News/Politics

With the news of President Mbeki calling on Mugabe and Tsvangirai to meet and avoid continuation of the violence engineered by Robert Mugabe, Zanu-PF and their allies, I couldn’t help but admire the no-nonsense approach of African reporters. Andre Le Roux of the Beeld, whose headline I stole, sums it up — this is not […]

This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online: Is Julius Malema getting away with murder?

Simon Mann told a court in Equatorial Guinea that not only was Sir Mark Thatcher a part of the failed coup, he was one of the ringleaders. He also confirmed: “By January 2004, the operation was like an official operation because the Spanish government and the South African government were both giving the green light,” […]

It would be easy to dismiss ANC Youth League president Julius Malema as an irresponsible fool. That he surely is, but fools can be dangerous — just ask the relatives of Iraqis who were killed during or after the American invasion ordered by another irresponsible fool, George Bush — so we may do well to […]

It’s raining outside and the sky is hanging low in a saturated grey, so I can’t even justify why I love this country so much with the weather. And right now, I don’t exactly feel like justifying it by explaining what a wonderful society we are. Because at the moment, it’s really hard to believe […]

After publication of my “spazza theory” in May, “Rhythm and Chaos” asked whether I considered submitting my idea to other publications. “JR” was interested in where the “theory” was going, and suggested that I might have been unfair in my application of the “theory” to a group of people. In truth, I called it a […]

Most people in the world, according to an Associated Press report, prefer Barack Obama for president of the United States. This optimism is somewhat understandable, given the global vigilantism of the ruling cabal that was identified by Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as the chief of staff of former foreign secretary Colin Powell. The cabal includes […]

Adoption of the Lisbon Treaty requires unanimous support by the European Union’s 27 member states. Ireland held a referendum on 12 June 2008, giving its citizens the opportunity to decide on the country’s relationship with the European Union. Ireland was the only country constitutionally obliged to hold a referendum, for Lisbon requires changes to Ireland’s […]

Although the ANC was founded in 1912, what many of us may have forgotten is that it has only been the ruling party since it formed the government of South Africa in 1994. In real terms, it is still in its infancy in respect of running a country and conducting itself accordingly. As a result […]

Gordon Brown has styled the Zimbabwean government as a “criminal cabal“, demanded that it accept international monitors and called for sanctions if President Robert Mugabe is not removed after the run-off. I could go on listing those who now condemn the president and his party, or simply refer you to Google or any other search […]

This was a difficult contribution to make for a number of reasons. First, I am very close to the events that I am about to describe. In early 1982 to the late 1980s, Zimbabwe experienced an ugly period called Gukurahundi (a Shona word meaning, the early rain that washes away the chaff before the spring […]