A look inside the discipline, craft, and consistency behind award-winning feature journalism. I received the National Press Club and UNISA Journalist of the Year Award for Features at the 2025 awards in May this year. The competition is adjudicated by a panel of industry experts and academics who assess work published from January to December […]
The story of Dietrich in Joburg is complex and inspiring, one of the many ghostly, fragile strands of our half-remembered city. It is also the story of the sheer guts and determination of a very young man searching for something greater than what his limited world seemed to offer. This article first appeared in The
Glamour and Ghosts: The Time Marlene Dietrich Fell in Love with Joburg Read More »
The unveiling of a mask reveals the magic of Venice and the duality of memory that we carry with us This article first appeared in Substack I had only a few days to marvel at Venice. That incredible city of memory and antiquity, of romance, poetry, art, decadence and love, with the Grand Canal at
The Masks of Venice Read More »
I remember the house in Majwemasweu township near Brandfort so vividly. It was a clean, neat house, painted white. There was a green lawn and a small willow tree in the front. It was Winnie Mandela’s home and tiny clinic that she had established there in exile. I was a young soundman working freelance for Dutch
Essay | Winnie, Hennie and Me: An Erstwhile Soundman Remembers 3 Days in Brandfort Read More »
A trip to the virtually unknown enclave of Karakalpakstan brings dislocated memories of Stalin Read the full article on Substack Our plane was delayed in Tashkent because the man sitting behind me began squirming. The people next to him remained surprisingly calm. The man started moaning. He kicked the back of my seat. A doctor
Lost Memories on the Silk Road Read More »
I have infinitely evocative memories of a trip to Timbuktu before the present civil war. Read the full article on Substack The very notion of Timbuktu is that of an intangible city, fabled in legend, myth and language. It is a place that conjures up long journeys to distant and exotic lands. It carries with
I’m glad I’ve been to Timbuktu Read More »
In a News24 essay, Hamilton Wende explores the lives of zama zamas trapped between poverty, danger and hope. Rather than reducing illegal miners to headlines, he reveals their humanity, dreams and struggles for a better future. The essay examines the complex social and economic realities driving illegal mining and questions simplistic political responses to the
‘Only God knows how this will end’: Meet the zama zamas dreaming of better lives Read More »
Our creative work should not be judged only by its monetary value. And we should honour that more within ourselves. Read the full article on Substack It was shortly after September 11, 2001. I was part of a news crew filming the unfolding war in northern Afghanistan. Four of us and an Afghan driver were
Creativity Without Reckoning Read More »
With the fragile ceasefire in Iran taking place this week, I thought of the aftermath of another war I witnessed in Cambodia – almost forgotten now but the pain echoes still Read the full article on Substack There is something eerie about the beauty of an old bomb crater at 20 000 feet. I tell
Thoughts in the Aftermath of War Read More »
A trip to the Tsodilo Hills in Botswana was a poignant reminder of how much we have lost in our sundered connection to nature. Read the full article on Substack The orange glow of the kerosene lamp flickered out over the still waters of the Okavango delta. An owl roosted in the darkness on a
The Echoes of the Old Way with Nature Read More »