Research
Where will this week take South Africans and Africans?
By Professor Nicky MorganHistorical solidarity creates a moral obligation to treat people humanely and fairly, but it does not require a state to surrender its responsibility to govern migration, protect public resources, or prioritize the constitutional rights of its...
An expensive lesson for the Western World
By Chloe MalulekeWhen the full text of the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran was released, analysts expecting the language of a balanced peace agreement found something rather different. What the document describes, point by...
A boy on a mat on the floor in Lagos
He grew up in one room. Not one room to himself — one room shared with nine brothers and sisters, in a polygamous family on Lagos Island, Nigeria. They slept on mats on the floor. His parents had nothing to spare. University tuition was an impossible dream. He was...
The meaning of the Phala Phala Concourt Decision
By Judge John Murphy After the recent judgment of the Constitutional Court concerning the Phala-Phala matter there are once again calls in the media for President Ramaphosa to resign from office. I sense a confusion regarding the judgement and thought it may be...
The Empire Has No Clothes
By Chloe MalulekeThere is a particular kind of moment in history when the powerful, in their arrogance, do something so naked, so unfiltered, that the mythology holding power together cracks in real time. The United States' war against Iran has been that moment. Not...
Choosing war yet again
By Fr David Neuhaus I write this with air raid sirens blaring in Jerusalem and Israeli war planes overhead. We are at war yet again. Israeli planes attacked Iran on Saturday morning, February 28,2026. The United States quickly joined in on the attack. Sites all over...
Fare thee well, Bra Joe
By Abbey MakoeBra 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...
Christmas is not a Western story – it is a Palestinian one
By Rev Dr Munther Isaac Every December, much of the Christian world enters a familiar cycle of celebration: carols, lights, decorated trees, consumer frenzy and the warm imagery of a snowy night. In the United States and Europe, public discourse often speaks of...
127 African women journalists write to jailed Burundian Sandra Muhoza as she returns to court
Nairobi, December 2025—On the first anniversary of the conviction of ailing Burundian journalist, 127 African women journalists have written her a joint letter expressing solidarity, calling for her unconditional release, and decrying her imprisonment as...
South Africans are flourishing more than you might expect – here’s why
By Richard G. Cowden South Africa is often portrayed in the media as a country struggling with inequality, corruption, crime, infrastructure collapse and public health challenges. But this isn’t the whole story. When South Africans are asked to describe their own...
Beyond the Headlines: South Africa’s Untold Story of Progress
By Sanjith Hannuman At a recent JP Landman presentation, the renowned political analyst revealed something startling: very few attendees had heard of Project Vulindlela—South Africa's most significant economic reform initiative since GEAR in 1996. This lack of...
Does Judaism support the views of South Africa’s Rabbi Goldstein?
Steven Friedman questions whether Rabbi Warren Goldstein’s defence of Israel reflects authentic Jewish teaching. He examines core Judaic principles that reject violence and highlight justice, showing how faith can be misused for hate—or reclaimed for peace.
ISRAEL IS BURYING JEWISH HUMANITY IN THE RUBBLE AND HUNGER OF GAZA
By Dr Mamphele Ramphele The ghastly pictures of famine coming out of Gaza are reminiscent of the pictures of emaciated Jews who survived concentration camps during the Second World War. That, within a few generations, the...
Juby Mayet – a journalist trailblazer
A biography of a trailblazer: Sam Mathe chronicles the life of Juby Mayet, a writer and political activist who blazed a trail for women in journalism. From her early days at the Golden City Post to her pivotal role in the Union of Black Journalists and her detention under the Internal Security Act.
Farewell Bra Ike Segola, an unsung hero of South African Journalism
Veteran journalist Joe Thloloe pays tribute to Ike Segola — a quiet titan of South African journalism. From the Sowetan newsroom to the frontlines of the media freedom struggle, Segola’s legacy lives in the countless lives and headlines he shaped behind the scenes. This is a farewell to a true subbing legend.
Not in Ashley’s Name: A Tribute and a Warning
By Henriette Abrahams Today marks 38 years since my comrade, mentor, and leader Ashley Kriel was murdered by the apartheid regime—shot and killed by Jeffrey Benzien on 9 July 1987. I was recruited onto the Student Representative Council (SRC) in 1983 by Ashley....
Book Review: Becoming Charlotte by Zubeida Jaffer
By Zipporah Maubane Zubeida Jaffer’s Becoming Charlotte is a masterful blend of fact and fiction, a literary undertaking that reintroduces us to one of South Africa’s most revered pioneers—Charlotte Mannya Maxeke. This is the second book by Jaffer to recount...
South Africa’s cricket team just made history: how the ‘chokers’ became world champions
By Mogammad Sharhidd Taliep When Kyle Verreynne hit the winning runs at the “home of cricket” (Lord’s Cricket Ground in London) on 14 June, South Africa erupted in celebration. The Proteas had just claimed their first major cricket cup in history. And nothing less...
Dear America, Don’t Weaponise South Africa’s National Contradictions
By Busani Ngcaweni Dear America, We write to you with hands still shaping the calabash of our democracy, kneading stubborn lumps of history into something resembling economic justice. We know our fractures — the colour line, the weight of poverty, roads unpaved, jobs...
‘One Quiet Early Morning in Beijing, the Dollar’s Crown Slipped’
By Alastair Crooke “I believe we must start from the notion of defeat leading to revolution - to grasp the Trump revolution”. “The experience underway in the United States, even if we don't know exactly what it will be, is revolution. Is it a revolution in the strict...
Pope Francis, A commitment to a simple lifestyle, the poor and interfaith harmony
By Adekeye Adebajo Pope Francis I (Jorge Bergoglio) who recently died, was the first ever pontiff from Latin America and the first non-European one in 1,300 years. The 88-year old Argentinian’s 12-year papacy transformed the 1.3 billion-strong Catholic Church into one...
Freedom Day: An Islamic reflection on the challenges facing young South Africans
By Aslam Fataar As South Africa marks another Freedom Day, we are invited to reflect not only on the democratic gains of the past but also on the unfinished work of justice, dignity, and beauty in public life. For many young South Africans, especially those navigating...
Scientists in South Africa and China Set New Quantum Communication World Record
By Heather Dugmore Working through the night on the rooftop of the Engineering building at Stellenbosch University, physicists Dr Yaseera Ismail and Professor Francesco Petruccione set a new world record by establishing the longest-ever secure quantum satellite...
A Moment of Presence: On Welcoming Ebrahim Rasool Home
By Aslam Fataar Among those gathered at Cape Town International Airport to welcome Ebrahim Rasool, wife Rosieda and son Tanwir, on their return from the United States—following Ebrahim's sudden designation as persona non grata—was a galvanising sense of...
Afriforum and Solidarity continue to draw on a toxic theology 40 years after the adoption of the historic Kairos Document
By McGlory Speckman (Photo by Zubeida Jaffer) As we celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Kairos Document in September 2025, we must look back at its impact on what it called ‘State Theology’ and how it influenced people’s behaviour. A case in point is the...
Can Pursuing Happiness, as the Founders Defined It, Bring the United States Together?
No government can guarantee our happiness. That depends on our own efforts and luck. But government can make it harder or easier to attain happiness.
The AstraZeneca vaccine and our ongoing uncertainty problem
This is far from the first time that the AstraZeneca vaccine—and media reporting about it—has caused confusion.
Goldman Sachs caught for massive global bribe-paying
By Frank Vogel* In an extraordinary act, Goldman Sachs — a leading U.S.-headquartered global bank — publicly declared not only that it accepts responsibility for engaging in massive global bribe-paying, but that it will also take the unprecedented step of cutting...
Tiny ripples can lead to tsunamis of change
By Ashley Forbes Death seems everywhere, as does suffering and despair. I recently visited an old comrade, a respected activist who feels isolated and severely depressed, grieves the loss of family and close friends who due to COVID19 have recently passed, and like...
In Response to the President: Reflections of a Freedom Fighter
By Ashley Forbes President Cyril Ramaphosa’s most recent intervention, though welcome, is not proportionate to the gravity of our situation. (President Cyril Ramaphosa’s letter to ANC members about corruption). In 1994 our people trusted their leaders to restore land...