EDITORIAL: Ninja is no hero
Amid the hype around the release of Paulus ‘Ninja’ Shimweefeleni from jail after 25 years, we have a simple question: What is the name of the man Ninja and his ilk killed?
Seriously, what is his name? Because ‘taxi driver’ is definitely not a person’s name. We are all guilty of this embarrassing excitement. With all cameras on him, Ninja is elevated to celebrity status of some sort.
No one is talking about the victim, or how his family feels about Ninja’s release. Government officials have made countless trips to prison to sing praises of Ninja’s transformation. None of them, as far as we know, spared a single minute for the victim. None of these convicted killers is a hero, so let’s stop making them look like they are.
Like all of us, Ninja had a civic duty to be a good citizen from the day he was born 52 years ago. Therefore, becoming what he should have been in the first place is not exactly an achievement. From what we are hearing, he is already receiving job offers as a plumber. Screw model citizens who have been in the job queue all this time – it’s Ninja’s time now.
True, Ninja deserves a second chance. But the hype is embarrassing, to say the least. He should’ve left jail quietly and disappeared into the sunset to rebuild his life, without invoking sorrow on those who lost their son, a man only known as ‘taxi driver’.
Seriously, what is his name? Because ‘taxi driver’ is definitely not a person’s name. We are all guilty of this embarrassing excitement. With all cameras on him, Ninja is elevated to celebrity status of some sort.
No one is talking about the victim, or how his family feels about Ninja’s release. Government officials have made countless trips to prison to sing praises of Ninja’s transformation. None of them, as far as we know, spared a single minute for the victim. None of these convicted killers is a hero, so let’s stop making them look like they are.
Like all of us, Ninja had a civic duty to be a good citizen from the day he was born 52 years ago. Therefore, becoming what he should have been in the first place is not exactly an achievement. From what we are hearing, he is already receiving job offers as a plumber. Screw model citizens who have been in the job queue all this time – it’s Ninja’s time now.
True, Ninja deserves a second chance. But the hype is embarrassing, to say the least. He should’ve left jail quietly and disappeared into the sunset to rebuild his life, without invoking sorrow on those who lost their son, a man only known as ‘taxi driver’.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article