POLITICALLY AWEH: Cupcake’s GBV family meeting and Zuma’s very short IEC pledge

President Cyril Ramaphosa called another family meeting on 29 September, this time about gender-based violence.

With 13 women murdered in Ekurhuleni since July, it was arguably his most sombre address on the issue yet. It was also very familiar.

This is not the first time he’s stood before the nation on the topic: he did it in 2019 after the murder of Uyinene Mrwetyana, and GBV was declared a national disaster last year. He even acknowledged it: “What weighs on me most is that seven years ago, in this same month, I stood before the nation to speak about this same crisis.” 

Ramaphosa insisted that the directives “are not just a statement of good intentions”. Comrades, if you have to say it out loud, you already know nobody believes you.

To be fair, there is a concrete action plan this time. Cupcake gave four directives with 60- to 90-day deadlines: an audit of unresolved murders, rapes and sexual offences against women and children; a funded plan to clear the forensics backlog; a “women’s safety audit” of every municipality’s broken streetlights and dangerous routes; and a crackdown on illegal shebeens and after-hours trading.

Alcohol and streetlights? That’s exactly what Stephen Horn flagged in Politically Aweh’s previous episode, quoting an opinion piece by Nechama Brodie.

The part the team hated least was his message to men and boys: “It is time for good men to stop being silent men.”

What is ironic is that those who are meant to uphold and enforce the law are not doing that. Days before the speech, suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya was charged with rape, human trafficking and the sexual grooming of a child, charges he denies. KG’s proposed fifth directive: fewer alleged rapists in the SAPS. 

In other news, the Department of Labour has found a fix for youth unemployment.

In a social media video, a department staffer encouraged unemployed people to try volunteering. The department has “Employment” in the name. Telling unemployed people to work for free is so insulting.

Finally, we’re only a few weeks away from local government elections. On 23 September, party leaders gathered at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand to sign the IEC’s code of conduct, promising no violence, no voter intimidation and no misinformation. Jacob Zuma signed too, and said he was “very happy”. 

Two days later, the Electoral Court threw out MK’s challenge to the 2024 election results, finding the infamous leaderboard glitch had no impact on vote counting. Jacob is now not happy. MK’s response? “We maintain that we were robbed, and we and the IEC know the truth.” 

At Daily Maverick’s The Gathering, Zoë Human asked voters to name even one politician they think is doing a good job. Most struggled; one landed on Mandela. We noticed that sentiment about the EFF has also shifted among young voters.

Perhaps this is because its reputation was damaged by Julius Malema’s firearm conviction, which happened following a viral video of him apparently discharging live ammunition at the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebrations in July 2018. 

With so many young people politically homeless (sorry, unhoused), Zoë breaks down the local government elections for first-time voters, including how you vote for a council that then picks the mayor. Even Stephen admits he didn’t know half of it. DM

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Politically Aweh: Poll Dancing is a live election special taking place at the Homecoming Centre in Cape Town on 21 October, featuring KG, Zoë, Dan Corder, Dillan Oliphant, Lindy Johnson and more. Tickets are available on Quicket.