In Teams of Rivals, author Doris Goodwin notes how former American president Abraham Lincoln created value by surrounding himself with people who had the capacity and tenacity to challenge him.
In a completely different text, Crisis of Conscience: Whistleblowing in an Age of Fraud, Tom Mueller laments how people fail to act because of apathy, complicity or fear.
These two distinct texts raise the question of how leadership should react to criticism and examine the requisite degree of freedom of speech that public representatives should have. Similarly, the back-and-forth saga between Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu and Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa over whether she apologised for her opinion piece that criticised black judges effectively drills home a longstanding historical lesson: Political astuteness is a phenomenon as old as the history of politics itself.
Although the astuteness shown by Sisulu against critics in her political party may be puzzling, her public exchanges that a statement by Ramaphosa was a “misrepresentation” of their meeting are more puzzling. What are we to do about what some call a show of unprecedented defiance and others call assertiveness?
Public apologies are a common occurrence globally. They often come by way of assuming guilt, expressing remorse and admitting responsibility. Thus, proper apology etiquette requires the “wrongdoer” to deliver the apology. But this was not the case with Sisulu, who acted in a very public way with her opinion piece and her response to the “apology in her name” released by the presidency.
Certainly, with her experience as a public figure, Sisulu was aware of the implications of her actions. Furthermore, she was consistent with her narrative against criticism directed towards her. Yet, we do not know why the presidency saw the need to apologise on her behalf.
Notwithstanding the sincerity of the presidency in dealing with this matter, supporters of Ramaphosa will, on the one hand, be disillusioned by this own goal. Those supporting Sisulu may be encouraged by her steadfast refusal to accept a coerced apology used as a shaming mechanism. She inadvertently represents a dynamic articulation of an alternative repertoire of contention within the ANC.
Sisulu herself has never publicly indicated her availability to contest the presidency of the ANC at its next elective conference.
- By any measure, if she does have such aspirations, stepping forward and engaging politically is one thing – but open defiance of authority is another.
