Humour or racism? David Kekana on SABC last night... "This umlungu uyadlisa" or "the white man is making us lose"

THIS is the moment - all poorly-filmed 12 seconds of it - when SABC analyst David Kekana put his foot in his mouth on Thomas Mlambo's otherwise excellent Monday night show SoccerZone.


The sound ain't great. But here's what happened. Asked about whether he preferred Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brilliant Khuzwayo or Belgium-based Darren Keet to play in goal for South Africa during the AFCON 2015 tournament, Kekana made no bones about it. He said he preferred Itumeleng Khune's 24-year-old stand-in at the AmaKhosi and said: "This mlungu uyadlisa" or "the white man is costing us" when referring to Cape Town-born Keet, .


I have no problem with the use of the word umlungu. This very morning my t-shirt was emblazoned with the word, which means "white guy" and Bafana Bafana captain Dean Furman knows when that word is chanted around the stadium, it is not used in a derogatory sense.

WHAT IT SAYS ON THE SHIRT: particularly
ugly example of the race group Mlungu

But linked with the idea that Keet is in someway inferior - so far he has barely put a foot (or a hand) wrong in the national jersey - it comes across as deeply offensive. And as my twitter followers immediately pointed out last night, RACIST.


I've looked up "uyasidlisa". On google, the confusing response in English was "Iranians" (go on, try it) but most suggest it means "helping us to lose" with the "uya" suggesting defeat and "sidlisa" his role in the side.Scelo Nciki (@scubkae1 on twitter) and many others helped me with that. 


Twitter on the whole blasted Kekana, not just for his utterance but for his on-screen performance generally, suggesting a lot of his "jokes" fall flat. When I retweeted some of those messages, Kekana stayed silent. The debate raged but generally the reaction was: Imagine if a white analyst had said: "The darkie is letting us down". Unthinkable.


Ultimately, that is the bottom-line. Using race to single a man out for criticism has long been a problem in South Africa.


The question is: in post-Aparthate South Africa how seriously should be take black racism against white folk, after those long years of pale oppression? Clearly white-on-black racism has always been the major problem. But are we now democratic enough to see both sides of this particularly ugly coin? After 21 years, I'd argue: It's time to stop judging on race, time to end the awful habit of declaring ANYTHING on the basis of skin colour.


Around 90% of the tweets agreed with me as we went to bed, only to wake up this morning with THESE tweets from @davidkekana:


"I was asked a comparative question about Keet and Khuzwayo I said he conceded 33 goals in 21 matches for club"


"In African terms someone with a white hue is referred to as Umlungu. Nothing racist about that."


"Well I am married to an Umlungu, so I get told every day when I walk the streets with my wife"


I pointed out that I know several white men who, though married across the colour-line, hold racist views. When I recommended a course in broadcasting, he responded: "Neil (sic) I have done media law and hold a bachelors degree. Please don't insult me."


I said no slight was intended and asked him to apologise, he responded: "To please you Neil?"


I said no, just to prove he was a decent bloke. That was followed by: "I did not judge him based on his colour! It's your interpretation and not a fact"


I pointed out that "umlungu" suggested he had immediately zoned in on to Keet's colour. Kekana, refusing to apologise or accept responsibility for his words, then tweeted: "Neil, I have better things to be concerned with than you. You are the list (sic) of my concern."


And then came the cracker. The response of all racists under fire: "Like all racist (sic) Neal has to point fingers. Does that sound like turning the wheel back to an era?"


By then Kekana was trending on South African twitter as the nation vented their feelings. You can read the tweets online now if you want. Some came to Kekana's defence, but most agreed: "Please apologise, it's the right thing to do". That is, in my view, still the dominant feeling.

Seconds ago, Kekana sent this: "I said Mlungu Oyadlisa, cause he conceded 33 goals in 21 games in Belgium. Get your Zulu interpreter to interpret that."

As I write, there has been no response from the national broadcaster nor Thomas Mlambo, the presenter of SoccerZone and a man who I consider a friend. We did Euro2012 together. Mlambo, as you can see in the video footage, attempted to put a sock in Kekana's mouth as the incident unfolded and after the ad break, he came close to an apology for his colleague's sentiments.


But there has been no apology from Kekana. It's not like we are asking for a pint of blood. Just a simple sorry. If a white man were to say such things of a black player - particularly on the rugby or cricket channels - all hell would break loose.


With Bafana preparing to play Mali in their final friendly tomorrow - and Keet ready to play after a lightning-quick trip home to see his new-born son Leighton - this story may linger. But I hope not. All it would take is a quick "sorry" and we could leave this all behind.


But to ignore it, to let it go, would be WRONG. Racism is NOT ACCEPTABLE. Especially on SABC1, our national broadcasters' flag-ship channel.


Or perhaps I'm wrong and I've been WRONG all my life. Perhaps it's acceptable. Perhaps racism is still okay in South Africa. You tell me, David Kekana.


I left South Africa in 1985 because I just couldn't stand Aparthate any more. I was a young sports writer appalled by what I came across every day working in Umlazi and KwaMashu. I abhor racism, I was arrested and had my telephone bugged for dating a black woman in Durban. I returned to this country in 2010 to cover the World Cup... and came back to look after my elderly father... and because I thought we'd moved beyond the crude divide-and-rule politics of the Boer.


I didn't raise this topic, ordinary South Africans did, the minute they saw you say it. Ask them what you should do, David. We are all South Africans. We are equal. Darren Keet. Even me.



If Kekana, whom I have only met briefly, has a problem with any of this, he has my telephone number. I'd love to hear a reasonable response.

The greatest game we never saw: Orlando Pirates survive a black-out, two penalties and a red card to reach the African Champions League group stages (also features translation of TP Mazembe's French match report)

Big Noise: president of TP Mazembe and
the governor of Katanga Province

HAS there ever been a more stirring football drama than the one we couldn’t see at TP Mazembe on Sunday?

Orlando Pirates somehow survived despite Lucky Lekgwathi’s sending-off, two penalty saves from goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa and a television and radio black-out.

Their 1-0 defeat resulted in a 3-2 aggregate win which puts the Buccaneers through to the lucrative group stages of the CAF African Champions League, which offers a first prize of R15m.

But those simple sentences hardly tell the tale of intrigue, political machinations and simple cheating that went on in Lubumbashi over the weekend.

Trouble stirred when we heard an SABC journalist had been detained and had his simcard confiscated. I’m told that man was Veli Mbuli, though, like so many other factors in this story, there is no official confirmation. Veli was in touch by twitter on Sunday morning but has since gone silent.

Then as the minutes ticked towards the 3.30pm kick-off time on SABC1, Thomas Mlambo and his Democratic Republic of the Congo guest Chris Bongo began looking uncomfortable.

Then it emerged the SABC had been kicked-out of the stadium. That even their radio journalists weren’t allowed to broadcast. When Orlando Pirates won the first leg 3-1, the SABC “did all in their power” to assure good coverage in the DRC. But that was not to be reciprocated.

The social networks were awash with speculation as the game kicked-off in front of an estimated 15,000 packed house in Lubumbashi, part of the Katanga province governed by the TP Mazembe’s owner Moïse Katumbi Chapwe.

Moise, as he is known, clearly didn’t want the game seen by objective eyes. In the SABC studio, the talented Mr Mlambo got hold of Orlando Pirates administrative team manager Senzo Mazingiza. He admitted: “I’m sitting in a box, I am not allowed out, I have no access to the dressing rooms or anywhere else. But I’ll try to keep you up do date.”

But while twitter reported phantom goals and disallowed efforts, Mazingiza confirmed only: “Our captain Lucky Lekgwathi has been sent off.”

Unlucky: Lekgwathi gets his marching orders

Half-time came and went. Still 0-0. Mlambo and crew did all they could to keep us updated. More rumours. Still nothing official. Then: Senzo Meyiwa has saved a penalty. At around 70 minutes, we were told: TP Mazemba have scored. They need ONE MORE GOAL to put Orlando Pirates out on away goals after their first leg 3-1 defeat.

As the minutes ticked down, a booking for Pirates, then ANOTHER PENALTY. And in the same breath: ANOTHER SENZO SAVE.

Chris Bongo told us: “A DR Congo journalist has told me the cards against Pirates were disputable. The two penalties were harsh. But the goal TP Mazembe scored was good.

“I can also tell you nobody has received a TP Mazembe team list.”

And then the final whistle. Pirates through. Senzo the hero. Cue general celebration. The morning had been spent dealing with Kaizer Chiefs fans questioning the need to enjoy an Orlando Pirates triumph in Africa. By the final whistle, the nation had joined together to cheer a victory which will surely go down as one of the unseen greats among football fans.

Senzo said afterwards: “It wasn’t a game, it was a war. We knew after a few minutes we were in for it. A lot of decisions were going against us but we were prepared for that.

“For the start of the second half we all just told ourselves that, we are going back there to fight. This was no longer a Pirates match, it was more a match to uphold the pride of the nation,”

Quite what happens now, who knows? The SABC apparently stumped up R2m to screen the game live. They sent a crew to Lubumbashi at great cost. They had advertisers lined up for the match. All gone, money wasted, a man arrested.

With the two groups of eight due to be drawn on May 15, Mlambo assured us:  “Television coverage of the final stages (six games) now reverts to CAF. I promise you we will be able to show those games live on SABC.”

THE LAST EIGHT
1. Orlando Pirates (South Africa)
2. Recreativo Libolob (Angola)
3. AC Leopard (Congo)
4. Esperance (Tunisia)
5. Sewe Sport (Ivory Coast)
6. Coton Sport de Garoua (Cameroon)
7. Zamalek (Egypt)
8. Al Ahly (Egypt)

But let’s not count our chickens. In a real world, CAF and their controversial president Issa Hayatou would now slap a huge fine and suspension on Mazembe, who have won the CAF Champions League four times and clearly consider themselves above the law.

In a real world, we would question the appointment – announced on Friday – of four Seychellois officials and a match adjudicator from Gabon. Both French-speaking nations, like Hayatou’s Cameroon and Mazembe’s DR Congo.

But I doubt any action will be taken. Hayatou and Moise have never enjoyed seeing Southern African sides progress too far in the continent’s biggest club competition.

Roger de Sa and his team, still in with a slight chance of PSL glory back home, must now prepare for a long hard series of six group matches, with a possible two-legged semi-final and final through the South African winter.

What we didn't see: the Pirates bench on Sunday

And I wouldn’t be against further shenanigans later in the competition. I got Roger De Sa’s backing to travel with the team as an observer to assure some kind of airing of grievances. I also spoke to SAFA President Kirsten Nematandani, who said he’d look in to sending me with one of his observers.

But Orlando Pirates never came back to me. A British passport and visa difficulties meant I couldn’t go under my own steam.  I hope, next time, I get to see this kind of cheating – yes, that’s what it is when you don’t provide a team-sheet – for myself.

Until then, we can only throw our hands up in the air – and celebrate a MASSIVE triumph for the South African champions in a very foreign land.

This will be my Neal and Pray column in www.thenewage.co.za on Tuesday. Follow me at www.twitter.com/nealcol.

TRANSLATION OF TP Mazembe MATCH REPORT FROM THEIR WEBSITE:

Direct translation, anything I've added is in capital italics


The year 2013 will not be a great year in the history book of TP Mazembe.

In the Champions League, the adventure ends in 8th finals, as the Ravens, who won 1-0, have not been able to beat a second time the South African goalkeeper MEYIWA which stopped two penalties ... Upgraded (OUTCLASSED), tossed, the Pirates held a miracle. And TPM will sin by mistake, precipitation and lack of composure.

"It's make or break". This was the slogan of the Ravens kick off in a hot arena (WHICH WAS) filled to the brim. For it to pass, we had to capture the ball, put the Pirates (UNDER) pressure twice and find a hole in their ship.

The Almighty: Meyiwa denies TP Mazembe. Again.

The Ravens are not employed without waiting for a second. Had they (EVER) been as dominating in the first half? Rarely.

It was a constant onslaught on the South African goal. A seat (THRONE). So much so that a good fifteen numbered offensive (SHOTS) which lacked only the conclusion.

Orlando came out miraculously, mainly because of its stops keeper! But also because of the awkwardness of the premises where the powder was visibly wet (DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND BUT I THINK I GET IT).

Samatta four times during the first 6 minutes, then Kasusula (10th), MPUTU (17th), Singuluma (19th), KABANGU (22) missed the target or stumbled on the visitors goal.

Kidiaba? Output foot (27th) and especially a rescue (SAVE FROM) Mbesuma (42nd). For the rest, the great ROBERT saw MPUTU, ASANTE, FRIMPONG, KABANGU swirl without result. Yet they were helped when the referee pulled out the straight red Captain Lekgwathi for mowing MPUTU to 16m as the last defender (38th). But many free-kicks and corners were in vain. At rest (HALF-TIME), all had to be done.

Incredible: two penalties missed!

In the second half, it was a new shelling purpose (ASSAULT ON) Pirates in which the guardian MEYIWA multiplied miracles. To believe that he was the Almighty!

Lamine Ndiaye was replaced by FRIMPONG KALABA (46th), followed by KABANGU bokanga (55) playing with a three-man defense to put everything on the offensive.

But this Sunday was really a cursed day for CROWS.

In the 56th minute, MEYIWA stopped a penalty kick awarded for a bokanga and mowing the untenable Solomon Asante. And he bowed a shot of Kasusula (72nd), he turned another penalty this time drawn MPUTU (88th).

Mazembe could only blame itself because at this level you can not miss two penalties without being punished. The punishment is that the TPM will not play the quarterfinals of the Champions League in 2013.

Why the missus didn't get a look-in this weekend... and there's more to come

Court case to come: John Terry and Anton Ferdinand

SOME weekend for sports fans. Maria Sharapova wore a nice strappy frock and won the French Open. The television ratings always rise for the Russian beauty, along with many male members.
The much-hyped mens final between Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will resume tomorrow afternoon due to rain with Djokovic attempting a comeback after losing the first two sets 6-4 6-3 2-6 1-2.
On the rugby pitch, England were clearly robbed 22-17 by Heyneke Meyer's uncertain Springbulls in Durban, where Kiwi referee Steve Walsh is due to be replaced by South African public enemy number one, Bryce Lawrence for the rest of the series (he said hopefully), New Zealand trounced Ireland, Australia were too much for Wales. Same old, same old.
The Canadian Grand Prix saw a SEVENTH different winner in as many F1 races this season as Lewis Hamilton used his fresh tyres to slip past double champions Sebastien Vettel and Fernando Alonso.
In Las Vegas early on Sunday morning, Manny Pacquiao lost his WBO welterweight title to Timothy Bradley after a highly controversial split points decision. There will doubtless be a rematch, otherwise somebody is going to have to take on Floyd Mayweather when he comes out of jail.
But all this is mere window-dressing on a weekend of footballing humdingers.
In Gaborone, South Africa's new caretaker coach Steve Komphela came in, changed nothing and, unsurprisingly, produced Bafana Bafana's 1,356th successive draw. Apparently this has to do with muti and unpaid songomas rather than Komphela's bizarre decision to stick with the men who curtailed Pitso Mosimane's international coaching career when they drew with Ethiopia. Phokeng hell. And that was just the headline.
With Gordon Igesund leading the hastily assemble SAFA shortlist ahead of Gavin Hunt, Neil Tovey, people's choice Shakes Mashaba and the now-unpopular Komphela, perhaps I should offer this: for many nations, two draws in two World Cup qualifiers is considered something of a coup. In Africa, where coups are common, we should consider a group containing the Central African Republic, Botswana and Ethiopia - who beat CAR 2-0 yesterday to top the group - a free air-ticket to Brazil in 2014.
One unkind Botswanan suggested South Africa, home of AFCON 2013 after Libya shot their president and pulled out, are adopting the "if you can't beat them, host them" philosophy.
This is unfair. South Africa, providing they don't panic and appoint a Serbian to lead the nation, will top their group. After that, with play-offs to decide the meagre five-strong African contingent in Brazil, it's a lottery.
And so to the European Racism Championship. Poland and the Ukraine have done their best to present their fascist face to the world, and when Holland's black players were subjected to racist chanting in their first public appearance, we suddenly realised Sol Campbell's Panorama investigation was more than a hatchet job.
Still, the shows goes on. After two nights of action, no games have been called off, no players have stormed off. Missiles were thrown during Portugal v Germany, but hey, they were hardly intercontinental or ballistic. This is, after all, the battle for Europe, not the world.
At SuperSport headquarters, or more precisely in the roofed garden behind Studio 6 in their Oak Avenue complex, I spent yesterday with the great and the good in the first of our weekly EuroZone series (every Saturday at 4pm, don't miss it, next week it won't start just as Botswana equalise).
The grand old man of football Terry Paine was there. He's been commentating on South African football since Sepp Blatter was a lad. Get him talking about Southampton's promotion to the English Premier League this season, and he's a laugh a minute. In great shape for a man of 73, he brightens visibly when talking about his 50-year-old column in the Southampton Evening Echo. Apparently Southampton - where he still holds the record for club appearances - invited him over to hand out the trophies after their epic rags-to-riches promotion season.
Then there's John Barnes, also part of the SuperSport crew for this Euro2012. He turned up two days late after being told halfway to Johannesburg that he needed a new passport. Barnesie is a great character. He may have missed the 12-minute Opening Ceremony in Warsaw flying backwards and forwards but he told me this joke: "Breaking news: There were incidents of monkey chanting during England's training sesson at Euro2012 yesterday, John Terry has been warned if he doesn't stop, he'll be on the next flight home."
On the more serious allegation that Rio Ferdinand has been omitted from Roy Hodgson's squad because of John Terry's impending court case over racially abusing Rio's brother Anton at QPR, Barnes says: "You have to respect Roy Hodgson's decision. When I said that in England, everyone accused me of supporting Terry. But I wasn't. I just said respect the coach. Personally, I think Rio is England's best centre-back. He should be there."
Terry Paine insists: "The FA have got involved here. They've told Hodgson not to pick Rio. Simple as that."
Also present? Bradley Carnell, who spent 12 years as a professional in Germany, lovely bloke, tells a good tale. The mad Italian Stefano Vigoriti, the knowedgeable Spaniard Ricard Fernandez and of course the beautiful presenters, Carol Tshabalala and Thomas Mlambo.
We get an hour on SuperSport3 every Saturday at 4pm. Might be worth watching.
The football certainly is. Plenty of incident in the opener, where hosts Poland were held 1-1 by Greece with two red cards and a sub-standard Spanish referee. Then the Russians, tipped by both yours truly and Ruud Krol (I had a quick chat with the former Orlando Pirates treble-winner before make-up) crushed the Czech Republic 4-1.
Krol was ushered out in a state of some distress after Holland's shock 1-0 defeat against unfancied Denmark tonight but I can console him with the news that Robin van Persie's boots have been found in Fernando Torres's blue-and-red kit bag.
After that, Cristiano Ronaldo and 10 other blokes in red tried to Germanate Joachim Loew's tournament favourites. Sadly, Mario Gomes scored after 70 minutes and CR7 had no reply. While all that was going on, Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick in Argentina's 4-3 win over rivals Brazil (fielding their Olympic squad in New Jersey, USA) to help us remember Euro2012 is NOT the World Cup. Many described it as the game of the year.
Today World and European Champions Spain were expected to crush an Italian side floored by match-fixing investigations. It ended 1-1. Mario Balotelli didn't wear his Ghanaian surname Barwuah on his shirt, Fernando Torres missed a couple. Habitual scorer Di Natale came on for Balotelli and scored with his first touch for Italy. Cesc Fabregas, the former Gunner now with Barcelona, replied within three minutes for a Spanish side which started without a striker. Spain held 1-1? They lost to Switzerland 2-1 in their WC2010 opener and went on to win it.
Croatia then crushed the Republic of Ireland, much to the chagrin of my late Irish bastard great-grand-dad Collins with Luka Modric writing his CV for that move to Manchester United.
Monday sees England take a pounding from Laurent Blanc's rebuilt France, unbeaten in 21 games, while Sweden versus the Ukraine is anybody's guess. I've got eNews at 8.15am in the morning, my New Age column to write, then my debut on Ballz Radio at 3pm.
The action just doesn't stop. But consider this. South Africa's cricketers go to England next week. There are two more rugby Tests between the nations to come. And then the Olympics in London. Stay tuned. And warn the wife.