Friday 21 May 2010

Stadium naming policy



There are 10 stadiums being used for the 2010 FIFA world cup. Two of the stadiums represent contentious naming policy.

Consider the Peter Mokaba Stadium.

Named after one of the renowned sons of the struggle and emancipation of South Africa against the apartheid regime, the Peter Mokaba Stadium holds much  historical significance in South Africa. Peter Mokaba was born and bred in Polokwane and was renowned for his fighting spirit and for his inpirational leadership.

Pete's inspirational leadership is not always regarded with such reverance by those who abhor racism - or by those who believe AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease that kills. According to Jacob Dlamini, a renowned South African journalist writing in Business Day newspaper Mokaba was a "a confessed apartheid agent and a man as corrupt as they came." He was also the man whose business plan revolved around singing  'Kill the Farmer, kill the Boer' whilst simultaneously denying the existance of Aids, despite the fact that it would kill him at age 43. Surely a case of  'dumb and dumber.'

http://fifaworldcup.durban.gov.za/PublishingImages/moses-mabhida_lg.jpgThen there's the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Moses of course was a lifelong communist, trained as a terrorist and went on to lead Umkhonto we Sizwe, a terrorist organisation, in a bloody conflict, responsible for many deaths including some of their own members. Whilst these two qualities, communism and terrorism,  may have their historically redeeming merits, surely naming a sporting arena after him is inappropriate, especially if anyone considering playing there should come from a communist/terrorist victim background. How for instance, if America progress in the tournament, would world leaders like Barrack Obama, attend a game at a stadium named after a man whose politics represent such an anti American poisition?

I wonder how many little kids attending games at these stadiums will pause to reflect on the inspirational example shown   
'Mummy when I go grow up I want to be just like Peter - and Kill White  farmers and deny the existance of Aids, or if that's beyond my means can I just be a communist terrorist. Please mum.'