Call for violence out of order

How can president urge the youth to be revolutionary?

- ISAAC MASHABA

A video currently circulating on social media is a very serious cause for concern. Whether it is recent or old is irrelevant—it is the message itself that counts.

In the video, our country's president calls on the youth of his political party to become more militant and revolutionary.

How can a president who claims to represent the entire country call on a segment of society to become more violent and revolutionary?

What makes it even more disturbing is that he is actually calling for a revolution against his own government, in essence, calling for further disunity, something his government has actively promoted.

He is essentially saying that "if you are not with us [his faction in the party], you are against us".

This is seen by many South Africans as a direct call by the president for violence that could possibly result in a civil war.

But, in a sense he is correct: we need a revolution to remove this utterly corrupt, inept, pariah-state loving, directionless and leaderless government.

But to call for militancy and violence will not fix what they have broken, it will just make matters worse.

South Africans—black, white and every colour in between—must stand together and use the ballot box to rid ourselves of the parasitic virus this government has become.

People must not fall for the president's call for violence and militancy.