South Africa’s Black First Land First (BLF) released a statement saying it stands by Grace Mugabe’s decision to assault Gabriella Engels stating that she “took measures which she thought were appropriate at the time to protect her sons.”
Andile Mngxitama’s group goes on to state that it does not condone violence against black people but says it understands how black mothers act to protect and defend their families. You can read the full statement below:
We are black, therefore we understand how black mothers act to protect and defend their families. We were raised by black mothers who protect us against harm and often our mothers have to use punishment as a means to protect our wrong doings. As we say in African wisdom, it takes a village to raise a child. All of the children belong to all black parents. From what we gather from the media, Mama Grace Mugabe visited her sons and according to her, found them misbehaving. As a mother, she took measures which she thought were appropriate at the time to protect her sons.
As Black First Land First (BLF) we do not condone violence against black people. We condemn black on black violence, however we do not elevate the violence generated by attempts to discipline as equal to the destructive violence of white racism and white supremacy. As a movement, we are very perturbed by how the white, colonial media, which has a political axe to grind with the Zimbabwean revolution which took land from whites and gave it to blacks, is trying to use this incident to turn President Robert Mugabe and Mama Grace Mugabe into monsters and discredit the land Chimurenga.
The whole white establishment is against the Zimbabwean people, Zimbabwean revolution and in particular the leadership of Mugabe. We as BLF reject these attempts by the white press to demonise Mama Grace Mugabe. There are African solutions to such African contradictions. We call upon the young people who are so affected by the ordeal to deal with the situation in the right way.
The South African courts are run by land thieves, colonialists and racists. There is no possibility that Grace Mugabe can get justice from the South African court system. We call on our people to be mindful of the revolution in Zimbabwe, and to be mindful of our collective enemies. This matter needs a solution which will not compromise the Zimbabwean revolution.
BLF stands with all black mothers and they’re troubles to try raise children in a society which is inimical to black children.
ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE OF THE BLACK FIRST LAND FIRST MOVEMENT (BLF NCC)
16 August 2017
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