By Gugu Ndima I watched the bodies drop, I was hoping at some point it would stop. The news reader had cautioned the footage was graphic. Men dropped like bricks on the soil of Lonmin grounds. I teared up and gasped. It was as if I was watching a documentary of a massacre from the […]
Reader Blog
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Posted inGeneral
Why we need electoral reform
By Ntombenhle Khathwane In the recent weeks, news headlines have been dominated by the textbook saga in Limpopo and Eastern Cape. This happens a few months before the ANC policy conference, during which it would be expected that the ruling party would discuss how to make its time in government more efficient. Although this was […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Gay men for women’s rights
By Lwando Scott The women’s struggle is often talked about as something only women should be involved in. This is wrong, it’s a struggle for us all, and yes that includes gay men. There’s often a silence on the part of gay men when it comes to women’s rights. This is unfortunate because the sexual […]
Posted inGeneral
No space for bullshit
By Andrew Verrijdt I recently read an article in an important research journal that left me quite perturbed. The article was about how hypnosis can help us channel the wisdom of our ancestors that exists beyond time and space. The staggering implications of this were too much for me, and I promptly went to bed. […]
Posted inGeneral
Zim’s new constitution?
By Musa Kika So finally there’s news from Harare. The second draft of the new constitution was submitted to parliament and the not-so-united government of national unity this month. For over a decade we have tried to come up with a new constitution that reflects the people’s will and replaces the 1979 Lancaster House Constitution, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mandela has nothing to apologise for
By Gugu Ndima It’s quite intriguing that the stature of former president Nelson Mandela has been questioned. His integrity and commitment to his people is being cross-examined. Insinuations have been propagated that the former president sold out for self-centred motives and instantaneous fulfilment. As a member of the ANC, and disciplined member of the ANCYL, […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
Caster, Oscar, Hashim — their victories, our hope
By Greg Nott This past week has been filled with extraordinary and historical sporting moments that are so inspirational they’re almost too good to be true. They hold a key for our political future; if we’ll appreciate the significance of the events. When I first met Caster Semenya, it was August 2009. She had just […]
Posted inNews/Politics
On ANC discipline
By Justice Phatse Piitso On the occasion of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the triumph of the Cuban revolution, the leader of the Communist Party of Cuba, General Raul Castro, conveyed the following profound words to his people: “Never let the enemy siren songs make you go soft. Always be aware that the enemy, by […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mandela’s legacy a threat
By Lukhona Mnguni Those of us who are born in July are growingly becoming either miserable or jealous over Madiba. There is hardly a fuss about anyone’s birthday but that of Nelson Mandela’s in July. However, this is not really the main point of protest over this Mandelafication of the month of July. It is […]
Posted inNews/Politics
How far we’ve fallen
By Rafique Gangat As SA’s first career diplomat of colour, I am pained to learn of what is happening to my beloved country. I took part in the painful struggle for freedom and eventually shared in the joy of liberation and democracy in 1994 and since then worked tirelessly to build the new SA. My […]
Posted inNews/Politics
A Madiba child
By Shireen Mukadam I had a dream. I was lying on the grass of the Boston Commons surrounded by three new friends. A Jordanian-Syrian, studying in Australia. A Catalonian Spaniard working in Colombia. And Marube from Kenya — a 52-year-old, who has aspirations of resuming his law degree, which he commenced at 26 in 1986 […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Nailing TB
By Hoosen Coovadia We shouldn’t be surprised by recent news that 12% of hospital staff at the largest, government-funded tuberculosis hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal are themselves infected with tuberculosis. The public in South Africa will remember media reports of the tragic consequences of the acquisition of TB by health staff working in health-facility environments where the […]