South Africa Police Borrow Action Movies’ Shooting Scripts

And they perfectly replicated lessons borrowed...

However, in retrospect what has just happened in South Africa should be one of the gruesome, heartless, ghastly occurrences to have hit the southern parts of Africa in the recent past.  

When the nation’s police corked their deadly guns, sprayed bullets into the hapless men and women demonstrating against poor pay for excruciating mining activities last Thursday, they opened another heartless chapter reminiscent of some horrible happenings in the past decades when dozens of protesters against the reigning pro-apartheid regime were mercilessly shot and none of the gun-holders taken to court.

Former President Nelson Mandela, the ageing global icon of peace, captures well in his book, Long Walk to Freedom, some of the bloody, dreadful occasions where protests against the white pro-apartheid regime, turned peaceful demonstrations to shooting fields where harmless protesters were shot at by police.  

The latest smacks of the past incidences as faithfully captured by the former President who won the battle against apartheid when he became the first head of state elected by the majority. 

Such dreadful use of guns is known only in the movies but it seems South African police were eager to showcase their pieces of knowledge on the acted shootings.  

The shooting now a big hit on the internet, where several gory videos showing the police spray bullets on onrushing miners, armed with blunt objects—spears and machetes—not only fans peoples’ hatred  towards police but also shows that the uniformed men and women in the so-called the most developed country in Africa are yet to control their trigger-happy fingers.  

The deadly incident that took place at a platinum mine in Marikana, north-east of the country, tops other recent disgusting acts from Africa that were well-captured and posted on the internet. The Zimbabwean security forces actions in 2008 when they attacked Morgan Tsvangirai supporters and killed some of them is among them.  Then came Libyan forces massacre of participants of an uprising against President Muammar Gadaffi. The Libyan security seems to have borrowed a leaf from their Egyptian counterparts who had earlier downloaded their whole weaponry on citizens against ageing Hosni Mubarak. Ugandan forces thought of copying the same script from continental colleagues but never really got the script well last year. 

Some may say Kenyan police were pacesetters in this trigger-happy race when in 2008 in the heat of the post-election violence planted bullets in demonstrators. Well, it could be. But it seems they arrived at their pacesetting endpoint. Now South African police has taken over.     

Something’s Wrong with Our Athletes in London

We all expected super performance. We are used to things stellar. Gold, at least Bronze but have never before missed silver. This time round, things, our athletics, is not going as planned, it’s kissing the tails instead of the heads, gold. Not good, not better. 

When Asbel Kiprop, crossed the line last in the 1500m Final, his breath, as he crossed that white line, must have smelled bad. Stank. A refined runner like him, reigning Olympic champion, though he won it by default after the 2008 winner, Rashid Ramzi, later excreted banned substances, is not known to hug tails. 

His fellow citizens never think of tails either, not least in athletics, maybe football where wins are bizarre, loses endeared. Our athletics has been different for us, different kettle of fish in our under-performing sports sector; we have been astronomical, in the past, unbeatable in some races. But what is coming out of London is most regrettable. We do not need any more patience, to say this year’s Olympics performance is unacceptable. 

Other athletes, 3000m female steeplechaser Lydia Rotich, Silas Kiplagat, Faith Chepgetich, Edwin Soi have all performed dismally so far. 

Information is fast coming out about the supremacy battles pitting two participating Kenyan organisations in the global event. National Olympic Committee of Kenya and Athletics Kenya officials seem not to know well what athletics means to Kenyans. That's why they are letting their belching stomachs taint our super fast tiny legs of our formerly successful runners. They should be told this sport is all ours and never theirs. We own it. Our athletes make all of us happy and proud when they do well, when they bring home medals. When they are not managed well we demand for the sacking and fining of the poor managers. It seems it’s the case here. Poor management should never be glorified. 

It is so unfortunate the battle seems to have stolen the fighting spirit in our beloved athletes. Before, they would battle to the bitter tape, nowadays, they do not fight, they run their own race. They give up distances away from the home stretch. No final kicks, they don’t let their legs stretch to their best. They run in pedestrian pace. Unacceptable. 

Something is wrong. We want to be told what it is. Can’t take this London mediocrity any longer.