Gaza War: South Africa and ICJ ruling

If you would recall, on Monday, December 11, 2023, I wrote a puritanical piece titled: “Killing a wolf family won’t save the Deer” that criticized the ongoing zero-sum war in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas. 

That piece was as controversial as I’d expected it to be. It drew varied perspectives from the conservative clergy, the Evangelicals, the Muslim and Christian laity, as well as from agnostics.

However, publishing that opinion was one of the boldest things I did in 2023 and it proved I was no longer taking anybody’s answer for anything where my convictions were called for. 

In the last 10 years, I’ve been through an inflection point whereby I’ve learnt a lot including how to speak up whenever and wherever it mattered. No need to pipe low any longer.

Perhaps this new me stems from my countless moments of romanticism or reflective study of self and individuality, and of course, the man I was gradually becoming. 

Let me say this: I am disappointed in most Christians, evangelicals and even members of the clergy in my church with whom I identify, for seeing nothing wrong with the massive atrocities Israel has continued to carry out in the Gaza Strip. To those who went as far as quoting the Christian Bible and even tweaking certain verses to justify man’s injustice against humanity, well, I forgive you all.

What can I say? Ignorance rules where men have often failed to take a second, deeper look.

The greatest enemy of mankind is ignorance. If some of us understood and appreciated we were first humans before anything else, we would learn to first say STOP to all acts of inhumanity before even attempting to check the colour of the victim’s skin, eyes, gender, or faith of the oppressed. 

I always say that there is no greater purpose in life than becoming more of what we already are—humans—and then all that we are ever capable of becoming. That's the argument I often lay out but some people whose humaneness and conscientiousness have been bought over by religious biases don’t always seem to see it. 

I wish to convey my heartfelt gratitude to the government of South Africa led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, for taking such a bold step to drag Israel to the International Court of Justice in the Haque. Amidst stiff criticism from political opponents at home and abroad, SA’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said this on the day of the ruling: 

“Some have told us we should mind our own business and not get involved in the affairs of other countries, and yet it is very much our place as the people who know too well the pain of dispossession, discrimination, state-sponsored violence.”

Ramaphosa has done something many African leaders wouldn’t have even imagined to try. Yes! Taking a bold step ahead after UN resolutions calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza were vetoed twice (both at the General Assembly and Security Council) by the US, Israel’s main backer in this war. 

The recent ICJ ruling may not have succeeded in outrightly calling for an immediate ceasefire as some would have expected but it undeniably raises the odds of a potential future truce. Specifically, the ICJ in its historic ruling ordered that Israel must do everything within its power to prevent genocidal acts against Gazans.