south-africa

South Africa

South Africa, Post-Trauma

To what extent has South Africa and South Africans failed to address the aftermath of Apartheid, the resonances of which can be felt to this day? To what extent are we living in a post-traumatic space?

The Hooligans

A black coated Nylophor fence transverses the Union Building lawns the day #FeesMustFall marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria. The fence creating a ceremonial space for protest below and, at the top, the Union Buildings edifice with a tall sculpture of former president Nelson Mandela with his arms wide open in cruel irony. The […]

Africa is a Radio: Episode #13

Africa is a Radio show for October 2015. Sean and Elliot are on a break from the show, so Boima fills in with some new tunes from around the African Diaspora, with special shout outs to the South African student protesters, and young Afrobeats artists in the UK. Tracklist VVIP – Skolom feat. Sena DagaduAewon […]

Mother of the Nation

No victory was achieved for the ‪#‎Feesmustfall campaign last Friday. Let’s be clear about that. No fees have fallen. There is nothing to celebrate or get excited about. Fortunately, young people are not stupid nor naive as I discovered for myself. My intention of going to the march at the Union Buildings was to pledge solidarity as […]

The Permanent Exile

The Pan-Africanist intellectual and journalist Bennie Bunsee (79) passed away on October 10th in Cape Town, the city where he lived and worked since he returned from exile after South Africa’s first democratic elections. I was part of his Cape Town family. This ‘family’ was not related in the strictest sense, but gathered every now […]

Fallism For What

After the reawakening of South African student activism, what next? It is at the point of the rub between race, class and gender politics that the difficult questions present themselves.

How to report on the student protests in South Africa

Following protest action at the University of Cape Town and Wits University in Johannesburg against higher fees, students at Rhodes University (the students prefer to refer to the school as “The university currently known as Rhodes”) came out in protest against the “Minimum Initial Payment” that would require students in Rhodes residences to pay R45,000 […]