Chokolate man’s nightmare

By William ODuor

Steve Biko an African equivalent of Malcolm X died preaching the gospel of chocolate mans self counciousness during the dark period of apartheid South Africa. Born in 1946 and died in 1977, Biko died a very young man indeed. Bikos’ grassroots organisational skills baffled many during the strugle against apartheid rule in his motherland. He played a pivotal role in the the Soweto Uprising.

In 1977, Biko was hunted and arrested at a police crossing bump mounted to track down those thought to harbour divergent views. While in prison, Biko suffered a pernicious head injury. Some do argue, that Biko was beaten by a heavy metal while trying to reason with the police. Even after this brutal attack, the apartheid police chained him to a window grille for more than a day. His condition continued to deteriorate further prompting the apartheid police and prison services to take him to the hospital. They loaded the icon naked in the back of an open jeep on their way to Pretoria.

But Biko never reached the prison hospital alive, he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at the Pretoria prisons hospital. The apartheid police claimed his death was as a result of an extended hunger strike but comrades say that he suffered deep and massive injuries to the head. This was a good evidence attesting to the fact that Steve Biko was killed by his roadblock captors.

31 years after Bikos death, theres something I truly miss about the man. Biko preached his chocolate’s appearance. He admired his skin colour which some apertheid people reminded him to be ”black”. Biko often reminded the occupiers of his motherland that none of them are ”white” say as rice, cotton, car, cow,goat, sheep, cloud etc etc. I think you are light brown or something like brown wood formica and definitely not ”white”.

As we mark the 31year of Steve Bikos death, it saddens me to note that the chocolate people have to die crossing the high waters to Spain, Italy, and Malta in order to reach the New Europe. The Europe of Nicholas Sarkozy, Silvio Berlusconi et al. Europe where immigration and integration is the keyword in daily bulletins, print media and national cable channels. The far right political parties across EU are very popular nowadays, spreading propaganda about Africa and Africans to a constituency of less educated EU citizens thus causing serious racial tension.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5328142.stm

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.