31/05/2026
SELABE, SETLA LE MOTSHWARA KGAMELO
The Uncomfortable Truth About Accountability, Leadership, Corruption, and the Search for Scapegoats in South Africa
South Africa is often described as a nation facing multiple crises. Headlines speak of corruption, crime, unemployment, deteriorating infrastructure, struggling municipalities, service delivery failures, rising social tensions, and declining public trust. In the search for explanations, many citizens have found comfort in identifying visible targets to blame.
Yet an old Setswana proverb offers a deeper and more uncomfortable perspective. It reminds us that the greatest danger to any society is not merely the presence of contamination, but the failure of those entrusted with protecting what belongs to everyone. This is not simply a story about dirt in the milk. It is a story about custodianship, accountability, and the hands holding the container.
The Proverb That Refuses to Grow Old
"Mashi ke phepa ke le nosi; selabe se tla le motshwara kgamelo."
Translated into English, the proverb means: "The milk is clean by itself; when dirt appears in it, look at the person holding the container." It is a simple statement, yet it carries profound wisdom that remains remarkably relevant in contemporary South Africa.
For generations, African communities have relied on proverbs to communicate lessons about life, leadership, responsibility, and human behaviour. This particular proverb is not merely a lesson about cleanliness. It is a lesson about accountability. It challenges us to look beyond visible problems and ask deeper questions about how those problems emerged in the first place.
The proverb does not begin with the dirt. It begins with the milk. It assumes that something valuable existed before contamination occurred. It assumes that there was something worth protecting, preserving, and passing on. Only after acknowledging the value of the milk does the proverb turn its attention to the dirt and, ultimately, to the person responsible for safeguarding it.
That distinction is important because it shifts the conversation away from symptoms and towards causes. It reminds us that contamination is often evidence of a deeper failure. Before asking why the dirt exists, the proverb asks who was entrusted with protecting what was valuable.
Perhaps there is no more important question for South Africa today.
Milk: What Was Entrusted to Us?
The milk in this proverb represents far more than a physical substance. In the South African context, it symbolizes the nation itself and everything that has been entrusted to its people.
The milk is our democracy. It is our Constitution. It is the freedoms won through decades of struggle and sacrifice. It is our institutions, our natural resources, our public infrastructure, and our collective aspirations. It is the promise of opportunity for future generations. It is the trust that citizens place in those who govern and the hope that every child carries for a better tomorrow.
South Africa is a country blessed with extraordinary assets. It possesses vast mineral wealth, fertile agricultural land, strategic trade routes, remarkable biodiversity, vibrant cultural diversity, and immense human talent. It remains one of the most influential economies on the African continent and a nation whose potential continues to inspire millions.
Yet the milk also represents something less tangible but equally valuable: public trust. Trust is the foundation upon which functioning societies are built. Without trust, institutions weaken, communities become fragmented, and citizens lose faith in the systems meant to serve them.
The milk, therefore, represents everything that South Africans inherited, everything they have built together, and everything they hope to leave behind for future generations.
Selabe: The Visible Contamination
Today, many South Africans look into the container and see contamination.
The dirt appears in many forms. It appears as corruption scandals that dominate headlines and erode public confidence. It appears as crime that leaves communities living in fear. It appears as unemployment that robs young people of hope and opportunity. It appears as failing infrastructure, collapsing municipalities, deteriorating public services, and institutions struggling to fulfil their mandates.
The dirt also appears as growing social divisions. Communities increasingly find themselves divided by politics, race, nationality, class, and economic circumstances. Public discourse has become characterised by anger, frustration, and a relentless search for someone to blame.
These forms of contamination are real. They affect lives, shape public perceptions, and influence the national conversation. They cannot be ignored, dismissed, or minimised.
Yet the wisdom of the proverb reminds us that visible contamination is not the beginning of the story. Dirt appearing in milk is evidence that something went wrong long before the contamination became visible. It is a symptom of a deeper problem. It is proof that somewhere along the chain of responsibility, something failed.
The dirt matters. But the dirt alone cannot explain how the contamination occurred.
The Container: The Systems That Protect the Nation
Between the milk and the dirt sits the container.
The container is often overlooked, yet it plays a critical role in the proverb's message. Without a strong container, even the purest milk becomes vulnerable to contamination.
In modern South Africa, the container represents the institutions, laws, governance systems, and public structures designed to protect the nation. It represents the Constitution, Parliament, government departments, municipalities, courts, law enforcement agencies, schools, hospitals, regulatory bodies, and all the mechanisms created to safeguard public interests.
These institutions exist for a reason. They are intended to preserve stability, enforce accountability, maintain fairness, and ensure that opportunities are distributed according to the principles of justice and equality. They are the structures through which democracy functions and through which citizens place their trust in the state.
However, containers require constant maintenance. They require vigilance, integrity, competence, and leadership. When institutions weaken, when systems become compromised, or when accountability begins to disappear, the container itself becomes vulnerable.
And once the container becomes vulnerable, contamination becomes inevitable.
Motshwara Kgamelo: The Custodian of Public Trust
At the centre of the proverb stands the most important figure of all: the motshwara kgamelo, the person holding the container.
This individual is not simply a political leader. Nor is it a single institution or office bearer. The holder of the container is every person entrusted with responsibility.
The President is a holder of the container. Ministers are holders of the container. Municipal managers, police officers, judges, teachers, religious leaders, business executives, community leaders, parents, and ordinary citizens all hold containers of varying sizes and significance.
Each has been entrusted with something valuable.
Each has a responsibility to protect what has been placed in their care.
The tragedy begins when custodians forget that they are custodians. It begins when public service becomes self-service. It begins when personal interests outweigh public interests. It begins when accountability is replaced by entitlement, when responsibility is replaced by excuses, and when stewardship is abandoned altogether.
The contamination we witness today is not merely a consequence of dirt entering the milk. It is often the consequence of custodians failing to protect what was entrusted to them.
And that is the uncomfortable truth at the heart of this proverb.
South Africa's greatest challenge may not be the dirt itself.
Its greatest challenge may be the failure of custodianship.
For as long as we focus exclusively on the contamination while refusing to examine the hands holding the container, we will continue treating symptoms while ignoring causes.
The proverb therefore leaves us with a question that no society can afford to avoid:
Who is holding the container, and have they protected what was entrusted to them?
Articles By:: Thapelo Professor Ngaka Molelotuka Mokhutshoane
Published By: Rtflivemagazine ( an entity of RtfliveGroup, ) - where every story is a masterpiece awaiting to be discovered
