The tangled thread that joins Steve Tshwete to Siya Kolisi and World Cup victory

The tangled thread that joins Steve Tshwete to Siya Kolisi and World Cup victory

Blog, Justice, South Africa

Photo Credit: Thomas Serer on Unsplash. As we celebrate our truly fabulous World Cup victory, it is worth remembering the context in which it was made possible. It’s worth remembering the journey of Steve Tshwete and so many others like him. As we celebrate our truly fabulous World Cup victory, it is worth remembering the […]

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Enola Gay birthed the first of 13 000 nuclear bombs and a legacy too ghastly to contemplate

Blog, Justice, Lesotho

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay I recently watched the fascinating movie Oppenheimer about Robert Oppenheimer, “the father of the atomic bomb” and his direction of the Manhattan Project. It reminded me that I wrote this opinion piece for The Daily Maverick on 2 August 2022 about the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on

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The bloody threads that bind Basotho gangs to zama zamas and Famo musicians in remote mountain outposts

Blog, Justice, Lesotho

Photos supplied In remote parts of Lesotho, feuds caused by jealousy over the musical success of accordion-playing Famo musicians have become hopelessly entwined in the battles between rival zama zama miners competing for the remains of scarce gold in the mined-out rock stopes of South Africa’s mines. The brutality has become all-pervasive. The pale heads

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20th anniversary: A look back at the Iraq War – Hamilton Wende

Blog, Iraq War, Justice

Photo by Pixabay: Photo/soldier-holding-rifle-78783 With this year marking the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War, Hamilton Wende reminisces on a piece he wrote that was originally published in the Citizen in April 2003. This original article is a first-hand account of Wende’s experience in Kuwait during the Iraq War.  This year  marks the 20th anniversary of

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A demonstrator holds a placard depicting a caricature of Russian President Putin as they listen to speeches during a peace rally against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Pretoria, South Africa, 11 March 2022. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Kim Ludbrook)

The fear of Putin stalks the Russian émigré community – even in South Africa

Blog, Justice, Russia

A demonstrator holds a placard depicting a caricature of Russian President Putin as they listen to speeches during a peace rally against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Pretoria, South Africa, 11 March 2022. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Kim Ludbrook) Speaking to Russians living in South Africa reminded me of the fear that rules Russia. They may

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Honouring the handful of heroes like Ismail Momoniat who held the line against the Guptas and Jacob Zuma

Blog, Justice, South Africa

Image by Carola68 Pixabay.com My university maths tutor was an island of sanity, integrity and courage in the frightening, dangerous days of apartheid and he remains such an island in these sadly now treacherous times that we find ourselves in today. It was his eyes I remember best, carefully watching us through his glasses as

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the grim lessons of pearl harbour

The grim lessons of Pearl Harbor: Democracy everywhere is under threat and South Africa is no exception

Blog, Pearl Harbor

Image by WikiImages from Pixabay The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 80 years ago and the madness of World War 2 are never-forgotten reminders that democracy and freedom are not the natural order of any society. We in South Africa have learnt now for certain what millions across the globe learnt 80 years ago –

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The First Casualty of War is Truth – and Humanity is Close Behind

Afghanistan, Blog, Russia, Ukrainian

Photo by Алесь Усцінаў from Pexels The Ukrainians’ determined, courageous and principled fight against Russian greed and aggression will come to define the meaning of liberty for the 21st century. And it will be because they largely chose to allow the freedom for the truth to be sought and told. The shell whistled over the

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Reconciliation and redemption: The old man and the dark shadow of the past

Blog, Reconciliation

As a brutal war rages in Europe, this writer considers what South Africa’s own violent history reflects to the wider world about reconciliation and even redemption. I have been haunted by this image for months: an old man in an ill-fitting, pale blue shirt and flapping khaki pants, wearing a grey woollen beanie on his

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