Ken Borland

The Social Justice and Nation-Building hearings resumed this week with those implicated in the earlier sittings getting the chance to answer their accusers and it seems the first half of the commission had several charlatans giving evidence.

It just goes to show the importance of hearing both sides of the story before jumping to sensational conclusions.

Clear problems have been identified like the Dolphins’ handling of Aya Myoli’s assault by Robbie Frylinck, the millions of rand which Easterns have been given to uplift development clubs but which have not been distributed to them and Khaya Zondo’s non-selection in 2015.

Myoli’s treatment is particularly shocking: because Frylinck negotiated a plea bargain that included confidentiality, Myoli, despite being the victim, was never informed of the outcome of the disciplinary hearing back in 2016 and had no idea some form of justice had been done.

But there has also been much evidence that previous testimony has come from embittered former players, especially those convicted of matchfixing offences.

We heard stories of players who had a history of creating divisions within their team, players who complained of being underpaid in comparison to White players when the facts showed that for eight of their seasons with a franchise they were within the top-four salary-earners, and international stars who complained about being discriminated against but failed 15 different fitness tests but were considered undroppable due to quotas.

While some of this has undoubtedly been mischievous, there have also been understandable misunderstandings and it has been good this week to see much of the air cleared up.

Enoch Nkwe’s demotion from interim head coach to assistant coach was controversial and sinister undertones were detected when then acting CSA chief executive Jacques Faul held a meeting with him over cappuccinos at Pearl Valley after Faul had met with SACA, the players’ association.

But Faul pointed out this week that he set up the meeting with Nkwe, along with director of cricket Graeme Smith, head coach Mark Boucher and captain Faf du Plessis in order to allow them to try and find common ground because he was desperately keen to keep Nkwe involved with the Proteas.

Empty vessels make the most noise, so the saying goes, but amidst all the loud cries of racial discrimination why hasn’t there been more noise over the fact that the Black-dominated previous CSA Board was seriously underpaying Nkwe as well as manager Khomotso Volvo Masubelele?

When Faul, who had been acting CEO before in 2012/13, returned to CSA in December 2019, he was shocked to find Nkwe and Masubelele were earning less than what their predecessors were getting in 2012. And this was approved by a CSA Board which only featured a couple of Whites and former CEO Thabang Moroe. The same people who appointed Smith as director of cricket and approved Boucher as the head coach.

Also giving evidence this week was former Proteas manager Mohammed Moosajee, a man who has contributed immensely to South African cricket and is as committed to transformation and excellence as anyone. He is a cricket man through and through.

As usual, he made perfect sense when he called for the Proteas to have a unified stance towards BLM, rather than the currently awkward situation where some people are kneeling, others are not; some fists are raised, others are not. As is so often the case in South Africa, it comes down to education.

Moosajee pointed out that it was himself and vilified former captain Smith who actually came up with the concepts around a more inclusive team with a greater appreciation for people from different backgrounds, races and religions.

As Moosajee pointed out, there is still work to be done to ensure the Proteas are a fully transformed and successful outfit, one which returns to the top table of world cricket. But much progress has been made in the last dozen years.

Proteas coach Mark Boucher has described the team’s fines meetings as being a bit of a giggle designed to build team spirit, but he has apologised for any offence caused in his affidavit to Cricket South Africa’s Social Justice and Nation-Building commission, which he released publicly on Monday.
Boucher has been accused of racial abuse dating back to his playing days following the testimony of former Protea Paul Adams, who said he was called “Brown Shit” in a fines meeting song.
“One way we try to build team spirit, as do many teams across the world, is to have fines meetings. … They were lighthearted with lots of laughter, singing and ribbing of team-mates. Management and the captain were often fined. … There would never really be a fine for an on-field event as this could, mistakenly, be taken personally.
“So ‘offences’ would typically be for wearing the wrong kit, being late for a meeting, talking out of turn in the fines meeting … and these fines would be accompanied by a song. … Lots of us had nicknames for each other which had a racial connotation and we all called each other those names. I was also given a nickname which made reference to my colour … but I can categorically say that I did not give Mr Adams the name ‘brown shit’.
“While at the time we thought it was playful banter within a team environment in which we all participated … , I deeply regret and apologise for the part I played by joining in with my team-mates in singing offensive songs or using offensive nicknames,” Boucher said in his affidavit.
Boucher made his debut for the Proteas in 1997 as a “naive” 20-year-old and, while he does not try to paint himself as a sweet young man, he strongly refutes any suggestions he was racist.
“I was a young man, barely out of my teens. In hindsight, we are all naive – the players, the coaches, the management. We were not only naive but also ill-equipped to deal with the new environment in which we found ourselves. … I have committed to educate myself so that I do not do or say things that are unintentionally offensive. …  I feel privileged to have experienced what I have and I deeply regret playing a role in not seeing or doing more for those who could have had a similar experience.
“I do wish to state categorically that nothing I have ever said or done was motivated by malice and was certainly not motivated by racism. … There has been an implicit insinuation in some media reports and by some people in social media, that I am a racist. The attack on my character by these people has been relentless, bereft of objectivity and evidence and appears motivated by a hidden agenda. My family and I have been traumatised by it,” Boucher said.