Obituary
latest news & developments
Knox Chitiyo: Leading African Scholar
Tributes pour in for Zimbabwean-born academic and international security expert Tapera Knox Chitiyo, who has passed away at the age of 65.
A Colourful Life Cut Short: Tribute to Owen Ndlovu
South Africa mourns the tragic loss of former SABC Sports presenter and music rights activist Owen Ndlovu, who was found dead in Thokoza after being hijacked and kidnapped in…
We Will Read Professor Jason Arday’s work Into Eternity: Remembering a Scholar Who Refused the Limits of Empire
The passing of Cambridge sociologist Professor Jason Arday marks the loss of an intellectual force who challenged colonial epistemologies and championed Black radical scholarship…
RW Johnson dies, still inimical to the post-1994 dispensation
Richard William (RW) Johnson, a leading South African liberal public intellectual, journalist, analyst, and academic, has passed away at his home in Cape Town. Known for his…
Abdullah Ibrahim, jazz icon, dies at 91
South Africa has lost a musical giant. Pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim, the towering figure of Cape Jazz and one of the most influential voices in international jazz, has…
Peabo Bryson, the voice behind Disney’s greatest love songs, dies at 75
Two-time Grammy winner Peabo Bryson, whose voice graced Disney classics and R&B charts for five decades, has died after a stroke
There will not be another Maria McCloy
Those who loved her remember a woman who gave everything — to her art, to her city, and to every person lucky enough to have her in their corner
Maria McCloy made Johannesburg feel possible
Friends, creatives and a city in mourning gathered to celebrate the woman who helped shape how Johannesburg saw itself after 1994.
Cultural pioneer Maria McCloy dies at 50
Maria McCloy helped define post-apartheid urban culture through fashion, media, music and an uncompromising commitment to South Africa’s creative spirit
Albert Mazibuko and the echoes of isicathamiya
As South Africa mourns Albert Mazibuko, his life reveals the deep intersections between music, memory, displacement, and the resilience of black cultural expression.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o: A writer who refused to bow
The Kenyan writer is dead but his story will live on, the story of the colonialism and the betrayal of postcolonial elites and how to survive
Paddy Harper: A reporter’s reporter
Harper’s colleague and friend Niren Tolsi remembers the inimitable, eccentric, principled and much-loved storyteller
A personal tribute to Paddy Harper
Paddy cared deeply about underdogs, and journalistic excellence was intertwined with his extensive community networks
‘We have lost a leader and compatriot’ – Ramaphosa on Tito Mboweni’s death
Ramaphosa extended his condolences to Mboweni’s family and friends, calling the news “a shock”
Farewell James Matthews, and thank you for wrapping us in your words
The poet wrote about racism, oppression, ageing and hope with a trademark humility