THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Jul

24

2020

Andrew Mlangeni 1925-2020: South Africa loses the last of the Rivonia triallists

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

KEITH GOTTSCHALK, Political Scientist, University of the Western Cape ANTI-apartheid struggle hero Andrew Mokete Mlangeni, who died this week at the age of 95, was the last surviving of the eight African National Congress (ANC) activists who were sentenced to life imprisonment in the infamous Rivonia trial in the 1960s. Mlangeni spent 20 of his 26 years in jail on Robben Island alongside fellow triallist Nelson Mandela and other luminaries of the ANC. He symbolised the generations who had joined the ANC during the most dangerous period of resistance to apartheid. No rewards, but only vindictive persecution, including detention and…

Jul

23

2020

By The African Mirror

Remembering Kaizer Nthambeleni Phalanndwa

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

VONANI BILA and MAANO TUWANI SOUTH AFRICAN poet and scholar Nthambeleni Kaizer Phalanndwa, who died at a Makhado, Limpopo hospital on Tuesday, was an epitome of a living and vibrant culture – a symbol of hope that even a rural kid from a dusty village can leave a mark on the annals of history. During the annual cultural dances of tshigombela, malende and tshikona which were a common feature at the University of Venda and in the community in the early 90s, Phalanndwa would sing with charisma and dance tshikona in file or in the circle with the ordinary. This…

Jul

22

2020

By The African Mirror

Andrew Mlangeni in his own words…

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IN honour of Andrew Mlangeni, a true South African hero, leader, grandfather, golfer and icon, the African Mirror today publishes a powerful speech he delivered two years ago when he was conferred with an honorary doctorate by Rhodes University. “My name is Andrew Mokete Mlangeni, born of farm tenants as a result of racially legislated land dispossession of the Land Act of 1913. I was born under the farm labour tenancy system. Which means from the day I was conceived, I was destined to be a future farm worker because of the labour tenancy system. A condemnation which many farm…

Jul

22

2020

By The African Mirror

What’s behind the mass protests in Mali?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MOHAMED SALAHA and PHILIP KLEINFELD PROTESTORS took to the streets of Mali’s capital recently for the latest in a series of mass demonstrations calling for the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who has struggled to stem rising jihadist and inter-communal violence in northern and central parts of the country after seven years in power. Malian analysts say the protests – which began last month – represent the most serious threat 75-year-old Keita, commonly known as IBK, has faced since he was elected president a year after a military coup helped extremist groups take control of large chunks of Mali’s…

Aug

01

2020

By The African Mirror

Sudan peace talks offer little hope for protesters in Darfur

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NAFISA ELTAHIR and KHALID ABDELAZIZ EFFORTS to bring stability to Sudan's conflict-ridden Darfur region have failed to reassure residents fearful of rising violence which has cast a shadow over peace negotiations. The fall of President Omar al-Bashir in 2019 raised hopes that Arab militias he supported, which have been accused of atrocities, would be reined in under the civilian-military government which replaced him. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok is negotiating with rebel groups that had fought Bashir. But they hold little sway 17 years after a conflict which killed 300,000 people and displaced 2.5 million erupted. Over the last month, 100…

Aug

08

2020

By The African Mirror

Eternal mothers, whores or witches: being a woman in politics in Zimbabwe

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Gibson Ncube, Associate Professor of French, University of Zimbabwe The political arena in Zimbabwe is a de facto male space in which women play very peripheral and insignificant roles. Author and scholar Panashe Chigumadzi sums the situation up in an op-ed article, writing that It is not the place of women to rule, especially over men. Women who dare to aspire to rule are considered to be wild and unruly. Grace Mugabe, the former first lady of Zimbabwe, is one such woman, I argue in a paper on the tropes used to describe women in politics in the southern African…

Aug

07

2020

By The African Mirror

‘UN Security Council must act against Israel’s violations and illegal actions’

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

JERRY MATJILA WE are meeting here today, as we do every month to discuss the situation in the Middle East, including the question of Palestine. Unfortunately, there is very little progress in resolving this conflict despite the continued and necessary focus on this conflict that has spanned over seven decades. Month after month we have heard of continued settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, we have heard of the seizure and demolitions of Palestinian land, we have heard of the continued violations of the rights of the Palestinian people and the rejection of the internationally recognised parameters for direct…

Aug

06

2020

By The African Mirror

How artists have preserved the memory of Zimbabwe’s 1980s massacres

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

GIBSON NCUBE, Associate Professor, University of Zimbabwe “LET people vent,” lamented performing artist and television personality Kudzai Sevenzo in a tweet as Zimbabweans on social media reacted to the death of Perence Shiri. Shiri was the Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement. Zenzele Ndebele, an investigative journalist, also spoke out in a tweet: “Shiri gets to be buried like a hero. We never got a chance to mourn our relatives who were killed by the 5th Brigade.” Shiri was a military man who commandeered a praetorian army that killed over 20,000 civilians in the provinces of Matabeleland and the…

Aug

04

2020

By The African Mirror

South Africa needs better food price controls to shield poor people from COVID-19 fallout

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IHSAAN BASSIER, Phd candidate in Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst REFILOE JOALA, Researcher and PhD candidate at PLAAS, University of the Western Cape THANDO VILAKAZI, Executive Director of the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development, University of Johannesburg COVID-19 has wrought havoc on poor households in countries across the world. In South Africa, more and more people are facing hunger resulting from mass job losses and small, poorly implemented supplementary cash grants. On top of this the pandemic has put in stark relief the country’s poorly understood food system, in which powerful firms operate with little oversight while vulnerable…

Aug

03

2020

By The African Mirror

The Grand Renaissance Dam: what’s at stake and what could break the deadlock

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MAHEMUD TEKUYA, JSD/Ph.D candidate, University of the Pacific The Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam is inching closer to completion, rekindling the environmental and political controversies that have dogged the project from the start nearly 10 years ago. In addition, recent satellite images show a steady increase in the amount of water being held back by the new mega dam. Mahemud Tekuya explains what’s at stake. The current dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is directly linked to colonial-era Nile treaties. During the scramble for Africa, controlling the source of the Nile was a major colonial goal for the British. In…