DARK SECRETS: 28 | Rare Historical Photos

South Africa's state capture commission nears its end after four years. Was it worth it?

South Africa’s judicial commission into state capture, known as the Zondo Commission, recently handed over the fourth part of its voluminous and scathing findings to President Cyril Ramaphosa. As a fact-finding commission, it had to determine if there were facts that were relevant for prosecutorial purposes related to “state capture”…

The Conversation · May 13, 2022

Antjie Krog and the role of the poet in South Africa's public life

When South African writer Antjie Krog was just 17, she wrote a poem for her school magazine which was shocking enough to upset Kroonstad High’s parents. The furore caught the attention of the Sunday newspapers, who descended on the town in the Free State province.

The Conversation · May 5, 2022

Former South African president predicts the end of the ruling party: history is on his side

Former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe, one of the saner voices in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), has recently given voice to heresy. He has said that the time of the ANC in power is coming to an end. The party that has dominated South African politics since 1994,…

The Conversation · May 4, 2022

Ramaphosa urges end to Ukraine war during talks with Zelenskyy

South African president calls for a ‘negotiated end’ to the conflict as he continues a delicate balancing act.

Al Jazeera · Apr 21, 2022

South Africa's constitutional democracy debate: echoes of an inglorious past

Some prominent politicians from South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) recently questioned the role of the courts in the constitution. In January, tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu insulted the judges as “colonised” for enforcing the constitution, which she blamed for continued black deprivation 28 years into democracy.

The Conversation · Apr 18, 2022

Ex-ski resort exec gets 18 months in failed visa plan case

The first of four men accused in a failed plan to build a biotechnology plant in Vermont using tens of millions of dollars in foreign investors’ money raised through a special visa program has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison

The Independent UK · Apr 14, 2022

Russia's war in Ukraine: how South Africa blew its chance as a credible mediator

South Africa has been roundly criticised for its decision to abstain from voting on three UN General Assembly resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Conversation · Apr 13, 2022

Rising vigilantism: South Africa is reaping the fruits of misrule

Once relegated to the margins of South African politics, anti-immigrant activism has gone mainstream. Several anti-immigrant groups including Operation Dudula, All Trucker Foundation and the South Africa First Party, have become reference points for national debate.

The Conversation · Apr 2, 2022

The anti-apartheid fighter empowering women in South Africa

Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi went from the front lines of anti-racist activism to success in politics and business.

Al Jazeera · Mar 20, 2022

Analysis-More welfare or less? S.Africa's ANC confronts apartheid's legacy

South Africa's ruling party is being forced to confront a problem that has bedevilled the country since apartheid ended 28 years ago: how to reduce record gross inequality and poverty that hurts the Black majority more than the white minority.

Reuters · Mar 14, 2022