Antjie Krog’s Country of my Skull is one of those haunting books one never gets used to. Brilliantly written, it fleshes out the pain and suffering that was the mainstay of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). In graphic detail the horrors of the evils of apartheid; the smashing of women’s breasts against drawers, …
Sandile Dikeni: The Great Karoo Writer You’ve Never Heard of Read More »
A flaccid anticlimax, then, last month’s general election. SA’s youth – in their heyday the cause of apartheid’s mad scientists wetting themselves – would lately listlessly show the middle finger than to vote, for anybody. Or animate a viral video where scores of them set all kinds of ANC regalia alight to celebrate Youth Day. …
Two weeks ago I perched myself in my office – really a detached room that functions as little more than an unpretentious sleeping area – to file a story on what ought, in hindsight, to have been the story of the year so far – the 2024 election opinion polls. I’d glossed over a few …
The Polls, GNU and Cold Beers as History Unfolds. Read More »
First thing that crept into this writer’s mind at the resurrection of ‘government of national unity’ (GNU) were the televised images of Rooivalk helicopters hovering eerily over Lesotho on the orders of the late Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Those of a certain age will remember the dramatic scenes with a sense of mild dread. Shenge, serving in …
As SA commemorated the Sharpville Massacre this Thursday, many at Robert Sobukwe’s hometown were up in arms over a seemingly trivial issue: the Pan-African Congress leader’s given name. Born into a working class family in Graaff-Reinet, Sobukwe’s early life was the standard township hardscrabble. Despite these travails, he completed school, ultimately enrolling at the South …
Name Change or Just Tenderpreneurship by Another Name Read More »
Dear reader, finally, I found him! Urbane in loose black pants, a nylon shirt and sky-blue tie on a slow Sunday morning, he, like many who were walking the streets, my offhanded assumption was that he was just on his way to church. Which was true, partly anyway; just another devout believer off to commune …
Following pointed swipes at incumbent president Cyril Ramaphosa, former national boss Thabo Mbeki has recently undergone a startling change of heart. A surprising Damascus moment for a man who is usually known to stick to his guns and summarily fire – or klap – those who would challenge his smarts, or the top job he …
In media parlance they call it silly season, which last week reached a crescendo in a desperate swansong before the Constitutional Court. BOSA, Mmusi Maimane’s opaque party – or is it a movement? as well as the Rivonia Circle – in a bid to ease the requisites for participation in this year’s ballot were unceremoniously …
Unimportant Speculation on Manifestos and Coalitions Read More »
Broach the cadre deployment topic even with acquaintances, I’ve found, and expect either an anticlimactic ‘agreeing to disagree’ or to simply lose a friend. Best not to go there. Also, it tends to come with a pervasive affinity to the ‘winner-takes-all’ mentality, which holds that by virtue of clinching a majority vote, the ANC enjoys …
Dear Comrade President His Excellency Bra Cyril Ramaphosa. It is with great offence – by no means directed at you, Mr President, more than the sourgrapes who would dare speak ill of our Commander in Chief – that I labour at this missive. Thanks to their incorrigible slander I’ve been chain-smoking through the ganja plot …
