Chairperson, hon Members of Parliament, colleagues and comrades, this debate is about ubuntu and moral values - moral values like tradition, laws, behaviour patterns and beliefs. These are the defining features of a culture. Ubuntu is part and parcel of these moral values, which form the cornerstone of African society. Ubuntu can be defined as belief in the universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity.
Chairperson, this is my maiden speech. [Applause.] I was reminded by the senior comrades that I must not be controversial. However, we are living in a controversial situation. The question is: How do we come out of it? I will try not to be controversial, though the environment in which we operate is controversial. I will try and paint a picture of ubuntu within the politics of the country under which we operate.
Driven by the desire to bring closure to the past and bring political tolerance and stability I would like to say that there were many atrocities that were committed by apartheid operatives such as - again, I will have to mention names here - Magnus Malan, Adriaan Vlok and even former President P W Botha. The nation was prepared to forgive them. Instead of my people calling for the blood of those who committed those crimes, my people understood that democracy and freedom are the cornerstones of what we intend to achieve in order to bring about a just society, irrespective of the harm those apartheid operatives caused most of us.
My fellow Africans and South Africans were and still are prepared to forgive those who tried to kill them, who maimed them, and who jailed them and killed their family members, children and comrades. In this regard, I want to bring the attention of the House to the fact - I am afraid Mr Leon is not here - that Mr Leon is the son of an apartheid operative who ordered the execution of comrade Andrew Zondo for fighting. Comrade Zondo's crime was to fight the unjust laws of the apartheid ...