Winnie Mandela’s legacy
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela died Monday at age 81. As she is eulogised, there will be many who point to her perceived failures. They will call her a…
Zuma is not enough. The ANC itself must be cleansed of corruption
Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s unpopular president, has finally been removed. Yet the terms of his departure were deeply problematic. In what was a painfully tortuous process,…
Trump rage ignores the truth
There can be no better illustration of the folly of victimhood and outrage than the furore surrounding US President Donald Trump’s comments about poor countries with…
The Fall of Grace
I spent a lot of time in Zimbabwe in the mid-2000s, as the head of a human rights organisation that worked across Southern Africa….
Are South Africa’s anti-corruption crusaders racist?
In the last few weeks, more attention has been focused on South African President Jacob Zuma than usual because of the release of an explosive new…
Will Malema succeed Zuma?
In recent years the relationship between South African President Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has dominated South African…
Diversity, Division and a World of Difference
It seems two decades later, there is little holding us together aside from our shared history. We are still on one side the oppressor…
Africa’s First Lady
Barack and Michelle Obama have barely left the stage — it’s been a month — and already the U.S. press are gripped by nostalgia. …
The death of compromise in South Africa
For some time now people who write about South Africa have been suggesting that the country is in the process of changing. It is…
Elections probably won’t be fair, but they will be vibrant
Just as the ANC was prepared to spend millions of taxpayers’ rands to destroy the credibility of the Public Protector in defence of its…