News/Politics

By Thabo Mohlala I recently attended a mass meeting convened by the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) Gauteng central region at Orlando Communal Hall in Soweto. I was intrigued by its recent shenanigans when they unashamedly opted to hold a meeting during school time to promote ANC policies at the expense of education. I […]

While Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke has never refused ANC president Jacob Zuma the right to marry whomsoever he pleases he may well have submitted a report to former president Mbeki regarding a certain Zimbabwean president’s less than lawful “Act of Succession”. Regardless Moseneke this morning must know what it feels like to be a […]

“Cape Judge President John Hlophe seemed to have access to confidential notes circulated between judges of the Constitutional Court, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) heard today. Hlophe had also boasted to Justice Bess Nkabinde about obtaining a list of people implicated in the multi-billion dollar government arms deal from the National Intelligence Agency, she said. […]

The Community of Mandela Rhodes Scholars is a politically non-aligned body representing 93 inspiring young African leaders. While the organisation is politically neutral, the individual scholars are encouraged to be vocal in their political views. With April 22 fast approaching, the scholars have been invited to share their personal justification for their intended vote. Mandela […]

Over the past seven days there have been two major demonstrations in London: the anti-capitalist, banker-baiting protests outside the Bank of England that coincided with the G20 summit last week, and a pro-Tamil Tigers demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament yesterday that called on Gordon Brown and the United Nations to put pressure on the […]

Due to popular demand (read: more than half a dozen emails requesting me to state my views on the NPA decision to drop charges against Jacob Zuma) I have decided to make my opinions known. Just like Michael Corleone in The Godfather — Part III, each time I try and sit out “matters of national […]

“The charges against Zuma were dropped on the grounds that there was collusion between Leonard McCarthy, the former head of the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), and former NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka. This was after among others, transcripts of telephone calls between the two men were investigated and found to amount to manipulation and abuse […]

As the gutless wonder Mokotedi Mpshe clearly demonstrated, as far as the ANC are concerned there is no law applicable to the party or to those considered of value. Indeed if any of them are charged this only results in everyone running around like headless chickens screaming about how they are being persecuted. It certainly […]

With all the pro-and-anti NPA articles doing the rounds I thought it best to give you lot some understanding of how the law works in South Africa and what is considered so trivial that we need hardly bother following up on it. So gather round the heath (hearth? — that thing that blows smoke as […]

The next time I hear a member of the Scorpions, NPA, a government minister, a current judge, a prosecutor or anyone else charged with “upholding our laws” moaning about the Zuma decision then best they don’t do it anywhere within earshot of the worst temper our profession has ever produced — mine. Where do I […]

Saturday Night Live, the popular US comedy/satire show, recently launched a new segment, called “Really?” In it, they repeat news stories that are so outrageous as to not need any embellishments, and ask “Really?” after each line. It’s very funny. Only, on hearing the announcement that Zuma is not going to be prosecuted, that’s all […]

Politicians and policy makers too often swing on a pendulum between unbridled ego and blinkered groupthink. Self-preservation at all cost, parading as “national interest”, is the key to understanding this dynamic. This was patently evident in the wake of the uproar over the decision last week to ban a Nobel Peace Laureate (the Dalai Lama) […]