Investigating the failures of black governments to serve black people, Dr. Sesanti states in his last paragraphs of “ Was Mandela’s hand forced?” (CT 31/10)  that the world’s prejudice against black people should not be seen as caused by a biological factor as to his mind, it is a historical one.

Once more, the question arises, is nature the cause of malfunctioning Africa or is nurture the responsible factor? The premiss that Africa functions economically and socially less well than any of the other continents can hardly be denied by today’s standards. Dr. Sesanti states that Africa’s troubles are historical, meaning that white colonising powers are the origin of black people’s troubles. Would it be biological, I suspect it would be their own bleddy fault.

What if someone were to say that the black peoples’ troubles have very long antecedents, such as the fact that they have been hunted as slaves for at least ten thousand years. That, in fact today, there are still thousands of black people in slavery in Muslim countries.

Africa is the continent whence Homo sapiens originated, as it has now been established scientifically. Nowhere else on earth existed such a benign continent, climate, flora- and fauna wise  where this could have happened but we humans had inherited a curiosity streak from our apelike ancestors that turned us into explorers outside Africa. That was another kettle of fish, humans had to learn to live in snow and ice and they only managed because they had become such good hunters that the unsuspecting animals in the new world became easy pray to them. This new exploration happened about a hundred thousand years ago and that is the time it took for these explorers to adapt to their new world and, eventually, to re-visit Africa. The re-acquaintance of modern Africans and their long-lost cousins have been described in many books. The ex-explorers, we might as well call them europeans now, increased the slavery, added murder and robbery. Altruism seems not very manifest in human psyche, except on a very personal scale.

Slavery began to be abolished about two centuries ago.. by whom…?. by the europeans. In the mean time the modern Africans continued to die because of diseases their benign continent inflicted upon them as a population control. Not very much longer, as the  far-away cousins who had become close, the Europeans, had invented a notion called ’Science’ that, amongst others, reduced the onslaught of sickness.

My letter is becoming too long, Dr. Sesanti, please tell me  how I can  understand the state of Africa, biology or history?                                              

Dr.Simphiwe teaches journalism at the University of Stellenbosch.

I teach nothing.