“Welcome, Comrades. Today is a mournful day for all us. We have gained so much over the past twenty years. We struck the NP from our national memory. We abolished Apartheid, but more importantly we united as a nation. I know some of you think that this isn’t true, but look around you. Look at the man, the woman, the child next to you. They are the nation. You are the nation!”

Applause rang through The General’s compound. A large crowd had assembled in the courtyard, a hundred; maybe two hundred people. They arrived quite quickly. The General was always impressed with how quickly members got together. He was standing on the balcony, looking over the crowd. He raised his hand to bring the applause to an end.

“Today is mournful, because my nephew, Jerome, was killed last night. A member of our movement, a member of our family was gunned down by ANC thugs. I must take some blame for his death. I sent him there to do maintenance on the cell tower. I could not anticipate the ANC killing one of us. I couldn’t even imagine it!”

A murmur rose from the crowd. People were talking to each other, trying to process the news. The General cleared his throat and raised his hand again. This time quite slowly.

“We will not stand for this! We cannot tolerate one of our own being slaughtered! Most of you knew Jerome. You knew that he was a peaceful boy. The ANC robbed us of him. We must demand reparations! We must demand blood!”

The crowd cheered with an animal passion. Their fists were raised in the air and they started chanting. It was unclear at first, but then it rose in volume and in tempo:

“UDF UNITES. UDF UNITES. UDF UNITES!”

The General looked over the crowd and let a slight smile creep onto his face. The rallying cry echoed throughout the compound. The sun sat in between the mountain and the sky, ambivalent on whether to choose night or day. The war had begun.

***

Tell us what you think: What do you think of what the General did?