Lebo Mashile on poverty and trauma - 'this is why politicians steal even when they're doing well'

Poet Lebo Mashile says poverty causes emotional and spiritual trauma, and if people don't heal from it they will continue to “live in mental lack”, even when they are well off.

Taking to Twitter this week, Lebo questioned the impact of decades of inequality and its contribution towards black on black violence in the context of witchcraft.

She argued that if people understood that there is more than enough for everyone, then they would not go to such extreme lengths to prevent others from achieving success.

She said destructive behaviour resulting from trauma can also be seen when politicians steal from the poor, even when they have plenty for themselves.

“This is why politicians steal even when they are doing well financially, because poverty is a spiritual trauma in addition to physical and emotional one,” she wrote in part.