THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Sep

19

2020

America’s inflection point: four key things Africa must watch for

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

JOHN J STREMLAU, Honorary Professor of International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand AFRICAN scholars and policymakers face a tough challenge in analysing how the US presidential election on 3 November might affect Africa-US relations. This is because of the extreme polarisation of politics that has been growing for decades in the US. Simultaneous national crises have made matters worse. These suddenly erupted over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, its impact on the economy, and fresh evidence of white racism towards black Americans. In deeply divided America, four clusters of political political conflicts arise over issues of national identity, sustainable…

Sep

17

2020

By The African Mirror

A great tree has fallen …

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA THERE are very few in our society of whom it can be said that they inspired an entire generation to follow in their footsteps. It is not many who are of such distinguished reputation that they are known simply by their first name, not just in their own social circle but to the entire country. It is only the rarest of individuals upon whom the title ‘champion of the oppressed’ is bestowed. George Bizos was such a man. A great tree has fallen. A tree that gave shade to the patriots that founded our great nation and sheltered…

Sep

16

2020

By The African Mirror

2020: Nigeria’s PR Inflection Point

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MOLIEHI MOLEKOA THE term, 20/20, is an expression of your ability to see at a distance. Ironically, no one really saw this coming in 2020. The escalation of flu-like illness which originated in Wuhan, one of the world’s biggest “optics valleys” and advanced manufacturing hubs, to a global pandemic in just a matter of weeks transformed every industry and all aspects of our lives. It is against this backdrop that the Nigeria PR Report 2020 was launched. To the public relations industry’s credit, which has seen its fair share of upheavals, has remained consistently hardworking through the months of lockdown…

Sep

14

2020

By The African Mirror

Personal tribute to uncle George Bizos

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MAHLODI S MUOFHE UNCLE George, that’s how you preferred me to call you. You, at all material times, reproved when I addressed you as Advocate George Bizos. You took silk; I thought you would be happy at that time, when attempting my luck and called you, Advocate George Bizos SC, Iyo! the rebuke was harder than I anticipated. Our relationship thus remained one of you being my ‘ uncle ‘ and me; your ‘ son ‘. It continued that way until you; the late Andimba Toivo ya Toivo and I met together under one roof. I remember that day when…

Sep

12

2020

By The African Mirror

Remembering Steve Biko, who died 43 years ago today, in police custody

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MATTHEW GRAHAM, Lecturer in History, University of Dundee WHILE Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, and Desmond Tutu are rightly venerated for their role in opposing and ending white minority rule in South Africa, another leader of the liberation years has been remarkably overlooked: Bantu Steven Biko, who led the enormously influential Black Consciousness Movement. Four decades after his death in police custody on September 12 1977, he deserves to be recognised as one of the towering heroes of the anti-apartheid struggle. Black Consciousness re-energised black opposition to apartheid and helped draw the world’s attention to the brutality of South Africa’s white…

Sep

12

2020

By The African Mirror

The versatile George Bizos!

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

KHULU MBATHA Standing trial for having left the country illegally and so on, Nelson Mandela used the court’s platform to pronounce on principle and policies that his organisation stood for. After explaining his motives for joining the struggle of the African majority against a white minority oppressor group, Mandela stated: “The African National Congress further believed that all people, irrespective of the national groups to which they may belong, and irrespective of the colour of their skin, all people whose home is South Africa and who believe in the principles of democracy and of equality of men, should be treated…

Sep

11

2020

By The African Mirror

Central African Republic seeks justice for rural victims of sexual violence

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

PACOME PABANJI RESTORING court operations in rural parts of the war-torn Central African Republic is vital to tackling sexual violence and ensuring victims can seek justice, a top government official said, as the coronavirus pandemic fuels gender-based abuse. Rape has been widely used as a weapon of war in the country of 4.6 million, which is still largely controlled by armed groups despite the signing of peace deals in 2019 to end a long civil war, according to the United Nations. Aline Gisèle Pana, minister for women, the family and child protection, said the government's priority was to deploy magistrates…

Sep

11

2020

By The African Mirror

George Bizos: heroic South African human rights lawyer with a macabre duty to represent the dead

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

KEITH GOTTSCHALK, Political Scientist, University of the Western Cape ADVOCATE George Bizos, who has died at the age of 92, stands in the pantheon of South African human rights lawyers and anti-apartheid activists. Throughout his lengthy lifetime, he doggedly used the courts as his chosen terrain to fight back against a police state that blatantly violated the rule of law. His lifelong commitment to human rights left a legacy in South Africa’s constitution and bill of rights. He knew that democracy is not a destination but a lifelong quest: eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Bizos was among a…

Sep

08

2020

By The African Mirror

From slavery to colonialism and school rules: a history of myths about black hair

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

HLONIPHA MOKOENA, Associate Professor at the Wits Institute for Social & Economic Research, University of the Witwatersrand “YOUR hair feels like pubic hair.” That was one of the first insults that someone hurled at my hair. She was a junior at my school. She would touch my hair and repeat this sentence to all present. I had to threaten her with violence to get her to stop touching my hair and comparing it to her pubes. This is one of the first dilemmas that black people face: do I let people touch my hair and under what circumstances? The question,…

Sep

08

2020

By The African Mirror

Why Uganda’s ban on open-air campaigns could tilt the 2021 poll in Museveni’s favour

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

GEOFFREY SSENOGA, Lecturer of Mass Communications, Uganda Christian University UGANDA is going to conduct its first digital and mass media campaigns ahead of its 2021 general elections. This comes as the country contemplates holding a “scientific election” wherein social distancing guidelines will be observed. On 16 June 2020, the Uganda Electoral Commission issued a press release banning public rallies for the 2021 political campaigns as part of the country’s COVID-19 containment measures. Campaigns will now be conducted on radio and television, in newspapers and on the internet. This caused an immediate protest especially among opposition-leaning political groups and civil society…