them in the long term.
Even now there are parts of India where poverty is endemic, corruption rife, rape a common occurrence and where woman have no redress or foot to stand on. Yet India is also modernising.
Europe, circa the 14th century was not a nice place to be either.
The point is, culture is not a static thing, it changes.
There are a lot of young black women I have met that certainly do want control of their sexual lives on their own terms outside of traditional norms. And this number will increase.
It might seem that pushing a progressive agenda is futile at times. I think it worth it. In the long term you sow the seeds of change.
Hi Lilliput, your name suggested that you had a very clear understanding of cognitive dissonance. Hmmm. Shame on you! Haha.
A great site that can improve your understanding about sexual assault is at http://www.pandys.org/. It takes about a day to register and then you have to post 5 comments before you are allowed into the main area. It’s just a mechanism to get rid of the scum that prowl on the internet. You don’t have to be a survivor; you can register as a “supporter.”
I also suffered from severe “African fatigue” so I made it a point to understand what I was experiencing in South Africa. A democracy has a place in SA and the world now, but I don’t think it is our end destination. If you understand the end destination it is easier to get through the bumbles of today (by the way, throwing money at Africa was just completely wrong!)
If I may take the liberty of posting comments that I made about this “end destination” on another site, which will also clarify some of my previous comments on this site:
(the first bit of mumbo jumbo just introduces the crux of the discussion, which is at the end)
“…….Our society went through a process when women obtained the right to vote and that process has left many men and women with deep scars. Whether it was worth it, it is still too soon to say……….
I’m beginning to feel pretty strongly about creating voting credits for people…
People that are knowledgeable about history, politics, legislation and finances should be rewarded with more voting credits. That way everybody has opportunity but it is not equal opportunity. People that don’t vote should lose credits in the next election.
Hypothetically speaking, a woman that does not deserve to be rewarded with voting credits, in the evaluation process, must be penalized. Just like people of ALL races. But as a woman I should value such a choice, deciding whether I would like to spend my time on my family or doing something else, like becoming informed with politics. Whichever way I could have decided, I can assure you I would have still given 100%.
A ruler e.g. president or emperor, has qualities of race, sex, wealth, intelligence, etc. that reflect the population. These qualities have been communicated amongst the population by word of mouth, images and text. The communication process will evolve further to the use of numeric values. Presently we are still struggling with the “counting” or assigning of values. Communism, Marxism and the democracy are political movements that are equalizing populations and effectively assigning a value of zero to the ruler’s qualities. They have a common goal and will be clearing the playing fields before the new game of numeric values begin.
Now it makes sense why we have such poor leaders. But that should change again.”
Die soet en suur van Sensuur!
Our discussion has been a good analogy of the situation in South Africa. I am comparing myself, and my gentler emotional composition, to the black race. You represent the well informed and intelligent white race. I have come to your site and given you new insights. However, you have not returned the gesture and you have deleted most of my comments.
Let’s hope the black race will continue to seek dialogue with the white race, which may provide many of the solutions to their problems.
Hi FishEagle
I did not remove your and the other comments lightly.
I would like for this blog to be a platform for well argued and informed *on topic* debate.
If comments are not these things, it discourages further quality debate by other people on the topic at hand. Every comment sets the tone for the one that follows.
There are many South African blogs where slanging matches are de rigeur.
I have had *far* more objectionable posts on my blog, but they were on topic and well argued. I won’t censor ideas lightly.
Having said that – I know it takes time to write comments and I did not delete yours, but put them on hold. If you really think you want them to appear below *this* post, I’ll switch them back on.
Alternatively if you want to use them somewhere else, I will email them to you.
So let me know. It’s your call.
I had your comments about your blog in mind when I was writing. You wrote, “It was born out of a need to try and make sense of political and social upheaval in South Africa: The unraveling of a dream, the fading of the rainbow nation….This blog mainly covers current South African social & political events….”
The discussion around this post developed when comments were made such as, “That’s Africa man, the quicker we can accept and work within that the better” and “Culture and habits can change. Docile acceptance won’t hasten this process.”
Do you think that I’m trying to insult people? You have completely misread me. I won’t trouble you any further. I have copies of my comments, thanks. I would be grateful if you could delete all my comments though.
Good luck with everything.
interesting reading, very amusing and touching. But then again the aurthor of this well penned verse is a pathological liar (proven in court by the experts). This lady lady has brought shame to us ladies, the justice system should have punished her for creating such lies, i mean the perpetrator would have been punished if found guilt.
ntsiki, are you seriously suggesting every woman that fails to clear the “above reasonable doubt” barrier in a rape claim, must be punished?
The judge made no finding that she was a pathological liar. That was not proven in any sense. You can read the Zuma rape case judgment for yourself, as a PDF online.
I don’t hear any comments from you on how the crowds treated her at court. How she feared for her safety?
ntsiki – I still say the ‘perpetrator’ – as you call him – was guilty, even though the requisite barrier “proof beyond reasonable doubt” was not cleared. At least, on a balance of probabilities, there must have been doubt about the veracity of the perpetrator’s version of events that he gave in response of the prosecution’s version after the court refused to discharge him outright. (Here, one should remember, he shrewdly kept his options open until he had the full picture – and it was only after the DNA results became available and were divulged, that he said he whole thing happened with the complainant/victim’s consent.)
I am shocked that people today can even begin to justify this holific act. I am an african man and I know that I have been tought from childhood to respect women and value sex. Being an african or South African is not an excuse to rape someone. The big question is, WHAT WOULD YOU DO OF HOW WILL YOU FEEL IS WHAT HAPPENED TO FEZEKILE DID HAPPEN TO YOUR OWN DAUGHTER, SISTER, AUNT OR INDEED YOUR MOTHER? If you are honest in the way you answe the above question, then you would know how the poor Fezekile felt
The HotcHarcoAL poets back!
I wrap my soul around all women across Africa
I am the perfect Knight for these hot African Queens
The ideal King of their mansion hearts… See More
i secure a permanent roof over their huts
am the perfect tear-wiper & soul comforter
armed with poetry, i talk them to sweet sleep
i exist for and with them, hand in hand, we never slip
make no mistake
I am not here to campaign or complain
and i certainly am not holier than thou
but this “sick-shit” on our women need a FULL STOP!
a naked thigh is not an excuse to rape
you see…
thats where the problem is
“the man” hiding between the legs is quick to act
a naked thigh can be provocative, it is a fact
but it does’nt warrant “the man” to claim ownership
a NO uttered or whispered remains a NO!
What sick world are we leaving for generations to come?
What sick world is the war on women from we men?
The same world where the Rapist is celebrated
The same world where the other name for women is whores
This certainly cannot be my world
I reject and spit on that world
My world is a world where the “the big’ & “the small” can coexist
My world is a world where a woman is given the uppermost respect, i insist
For she is the Life-giver & the First teacher!
My world is a world where no one is everything, where all matters
My world is a world where SEX is liberating not incarcerating!
wOrd is Born!