A tale of three tragedies …
Publish date: 01 June 2020
Issue Number: 875
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: General
‘I will code what I really want to say to Donald Trump. It's two words … it begins with “f” and it ends with “you”.’
– Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot
16 June 1976: 13-year-old Hector Peterson is shot dead by police in Soweto and a full-blown revolution to end Apartheid begins.
17 December 2010: The self-immolation of Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi who had his fruit confiscated by a municipal inspector was the catalyst for the escalation of protests that spread across the Middle East and became known as the Arab Spring.
25 May 2020: The murder of black Mineapolis resident George Floyd by a white policeman has sparked violent protests across the US that has thrown the nation into unprecedented chaos.
The common thread is that the senseless deaths of three unknown people in different parts of the world sparked massive revolutions that dramatically altered the political landscape and re-wrote history. In just one week, notes Legalbrief, the US has been ripped apart by an incident that now threatens the White House and President Donald Trump. Africa’s testy relationship with the US (which began 520 years ago) has been in sharp focus since George Floyd was crushed to death on a Minneapolis street.
US embassies across Africa have taken the unusual step of issuing critical statements, saying no one is above the law. The statements came as the head of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, condemned the ‘murder’ of Floyd and noted that the continental body rejects the ‘continuing discriminatory practices against black citizens of the USA’. A report on the News24 site notes that Mahamat ‘strongly condemned’ the murder and extended his condolences to the victim’s family and loved ones. And Kwesi Quartey, deputy chairperson of the AU Commission, said ‘Africa demands a full investigation into this killing’. TIME reports that the US ambassador to Congo, Mike Hammer, highlighted a tweet from a local media entrepreneur who said ‘your country is shameful … how many black people must be killed by white police officers before authorities react seriously?’ Hammer said he was ‘profoundly troubled’ by the killing and ‘no one is above the law’. Similar statements were tweeted by the US embassies in Kenya and Uganda, while the embassies in Tanzania and Kenya tweeted a joint statement from the Department of Justice office in Minnesota on the investigation.
And SA’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has condemned Floyd’s ‘ruthless murder,’ saying it represented a deep tradition of racial prejudice and violence against African Americans by law enforcement. A report on the EWN site notes that the EFF’s Vuyani Pambo said they welcomed the arrest of the policeman Derek Chauvin, who is facing charges of murder and manslaughter. The party has also called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to immediately convene a meeting with representatives of the US in SA.
In neighbouring Zimbabwe, the government has summoned US ambassador Brian Nichols to explain remarks by US national security adviser that Zimbabwe was stoking anti-racism protests in the country. US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, in an interview with American broadcaster ABC, said foreign adversaries – including China and Zimbabwe – taking advantage of the ongoing protests and mentioned Zimbabwe and China. BBC News reports that he warned that ‘they would not get away with it’. Zimbabwe's Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo said Harare intended to remind the ambassador that it respected the sovereignty of other nations.
A HuffPost reports notes that South African celebrity Trevor Noah, who is a household name in the US, on Friday hit a nerve by saying US police ‘are looting black bodies’. The Daily Show host asked ‘how many George Floyds are there that don’t die?’ ‘Imagine to yourself if you grew up in a community where every day someone had their knee on your neck. If every day someone was out there oppressing you, every single day, you tell me what that does to you as a society, as a community, as a group of people and when you know it’s happening because of the colour of your skin.’
