THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Feb

14

2023

AKA: slain South African rapper was a once-in-a-generation pop culture sensation

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

AKA, South Africa’s most recognisable name in hip-hop, was gunned down – with his friend, celebrity chef Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane – outside a restaurant along Durban’s popular night spot Florida Road on 10 February. Author SANYA OSHA, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Humanities in Africa, University of Cape Town It’s reported that AKA was killed in a cold-blooded shooting, a recurring theme of gangsta rap culture. The ghastly manner of his death, apparently an orchestrated hit as captured by CCTV footage, is a first in the South African music industry and has had international reverberations. The 35-year-old AKA was born…

Feb

11

2023

By The African Mirror

Ghana’s Nkrumahist parties keep splitting – a threat to their strength in the 2024 election

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

POLITICAL parties are not always completely united, as most classical political scientists argue. Dissenting opinions and the scramble for party apparatus tend to trigger internal schisms and factions. If these aren’t managed well, parties can split. A notable example is the recent emergence of splinter parties from the Justice and Development Party in Turkey. Author BAFFOUR AGYEMAN PREMPEH BOAKYE, PhD Student, University of Delaware In Ghana, all three of the country’s main political traditions have experienced internal conflicts and sometimes party splits. The Danquah-Busia-Dombo, Nkrumahist and Provisional National Defence Council/Rawlings traditions differ in terms of ideology. The Provisional National Defence…

Feb

09

2023

By DAMILOLA AGBALAJOBI

What I like and hate about Nigeria’s election campaigns – political scientist

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ELECTION campaigns are an important aspect of the democratic process in Nigeria. They give voters a chance to learn what a candidate or party stands for. In Nigeria, according to the Electoral Act 2022, election campaigns start six months before the election. The country goes to the polls in February and March this year, so campaigning began on 28 September 2022. Author DAMILOLA AGBALAJOBI, Lecturer, Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University The last day of campaigns for the presidential and national assembly elections is 23 February 2023 and the last day of campaigns for the governorship and state assembly elections is…

Feb

08

2023

By The African Mirror

Link between crime and politics in South Africa raises concerns about criminal gangs taking over

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

A report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (Gitoc) released in September 2022 argues that South Africa has increasingly become a centre of organised crime, transcending national boundaries. The picture emerging from the report is that there are organised networks inside and outside the state that enable, facilitate and exploit opportunities for private gain. Or, they exercise unfair advantage in economic activity in the public and private sectors, using coercive methods. Some actively go about sabotaging critical infrastructure to benefit from this. Author SANDY AFRICA, Associate Professor, Political Sciences, and Deputy Dean Teaching and Learning (Humanities), University of…

Feb

05

2023

By The African Mirror

South African Tourism wants to sponsor football club Tottenham Hotspur – is it a good idea?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOUTH African Tourism (SA Tourism) is reported to be planning to spend US$52 million (about R900 million) to sponsor UK football team Tottenham Hotspur over three years. The proposal gives the country branding on the club’s kit, backdrop branding in interviews, advertising on match days, partnership status, local training camps and access to tickets and stadium hospitality. Football has a massive TV viewership and can attract big spending and big eyeballs. But is it an effective way to market a country? And is it money well spent? Brendon Knott researches nation branding and football. We asked him four questions. Author…

Feb

01

2023

By The African Mirror

The IOC must protect Russian and all athletes against geopolitics

ATHLETICS, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Ukrainian government are at each other’s throats over the inclusion of Russian and Belarussian athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympics in 18 months. ABBEY MAKOE The IOC has stated its willingness to let athletes from the two countries heavily involved in the Ukraine war participate “under a neutral flag” at the games in France. In the aftermath of the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the IOC recommended that Russian and Belarussian athletes should be “indefinitely suspended” in international competitions. Russia was swiftly barred from participating in the UEFA games and the FIFA…

Feb

01

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s dysfunctional universities: the consequences of corrupt decisions

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

WHAT happens when those responsible for managing universities cannot trust each other to act with integrity? In a nutshell, as I discuss in my new book, Corrupted: A study of chronic dysfunction in South African universities, dysfunction is the consequence. This is the situation playing out in some South African universities – sometimes with fatal results. In early January 2023, a protection officer who was guarding Fort Hare University vice-chancellor Professor Sakhela Buhlungu was shot dead in an apparent assassination attempt. The shooting has been linked to ongoing investigations into corruption at the university. Author JONATHAN JANSEN, Distinguished Professor, Stellenbosch…

Jan

31

2023

By The African Mirror

Regina Twala was a towering intellectual and activist in Eswatini – but she was erased from history

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

BORN in South Africa and exiled to neighbouring Eswatini, Regina Twala was one of southern Africa’s most important intellectuals: a pioneering writer, academic, political activist and feminist. Why, then, has she been all but forgotten? That’s the question a new book sets out to answer. In the process Written Out: The Silencing of Regina Gelana Twala restores Twala to her rightful place in history. We spoke with the book’s author, historian Joel Cabrita. Author JOEL CABRITA, Associate Professor of History, Director of the Center for African Studies, Stanford University Who is Regina Twala and why is she important? Regina Gelana…

Jan

25

2023

By The African Mirror

Farewell Thulani Maseko, the People’s Lawyer: Sharp Bro, Best!

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

TSHIAMO RANTAO ON 21 October 2019 at 2258hrs Thulani Maseko sent me the following WhatsApp message: “My Boet, I hope you are well. I am in your country, Botswana, in Gaborone until Friday to oversee your elections! If you have time at some point to catch up.” At the time he sent the message, I had already retired to bed, and so I only saw it and responded the following morning, asking him where he was based in Gaborone. He responded: “At an Airbnb called City Mews by Independent Street Dear Cde”. Unfortunately, I could not meet with him since…

Jan

24

2023

By The African Mirror

SA President pays tribute to the country’s founding Speaker of Parliament

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

We celebrate the remarkable life of Frene Ginwala and pay tribute to her profound contribution to the cause of freedom, peace and progress. We remember a life that was as rich in experience as it was rich in meaning. Frene Ginwala played many parts. She was a journalist, an author, an academic, a barrister and a Parliamentarian. She was an activist, a feminist, a pan-Africanist and an internationalist. Yet, no roll-call of her many achievements can adequately describe the person she was nor the impact that she made in the course of her life. It is telling that among her…