I think that the decision of the Vice-Chancellor of the Univ of the Free State to withdraw the charges against those Reitz boys should be reviewed. It really looks to me like this man did this to appease the people that run and fund the university and to prove that that he is loyal despite being black. He talks about forgiveness and reconciliation and how the boys should not be blamed because they are victims of a system and institutional culture that condoned this type of thing for so long. What about all those people that were involved in racially-motivated crimes and killings during apartheid? Things were much worse back then, BUT we all recognised that the only way to move towards reconciliation and healing was if the perpetrators publicly told the truth about what they had done and showed remorse and asked THE VICTIMS for forgiveness. In this case, there has been no public statement or apologies by these young men to the workers and to us about what they did. Instead, their VC has taken the fall and apologised and asked forgiveness on their behalf, as if they dont have some sense to distinguish between right and wrong, no matter how twisted they have been taught to be. If the VC really wanted to make this about healing and forgiveness, he should have allowed the proceedings against these boys to continue to make sure that all sides had their say in this. The boys themselves should have been required to do something (or things) to show that they were sorry. The university’s paying for compensation to the victims and turning the residence into a centre for reconciliation really should be secondary to the boys initiative to take responsibility and do something to redress. This whole thing goes to show how the dignity and worth of black people does not mean much in South Africa, because we all know that such a decision would not have been made if these victims had been white! In Shona we have a saying: “zvinotsengerwa mwana, iye omedza” (literally, you can chew for the child, but the child must swallow for him/herself) which means that adults can only help children to a certain point, but they must ultimately take responsibility. Vice Chancellor Jansen, shame on you! You have chewed and swallowed on behalf of these kids? What kind of example are you setting for the youth? By doing what you have done, you are only breeding more racial hatred and tension.

By Pamhidzai Bamu