We don’t care for your Constitutional Court with its pompous judges and overblown constitution. We are true revolutionaries.

We say that the protection of human rights is yesterday’s idea and the Human Rights Commission is yesterday’s institution. We have to guard against the forces of darkness hiding in such places.

We don’t care for bourgeois democracy, which elevates abstract concepts such as transparency and accountability above our revolutionary goals.

We know that your calls for us to feed the hungry or house the homeless are opportunistic and unfounded attacks on our ability to govern.

We do not agree with your elevation of freedom of expression above other principles. True patriots learn to temper their criticism to preserve the dignity of great revolutionary leaders.

We know that you are confused by the fact that many of us enjoy great wealth, status and power, whilst we remain the only genuine guardians of the aspirations of the poor masses. But you have not understood that great leaders of the poor do not have to be poor themselves.

It may appear as if we have put the protection of our clique within the party above the welfare of the entire society, but you have forgotten that the party is the guardian of our historical legacy. As the new leaders of the party, we have determined that whatever the leadership needs to remain strong is what is best for our country.

There are times when we cannot allow the rank and file within the party to choose their own local and provincial leaders, as the grassroots may be victims of false consciousness or they may have been duped by propaganda in the liberal press. Thus whilst we denounced the previous leader of our party for centralising all power in his hands, we reserve the right to continue to use his methods where the revolution requires it.

It may appear as if many of our critics are leading black intellectuals, but they are either coconuts, or unknowing stooges for white domination.

It may appear as if many of our fiercest opponents are the poorest of the poor within our society, many of whom have organised protests against inadequate service delivery, but we have established that their protests are driven by a Third Force of ultra-leftists who are actually right-wingers.

We never said the National Democratic Revolution was about liberating black people; that’s too simplistic.

We never said the National Democratic Revolution was about a class struggle of workers and landless people to overthrow capitalism or feudalism; that’s too simplistic.

The National Democratic Revolution is complex and always changing.

There are times when the highest goal of the NDR is a short-term tactical objective such as hosting the Soccer World Cup, or dissolving the Scorpions, or preventing our enemies from scrutinising the actions of our comrades during the Arms Deal.

It is not for you to try and define the NDR.

When we said that no comrade is indispensable, we did not preclude the possibility that a time may come when the defence of the Great Leader may outstrip all other goals of the revolution.

At such a time, anything which weakens the Great Leader and his disciples is counter-revolutionary. If our Great Leader is accused of misogyny, feudalism, patriarchy, or leeching money from the poor through corruption, it matters not whether there is some basis to these accusations — to make such accusations is counter-revolutionary.

The ascent of the Great Leader will allow us to continue to defend (and redefine) the revolution as we see fit in ever more complete and absolute ways; his ascent has become vital to our project of entrenching our power in the pursuit of our revolution.

Hence we will defend the Great Leader with our lives, or, if necessary, with yours.

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Ben Cashdan

Ben Cashdan is a filmmaker and television producer based in Johannesburg.

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