appeasement “The only defence that can be offered is that the issue was intensely debated by the commission, which ultimately succumbed to the fears of those who argued that Buthelezi’s appearance would give him a platform from which to oppose the commission and would stoke the flames of violence in KwaZulu-Natal, as indeed he himself […]

Sergeant at the bar Now that the dust is beginning to settle on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), probably because critics have begun to read the actual text of the report, it has become clear that the work of the TRC holds much of consequence for the future of our society. To take but […]

A player revolt, shuttle diplomacy and a letter from Nelson Mandela later, the Windies finally arrive, writes Andy Capostagno There were many good reasons to believe that it would never happen, but on Wednesday the West Indies walked on to the field at the Soweto Oval and cut the ribbon on their first ever official […]

Angella Johnson : VIEW FROM A BROAD Sophia Jardim was trawling the aisles of her local supermarket, one of her “children” precariously balanced on her hip, when a woman approached and lobbed a gob of spit at her. It was just another in a string of unpleasant attacks this 43-year-old divorcee has had to endure […]

Douglas Rushkoff : Online `I’m getting a call, hold on,” my friend explained before clicking off our phone conversation to check on another incoming call. He was the one who had called me – just seconds earlier, in fact. After hearing his voice on the machine (which I use as a filtration device) I figured […]

Donna Block : Share World For the past few weeks, my four-year-old son, an addict of British satellite television stations, has been driving me crazy, jumping off the sofa and the walls singing a jingle from a United Kingdom toy advert. In a loud, off-key voice he proclaims over and over how, “It’s a great […]

Mungo Soggot and Sechaba ka ‘Nkosi The public protector tried to shield the disgraced rector of Vaal Technikon, who was fired after a commission of inquiry found him guilty of financial impropriety and abusing his position. The technikon’s council ousted Professor Aubrey Mokadi and attached several of his assets this week despite a threat from […]

Charlene Smith General Andrew Masondo, an African National Congress political commissar in Angola in the 1980s, this week apologised to the brother of the man whose execution he ordered in 1981. Masondo and Mzwai Piliso, the ANC head of security at that time, have widely been held responsible for letting conditions in Angolan camps get […]

Denise Rack Louw `Seeing how the violence around us has affected the lives of the youth I work with is what motivated me to write this show,” says dramatist and director Jerry Pooe of his musical, Peace in the Valley, currently enjoying a run at Durban’s Bat Centre. Singer, guitarist and actress Tu Nokwe composed […]

Andrew Worsdale Chris Eyre’s debut feature film deservedly won both the Audience Award and the film- makers’ trophy at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the leading celebration of American Independent film-making. Based on the books The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie, Smoke Signals is a winning mix of comedy and […]