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/ 15 February 2006

Collective castration

In her song, Soweto Blues, Miriam Makeba laments the absence of men when the police killed schoolchildren in Soweto in June 1976. In her view, men ought to take up their traditional and historic role of protecting their kith. It is moot whether throughout history men have always exercised such responsibility with distinction.

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/ 7 February 2006

A judge, a thief and a warder

Once upon a time, there was a judge, a bank robber serving time and the head of a prison. Then there was a famous video showing prison warders selling juvenile prisoners to older inmates for sex; drinking with prisoners; dealing in drugs; and selling firearms to prisoners. Since that watershed event, the three men have gone dramatically different ways.

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/ 3 February 2006

Judge hits back at DG

A KwaZulu-Natal judge has hit back at Justice Director General Menzi Simelane over the latter’s insinuation that judges involve themselves in areas outside their expertise at the expense of the government. "I am not going to mention names, but we had a judge who contracted a company to fix air conditioning," Simelane told the <i>M&G</i>.

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/ 27 January 2006

Losers both on and off the field

The Bafana Bafana players currently doing duty in the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Egypt suffered the shock defeat of their careers, and it was not only on the field of play. The players expected a groundswell of support for their demands for more pay, probably banking on the entrenched contempt for the South African Football Association.

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/ 20 January 2006

African Nations Cup difficult to predict

By the time the last matches in the World Cup and African Cup of Nations qualifiers were played, it was clear the winds of changes were sweeping all over the continent. Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa and Senegal all missed out on Germany 2006. In their place, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo are to parade their talents.

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/ 24 December 2005

The emerged blackoisie

The moon is full and the sky is cloudless. The music — between smooth jazz and contemporary adult — plays subtly in the background, not disturbing conversations. At the door, bouncers in dark suits ensure that those wearing takkies and those who can’t prove they are older than 25 are not allowed in.

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/ 23 December 2005

Ekasi is my roots

"’So which part of the Eastern Cape are you from?’ I have come to accept this and ‘Why have you got a girl’s name?’ as questions I will never stop having to answer. They are a constant reminder of how much is assumed from names. After a decade of freedom, I surely have the right to say where my roots lie", writes the <i>Mail & Guardian</i>’s Fikile-Ntsikelelo Moya.