The Bastardisation of African Knowledge, transforming colonial minds and re-visiting the significance of Freedom in South Africa

By: Gcobani Qambela

Wednesday the 27th of April 2011 marks the 17th annual Freedom Day in South Africa, a historic day in the country’s history signifying the first ever non-racial democratic elections and the coming into effect of the country’s first ever Constitution with a justiciable Bill of Rights that put an end to over three centuries of colonial and later apartheid rule and domination in the country.

The recent tragic and controversial television broadcast of ‘police brutality’ at a service delivery protest demonstration in Ficksburg, Free State province, South Africa; has brought to the fore a call to re-visit the extent to which the post-apartheid South African government under the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) has echoed similar behaviour to that of its apartheid and colonial predecessors. This protest was marked by the assault and alleged shooting and death, by the SAPS, of Andries Tetane. This expose makes us not only question the extent to which the ANC government is similar to its predecessors, but also the degree to which it has been able to respond to the demands laid forth for realisation in South Africa’s constitution for the attainment of all-round freedom by South Africans (encompassing socio-economic and political freedoms).

The year 2011 also marks the 34th anniversary of the untimely death of Stephen Bantu Biko (more commonly known as ‘Steve Biko’) at the hands of the apartheid police. This piece seeks to evaluate the extent to which what Biko referred to as ‘the bastardisation of African knowledge’ has persisted into the post-colonial/post-apartheid era. It further seeks to uproot the scope and the boundaries within which colonial minds have been transformed (with a special emphasis on higher education institutions) and lastly concludes with an assessment of the meaning of ‘freedom’ (and consequently ‘Freedom Day’) in 2011 South Africa.

Tapping into the intellectual produce of Steve Biko, this commentary argues that while the discourse in South Africa has shifted since the 1970’s/1960’s from race to class, education has been utilised as the Post-apartheid/Colonial Gatekeeper to opportunity for the black race and economically marginalised in South Africa, and that consequently true freedom in the country can only be obtained when South Africans are given the opportunity to get proper, all round and holistic education - education opportunities that are not premised on race or marginalization history....

PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE AND COMMENT ON THE ORIGINAL AT:
http://bokamosoafrica.org/2011/04/bastardisation-of-african-knowledge-steve-biko.html