News/Politics

In politics, and in Cope in particular, sometimes it is necessary to “cut through the spin” of that spun by those claiming to cut through the spin. Especially when their cutting lacks surgical precision and leaves much to be desired. I was rather amused by the virtually instantaneous return of two of Cope’s most notorious […]

Mbeki, the prophesier of the African Renaissance, always preferred the world stage to local footlights and will likely be more deeply wounded by the lack of international acknowledgment for his achievements.

Police were on high alert last week as thousands of ticket-holders headed to the Royal Bafokeng Stadium for the World Cup match between England and the US. Rustenburg was sealed off from all non-ticket holders as security forces were on high alert due to the political realities of the teams, and violent threats that had […]

So here we go. In the 1990s we had Kitsburghers (instant citizens) who could vote in the referendum, followed by Kitskonstabels (hastily half-trained policemen to help in the fight against crime). Now we have Kitsgeregtigheid, or instant justice, to ease the way during Fifa’s subjugation of our fair land. Steal a cellphone on Monday morning, […]

At the heart of the current battle within Cope, it seems to me, is the battle between the old, which is refusing to die, and the new, which is hindered from being born. This political stalemate will kill Cope if an urgent political intervention is not found in the next few weeks. South Africans can […]

The argument about war and justice is still a political and moral issue. Decisionmakers and victims alike have to examine the moral issues of warfare and at the same time, with the growing awareness of religion, pay attention to the status of religion on the subject of forgiveness in international relations. The questions that arise […]

There is a distinct meme out there on the internet, and to some extent on the streets, that the world is hating on us. That everyone is out to spoil our party, to take away our vuvuzelas and poo-poo on our parade. Every day all I read on Twitter, Facebook, and in the news, is […]

After more than a decade of denial over SA’s eye-popping incidence of crime, the ANC under its new president, Jacob Zuma, decided to smother the problem with a blanket of blue serge. It simultaneously slipped the leash of civilian oversight of the police.

The submissions being made by the senior counsel for the president in the Pretoria High Court are, in my humble opinion, wrong and need to be clarified. Kemp J Kemp SC The counsel for President Jacob Zuma, Kemp J Kemp SC, has again stated that the Democratic Alliance could not force the director of public […]