The Decoy Theory
Article By: Rebekah Kendal
Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:06
I'm not one for conspiracy theories. My standard response to such indulgences of the imagination is eye-rolling, not-so-subtle scoffing, and, occasionally, sarcasm. And yet — and yet — here I find myself entertaining a little theory of my own.
Please bear with me. And, when the urge to scoff becomes overwhelming, please forgive me. Or simply leave a suitably sarcastically-worded rebuke in the comments field.
The theory took root — as they do — over lunch with a colleague. We were discussing the ANC's most recent attempt at self-destruction and mulling the ebb and flow of big news. You know, that whole 'when it rains it pours' phenomenon. No news; a big Zuma story; and then… wham! within a couple of days, Malema says something outrageous.
It was at this moment — I blame the overly-healthy salad — that the Malema Decoy Theory took a seat at the lunch table.
Simply put, this is the theory: no one can possibly be as idiotic and outrageous as Malema. On top of this, the unwarranted (and it would seem unconditional) support he gets from the ANC is not often in the party's interest. Therefore, his comments should not be taken at face-value, but rather treated as a diversion. And, if the ANC is willing to tolerate the damage that Malema does to the reputation of the party, there must be something else that they would much rather the media and the public weren't paying attention to.
Admit it, as far as conspiracy theories go, it isn't completely ludicrous.
The first Malema quote I stumbled across whilst tentatively exploring this little theory was this election beauty: "I was the decoy. While Helen Zille was calling me names, Jacob Zuma was sprinting to the Union Buildings."
And I'm not entirely convinced that things have changed since then.
Very shortly after Zuma came under fire for the cost of his inflated Cabinet, Malema made his first call for the nationalisation of mines. On the same day that Zuma nominated Judge Sandile Ngcobo as his candidate for chief justice, Malema complained about the predominance of 'minorities' in the economic cluster. A few days before Zuma appointed Menzi Simelane as head of the NPA, Malema got into a spat with Jeremy Cronin, calling the communist leader a 'white messiah'.
And then, at the beginning of this year, when Zuma came under intense scrutiny for his affair and love-child, Julius Malema came out with an attack on the legacy of FW de Klerk. Days after a furore erupted over the manhandling by Zuma's guards of a student who allegedly gave the president's convoy the finger, stories of Malema's lavish lifestyle hit the papers.
On the same day that Zuma was lambasted in the media for failing to declare his assets, Malema addressed a group of students and called Zille a Satanist, suggested that Patricia de Lille is too ugly to be married, and sang the inflammatory 'shoot the boer' song. When Zuma did eventually submit his interests, the story went practically unnoticed because of the frenzy around the fear, racial hatred, and righteous indignation that Malema managed to stir up.
And when the president's bodyguards assaulted a reporter who was simply doing his job, the story was quickly forgotten in the face of the ANCYL's more ridiculous claims that they have evidence of reporters sleeping with politicians and that they planned to publish dossiers on critical reporters.
So, is it a crackpot theory? Perhaps, but I wouldn't discard it entirely.
The danger of paying Malema too much attention lies not only with the divisive rubbish that spews forth every time he opens his mouth, but also with that which is overlooked. Malema may be a dangerous character, but the quiet assaults on our justice system, the systematic abuse of power and widespread corruption are far more insidious threats to our democracy.
