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May
14
2025
By DR SELLO SELE
Double standards, faith and religion: SA’s absurd contradictions regarding GBV

Double standards, faith and religion: SA’s absurd contradictions regarding GBV

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
IN recent weeks, South Africa has once again been rocked by cases of gender-based violence (GBV) that have revealed an absurd contradiction in the public’s reaction towards each of these cases. The most harrowing incident involves the alleged assault of a now eight-year-old girl, referred to as Cwecwe, at Bergview College in Matatiele in the Eastern Cape. In stark contrast is the acquittal of Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso, who faced multiple rape and kidnapping charges, which sparked a wave of celebration and jubilation among his followers, many of them women. This juxtaposition brings to light the serious absurdity among South…
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May
09
2025
By NDEY TAPHA SOSSEH
“On World Press Freedom Day, we stand with the journalists of Burkina Faso”

“On World Press Freedom Day, we stand with the journalists of Burkina Faso”

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
AS repression deepens under military rule, Burkinabè journalists continue to resist with courage and conviction—sustaining a legacy of freedom shaped by pioneers and institutions like FILEP and the Norbert Zongo Press Centre. Today, as the world pauses to mark World Press Freedom Day, we must turn our eyes—and our conscience—toward a region where the pen is under siege, where truth is a dangerous profession, and where the voices that inform, question, and defend democracy are being silenced. We refer to Burkina Faso, a country caught in the crosshairs of insecurity, political transition, and mounting repression of its independent press. Over…
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May
08
2025
By CHRISTOPHE PREMAT
Valentin-Yves Mudimbe: the philosopher who reshaped how the world thinks about Africa

Valentin-Yves Mudimbe: the philosopher who reshaped how the world thinks about Africa

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
CONGOLESE thinker, philosopher and linguist Valentin-Yves Mudimbe died on 21 April 2025 at the age of 83. He was in the US, where he had lived for many years. A towering figure in African critical thought, Mudimbe’s work – translated and studied worldwide – has profoundly shaped postcolonial studies. He leaves a groundbreaking intellectual legacy on the colonisation of knowledge and the condition of Africans. At a time when debates on decolonising knowledge are gaining ground, Mudimbe’s passing invites us to revisit the work of a thinker who, since the 1980s, paved the way for a radical critique of imposed…
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May
07
2025
By AZWIHANGWISI JUDITH MPHIDI
City police in South Africa’s capital have a bad image – how to fix it

City police in South Africa’s capital have a bad image – how to fix it

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
CORRUPTION in South Africa’s public institutions has been a pressing issue for the past two decades. From national government offices to local municipalities, stories of officials enriching themselves at the expense of the public have become all too familiar. The Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department – responsible for traffic policing, crime prevention, and bylaw enforcement in South Africa’s capital city – has not escaped this crisis. With over four million residents spread across 6,298 square kilometres, Tshwane plays a vital role in the country’s political and economic landscape. Yet its municipal police department, one of the largest in South Africa, with…
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May
06
2025
By JUSTICE TANKEBE
Ghana’s citizens have a right to protest: what does the law say about restricting it?

Ghana’s citizens have a right to protest: what does the law say about restricting it?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
GHANA’S attorney general and minister of justice dropped charges against members of Democracy Hub, a civil society group, in February 2025, after four months of prosecution. The group had organised a protest in September 2024 against the widespread destruction and contamination of the country’s water bodies by persons and gangs engaged in illegal artisanal mining. Media reports alleged police harassment and use of excessive force during the three-day protest. The actions of the police and the courts were the latest in a history of suppression of the exercise of the right to protest. They are based on a military-era law…
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May
05
2025
By CLARENCE KWINANA
A tribute to Tex Rantao: Healer, warrior, and unsung hero of the liberation struggle

A tribute to Tex Rantao: Healer, warrior, and unsung hero of the liberation struggle

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
IN the tapestry of South Africa's liberation story, some threads shine with quiet brilliance—their strength felt but seldom celebrated in grand narratives. Such was the thread of Comrade Tax "Tex" Rantao, a man whose gentle smile masked the steel of his resolve and whose healing hands were as vital to the struggle as any weapon. When the brutal machinery of apartheid forced many of South Africa's bravest sons and daughters into exile, the Rantao family made the painful choice that thousands would make—to leave behind the land they loved to fight for its liberation from afar. For young Tex, this…
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May
03
2025
By JOVIAL RANTAO
The Blood of the Poet: Struggle hero Benjamin Moloise’s Legacy

The Blood of the Poet: Struggle hero Benjamin Moloise’s Legacy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
DAWN broke reluctantly over Pretoria Central Prison on October 15, 1985. The first rays of sunlight crept across the austere walls, casting long shadows that seemed to reach toward the cell of Benjamin Moloise. Three days. Just three days remained before the upholsterer-turned-poet from Soweto would meet his fate at the end of a rope. Inside his cell, Moloise sat quietly, pen in hand. The poems that had become his voice during two years on death row flowed onto paper with renewed urgency. "The storm of oppression will be followed by the rain of my blood," he wrote, words that…
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May
02
2025
By JOSEPH FALZETTA
Aid cuts push South Sudan into uncharted territory

Aid cuts push South Sudan into uncharted territory

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Joseph Falzetta THOUGH the full impacts of the USAID funding cuts in South Sudan are still emerging, early signs point to their potential magnitude. In April, eight people died of cholera trying to find medical treatment after US-funded clinics in Jonglei State were shuttered. Healthcare services at transit centres receiving people fleeing the war in Sudan have stopped. And the UN warns that hunger is nearing record levels – an alarming benchmark in a country that is no stranger to famine. Yet reactions to the US funding cuts have been mixed…
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May
01
2025
By SAMANTHA LAKIN
Rwanda’s genocide: why remembering needs to be free of politics – lessons from survivors

Rwanda’s genocide: why remembering needs to be free of politics – lessons from survivors

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
MEMORY and politics are inherently intertwined and can never be fully separated in post-atrocity and post-genocidal contexts. They are also dynamic and ever-changing. The interplay between memory and politics is, therefore, prone to manipulation, exaggeration or misuse by clever actors to meet a range of political ends. This also applies to Rwanda’s commemoration period (Kwibuka). It runs from April to July each year, dedicated to remembering the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. I have been researching genocide memory in Rwanda for more than 12 years. My research focuses on memorialisation, meaning-making, and senses of justice rendered for individuals who lived…
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Apr
30
2025
By SANDY AFRICA and MUSA NXELE
South Africa: state of the nation 30 years into democracy

South Africa: state of the nation 30 years into democracy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
JUST over 30 years after South Africa’s first democratic elections, public opinion is divided over how to evaluate the post-apartheid, democratic state. Characterisations range from “failed or failing state”, to “mafia state”, to the more optimistic “developmental state” committed to addressing historical patterns of injustice through decisive state intervention. The characterisations vary so widely because interpretations of the state are shaped not only by a complex empirical reality but also by competing theoretical and ideological perspectives. Some parts of the state appear dysfunctional, marked by failure, corruption, or capture. Others are viewed as evolving, contested, or in need of transformation.…
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