Women’s month is a good time for us guys to strike back at that part of the women’s movement that says it is acceptable for women to slap men who have made them sufficiently angry. For a society striving for less violence, it is amazing how blasé we are about women smacking men who arrive late, cheat on them or generally behave like assholes.
The Cape High Court has found the Cape Town municipality guilty of unfair discrimination after it refused to employ a diabetic as a fireman. The court, in the precedent-setting case, in July ruled that the council was wrong not to give John Murdoch (31), an insulin-dependent diabetic, a job if the only reason for the decision was that he suffered from the "type one" variety of the chronic illness.
Poor Ismail Ayob. Even if he wins, he loses — because his opponent is Nelson Mandela. And so Mandela’s court case against his former lawyer Ayob, who he accuses of abusing his name for commercial purposes, is as good as decided, at least, in the public mind. As an attorney, Ayob depends on his professional reputation to stay afloat.
The sentencing this week of Donovan Moodley for the murder of Leigh Matthews has brought into the spotlight the efforts by the police to solve other highly publicised murders. On Thursday, Moodley was sentenced to life by the Johannesburg High Court.
Damn South Africa’s political and economic past. For, had our country developed along normal lines, Vuyo Jack, empowerment rating company Empowerdex’s CEO, would probably be better known as a musician or filmmaker. The man widely regarded as the de facto minister of black economic empowerment wishes he were doing something else.
A Durban cricket supporter has taken the United Cricket Board to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) after the sports body barred him from entering a cricketing ground because he was carrying an old South African flag. The man initially appealed to the HRC’s Durban office but his case was dismissed. He then took the matter on appeal to the HRC national office.
The mayor of Ehlanzeni district municipality in Nelspruit, Jeri Ngomane, should be disciplined for his part in giving council tenders to his "wives", a forensic investigation ordered by the Mpumalanga department of local government and housing has recommended. The probe has confirmed that Ngomane had relationships with women who benefited from council tenders.
The Mail & Guardian quizzes Nigerian Nobel laureate and civil society activist Wole Soyinka on the meaning of Nelson Mandela, the role of civil society in Africa and other burning topics.
The Barclays takeover of Absa is a done deal. The Johannesburg High Court on Thursday dismissed the application by anti-globalisation lobby Jubilee South Africa and Professor Dennis Brutus to stall the deal. Jubilee and Brutus opposed the takeover, saying Barclays had ”aided and abetted” the apartheid.
Dali Mpofu’s success as a savvy student leader, ICT Charter negotiator and black economic empowerment player has come back to haunt him with his appointment as CEO of the South African Broadcasting Corporation. Officially the SABC was not looking for a political appointee but previous appointments have shown that political gravity is as vital as boardroom talent.