In 1997/98 or thereabout, former President Thabo Mbeki warned (and I may be paraphrasing him): “When the poor rise, they’ll rise against us all.” I wrote an editorial comment about his statement in Tribute magazine, stating that it will take the people of Alex (a symbol of poverty and squalor) a [...]
The hands that gave life to many have gone numb. The body whose skill revived countless hearts to beat loudly has frozen. The voice that shouted order to take the struggle for freedom to higher levels has muted. A glorious spirit that defined the life of Dr Abbey Nkomo, ‘the [...]
In his poem, What Economy am I, a South African Poet writes, My Produce feeds me less, and feeds others for less, In my quest to feed self, I become a mess, Policies about me are made far away from me, My greatness is when others become greater, What economy [...]
The birth of our democracy was hailed as a miracle for reasons that we ourselves seems to have not understood, if not embraced. Was it a miracle because a Rabbi could eat pork and yet still recite the Torah? Was is it because it was a freedom that could not [...]
The arrest of former President Jacob Zuma elicits questions beyond him being a political Mze for South Africa. Towering these is the extent to which his arrest is a crisis to the country and its constitution. Regarding whether it is a constitutional crisis or not, there is a cognitive consensus [...]
O President My President Our fearful trip has begunThe democracy cannot weather these cracksThe prize we sought is diminishing The grave is near, the hymns are sung, Our people are crying for your leadershipWhile poverty is wrecking our social fabricBut O anarchy, O anarchy, O anarchyOn the stairs of your high officeWhere on [...]
Seldom do you find a dad that stubbornly stays a brother and friend to you. A dad whose conduct only asks from you prefixes often accorded to cousins and peers. A dad whom when you hear others call papa you realise that indeed he was your dad you still preferred [...]
Zuma's biography has taken a dramatic turn, now etching his name into the annals of South African history as a former president arrested under a Ramaphosa presidency. This is a significant moment, a testament to the individual nature of the law's consequences. Once it sets its sights on you, there's [...]
The Jacob Zuma judgement has again woken up the persistently unsettled notion of misconstruing extreme exercise of tools, mechanisms, and opportunities entrenched in the country's constitution to test the limits of human rights under the law with a constitutional crisis situation. Our bar of expectation of citizens to challenge the [...]
As the judgement analysis ensues, the question is, 'Is it a checkmate on Zuma's chess board? Are there still pieces that Zuma needs to move? Are there new platforms that may be used to appeal the judgement in a court of public opinion? A not-like-Sisi-Khampepe jury is out."In an earlier [...]
