THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Apr

12

2025

The Unbreakable Lion of South African Journalism: Joe Thloloe’s Legacy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, MULTIMEDIA

THE clouds hung low over Wilro Park that April morning, pregnant with rain and possibility, mirroring the weight of history gathered in the perfectly manicured garden of Joe Thloloe's Roodepoort home. At 83, the lion of South African journalism sat among his pride - journalists young and old who had travelled from across the country to celebrate not just a birthday, but a living legend who had defied death, detention, and despair to help birth a free press in a democratic South Africa. Thloloe former colleagues and mentees, arrived bearing gifts and warm smiles. They found Thloloe seated in a…

Apr

11

2025

By CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

“Gender-Based Violence Requires a Legal and Social Response”

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THIS year marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Signatories to this historic agreement were enjoined to domesticate its principles, commitments and goals, and translate them into concrete national actions. South Africa, like many of the countries represented in the IAWJ, is a signatory to the Declaration. The impact of this landmark document has been profound and far-reaching in shaping our country's policies and practices around gender equality. We saw and continue to see this document as outlining a comprehensive agenda for addressing key challenges that women face in areas like health, education, economic participation,…

Apr

10

2025

By CLAVER GATETE

Africa’s development challenges and strategic solutions

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

STRUCTURAL vulnerabilities, including the lingering effects of COVID-19, climate shocks, conflicts, geopolitical tensions, and mounting debt burdens, continue to stifle Africa's progress. The continent is grappling with a substantial debt burden amounting to 64.3% of GDP, which significantly limits fiscal space for critical investments in education, health, infrastructure, and other essential sectors. Furthermore, our average GDP growth since 2019 has hovered around 3%, far below the 7% needed to achieve SDG 8 on work and economic growth. In light of current global developments, it is clear that aid can no longer be considered a reliable or sustainable solution, and traditional…

Apr

10

2025

By JIM STENMAN and BONFACE ORUCHO

A conversation with ousted TPLF leader Getachew Reda on war, politics, and the fate of Tigray

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, EDITORS CHOICE

TIGRAY is a mountainous region in northern Ethiopia, holding deep historical, cultural, economic and geopolitical significance. The 'birthplace of the ancient Aksumite civilization,' according to National Geographic, this region is home to archaeological wonders like the towering obelisks of Aksum and the Church of St. Mary of Zion—reputedly the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. Interview by Jim Stenman with reporting by Bonface Orucho for bird story agency Just northeast lies Adwa, the historic battlefield where Ethiopia’s forces triumphed over Italian colonial troops in 1896. As the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia, the area is highly strategic, bordering…

Apr

09

2025

By GEDION ONYANGO

Kenya’s courts are corruption hotspots – radical actions the chief justice must take

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

KENYA’S chief justice, Martha Koome, announced a change of strategy in March 2025 to fight corruption in the judiciary. The country’s courts are some of the hotspots of corrupt practices, from bribery of judges to obstruction of justice. The judiciary will now partner with the National Anti-corruption Commission and the National Intelligence Service to identify patterns, hotspots and individuals for early intervention. Gedion Onyango, who researches public accountability, anti-corruption and whistleblowing reforms, examines the new multi-agency approach. What is the context in which this multi-agency strategy was announced? The Kenyan judiciary has been tainted by corruption for decades. More than…

Apr

08

2025

By PETER VALE

Why was South Africa’s ambassador to the US expelled? A view of the Ebrahim Rasool affair

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, EDITORS CHOICE

IN a rare move, the Trump administration expelled Ebrahim Rasool, South Africa’s ambassador to Washington, in mid-March 2025. In a post on X, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Rasool of hating the US and President Donald Trump, and said the ambassador was “no longer welcome in our great country”. The expulsion came after comments Rasool had made during a webinar organised by a South African think-tank, the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Studies. Rasool had said he thought that Trump was “mobilising a supremacism” and trying to “project white victimhood as a dog whistle” as the white population faced…

Apr

05

2025

By MANASE KUDZAI CHIWESHE

Kirsty Coventry and whiteness in Zimbabwe: how sport can rewrite the political rules

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

KIRSTY Coventry’s story is one of apparent contradictions. She’s a white woman celebrated as a national hero in a Black-majority Zimbabwe and an Olympic swimmer turned politician. She’s also now one of the most powerful figures in global sports as president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Her journey reflects the complex interplay of race, gender and post-colonial politics in Zimbabwe, a nation still grappling with the legacies of colonialism and the authoritarian rule of Robert Mugabe. As sociologists in Zimbabwe, we drew from newspaper reports and academic and online sources to give an account of how these factors have…

Apr

04

2025

By MASHUPYE HERBERT MASERUMULE; DANIEL NKOSINATHI MLAMBO; JOHN NTSHAUPE MOLEPO; MORAKA ARTHUR SHOPOLA; RASODI K MANYAKA and RICKY MUKONZA

South Africa’s civil servants are missing skills, especially when it comes to technology – report

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOUTH Africa’s goal since 2012 has been to build a capable and developmental state to address the twin challenges of poverty and inequality. The country’s National Development Plan defines a capable state as “well-run and effectively coordinated state institutions with skilled public servants”. A transformative and developmental role is about “consistently delivering high-quality services” for the good of society. To meet these goals, the country requires people in government with the necessary technological skills. This has been shown to be true in analysis of how governments from various regions worldwide have responded to technology as part of the Fourth Industrial…

Apr

03

2025

By SIYANDA MAGAYANA

Confronting the scourge of sexual violence against women and children in SA

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE cries of South Africans continue to echo into an abyss of indifference. Women and children are persistently subjected to sexual violence, molestation, and countless other forms of abuse, often at the hands of those who are supposed to protect them: fathers, mothers, teachers, brothers, uncles, and guardians. Yet, these cries go unheard. Too many women, too many children, with far too many becoming nothing more than statistics; victims of the 'monsters' lurking not in dark alleys, but in the hallways of their own homes, schoolyards, churches, and university campuses. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month; however, for many, it…

Apr

03

2025

By CHRISTOPHER TOUNSEL

Sudan’s civil war: What military advances mean, and where the country could be heading next

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, EDITORS CHOICE

A series of advances by the Sudanese military has led some observers to posit that the African nation’s yearslong civil war could be at a crucial turning point. Even if it were to end tomorrow, the bloody conflict would have left the Sudanese people scarred by violence that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions of people. But the recent victories by the military do not spell the end of its adversary, a rebel paramilitary group that still holds large areas in Sudan. The Conversation turned to Christopher Tounsel, a historian of modern Sudan at the University of Washington,…