Tag: SA Liberation Struggle

HUGH MASIKELA WAS NEITHER “A FREEDOM FIGHTER NOR POLITICAL ACTIVIST”

It is unfair for anyone to think or expect that Tribute to Hugh Masekela was about the celebration of a political icon. Yes, Bra Hugh, as the legendary musician was affectionately called, was …er a highly conscientized politically conscious artist. But he was neither a freedom fighter nor a political activist. More than anything, when […]

MEA CULPA: THE ABDICATION AND CO-OPTION OF THE BLACK MIDDLE CLASS

South Africa has more Black leaders in powerful institutions than ever before. Yet the distance between the Black middle class and the communities that shaped it continues to widen. This essay reflects on the quiet abdication and co-option of that class—and the responsibility that now confronts it. There comes a moment when confession must move […]

FARE THEE WELL, BRA JOE

Bra Joe Latakgomo was a gentle giant of Black journalism. Orally, he was not a man of many words. Almost a reserved personality, he treated people with respect. Even his objects of scorn, such as apartheid and its white establishments, he condemned with a sense of correcting, rather than ridiculing.  Joseph “Joe” Seshego Latakgomo breathed his last breath at Kalafong Hospital in Atteridgeville near Pretoria on […]

WHAT ON EARTH QUALIFIES HELEN ZILLE AS AN ‘ANTI-APARTHEID ACTIVIST’?

South African history records Saths Cooper as one of the SASO Nine — student leaders arrested in 1974 for their ‘anti-apartheid’ activities. Cooper was not “so-called.” He was, and remains, a central figure in the Black Consciousness Movement and a true liberation activist. Yet, in stark contrast, Helen Zille is also labeled an “anti-apartheid activist” […]

MAXIMUM DISCLOSURE. MINIMUM CONSEQUENCE. WELCOME TO MZANSI.

From boardroom liberation to procedural democracy: the quiet making of a government fluent in process and allergic to consequence. There was a moment, not announced and not televised, when South Africa quietly changed posture. Not the moment of liberation. Not the first election. Not the swearing-in ceremonies or victory speeches. A quieter moment. A moment […]

SPOKES, A SELFLESS SERVANT OF THE STRUGGLE THROUGH THE MEDIA

We buried Theophilus Sjuja Spokes Mashiyane. He was my childhood friend, a university mate and later a media colleague. We buried the bones, flesh and blood. But his spirit lives in our memories, hearts and souls. Friends and family spoke about his life, his achievements and intentions. However, I am not too sure if the […]

A PERSONAL TRIBUTE TO BHEKI MLANGENI – LEST WE FORGET

This week, 35 years ago, my brother, friend and dependable comrade, Bheki “Mabhekza” Mlangeni, got his young life cut short by a parcel bomb. The explosive(s) that were packed into what was referred to as a “Walkman” (cassette player) detonated the minute Cde Mabhekza switched on the device upon wearing its headphones. The explosion shattered […]

BRING BACK THE BLACK “LOST SHEEP” BACK TO ITS BLACK SHEPHERDS

I think it is about time we asked white people to bring back to us, black people. I’m talking about the black people White society, globally, has used and no longer has use of. Active observation has shown that there’s plenty of such. They’ve gone beyond expiry date. The Black folks could, I bet, find […]

BIKO: A LIGHT IN A TIME OF DARKNESS

Nothing describes and summarises Steve Biko’s brief but sufficient life on earth as does the title of the legendary Alice Walker’s 2007 book, We are the Ones We have Been Waiting For: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness. While he died at the tender age of 30, he would have turned 79 this coming December.  […]

IN MEMORIAM: JB VILAKAZI – FIFTY YEARS ON, A LIFE STILL MOURNED, A LEGACY STILL HONOURED

This month marks fifty years since the violent and unresolved death of Jabu Bernard Vilakazi, a man whose life was as generous as it was tragically cut short. As we pay tribute to this atypical liberation struggle hero, we remember a life that defied the odds and took a stand to be a protector of […]

“ABSURD FOR ANYONE IN ANC TO EQUATE SACP’S ELECTION CONTESTATION TO THE MKP – A PARTY FOUNDED ON ETHNIC MOBILIZATION AND CHAUVINISM” – SAMBATHA

A few days ago, I read with distraught an article in one of the country’s leading newspapers titled: “Consider the implications’: ANC officials warn SACP against contesting elections”. The opening sequence of the article goes further proclaiming the following: “The ANC’s national officials have warned the SACP it could suffer the same fate as former […]

FREEDOM PARK TO HOLD A SYMPOSIUM ON YOUTH ACTIVISM TO COMPARE AND REFLECT ON DIFFERENT EPOCHS

Freedom Park, in collaboration with Keeloz Global Entertainment, will on Saturday June 21 hold a symposium to focus on the role of youth activism through different political eras, before and after the advent of democracy in 1994. The main theme of the day for the engaging intergenerational dialogue will be titled: Youth Activism: Then and […]