In this new world where its lost thousands of votes does South Africa’s ruling ANC know who it is, how to be in opposition, or how it might fight its way back to winning ways?
EFF leaders Godrich Gardee, left, Julius Malema and Floyd Shivamvu brief journalists in Alexandra, near Johannesburg.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
The ghost of ‘Khwezi’ – the woman who accused Jacob Zuma of rape in 2006 – continues to haunt him, just as the spectre of rape continues to haunt South Africa.
Supporters of Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Front at an election rally.
Reuters/Skyler Reid
South Africans are expressing disillusionment with the African National Congress. But dissatisfaction with the ruling party does not automatically translate into support for other parties.
A new book lays bare England’s treachery and connivance in denying black South Africans the vote.
Britain’s acquiescence in the face of Afrikaner intransigence set the precedent for the progressive disenfranchisement of nonwhite South Africans and laid down the foundation for apartheid.
Supporters of Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters hold a mock coffin of the governing ANC during an election rally in 2014.
Reuters/Skyler Reid
Unscrupulous politicians are adept at using regressive story lines that feed insecurities. That could be dangerous ahead of South Africa’s hotly-contested municipal elections.
The Economic Freedom Fighters recently launched their manifesto in Soweto. Party leader Julius Malema (waving) is the master of political theatre.
EPA/Cornell Tukiri
Red berets, hard hats, overalls and domestic workers’ uniforms have become a prominent part of South African politics. But these are more than just props for the EFF political party.
Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), greets supporters at the launch of the party’s local election manifesto in Soweto.
EPA/Cornell Tukiri
Understandable anger about the excessive inequality in South Africa lies at the heart of the rise of the radical Economic Freedom Fighters. The problem is how the party wants to address these issues.
Posters depicting the ANC in happier times.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
Democracy resulted in a sea change in the governing ANC. In the past, only highly committed idealists joined the party. Today’s splits and factions are about patronage and clientelism.
Supporters of South Africa’s governing ANC at the party’s 104 anniversary celebration in Rustenburg.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
For more than 100 years South Africa’s ruling ANC and its leaders have often been able to speak to and for the nation with resonance and moral authority, their words matching actions. Not any more.
Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). He has openly questioned Nelson Mandela’s economic policy legacy.
Reuters/Skyler Reid
South African opposition politician Julius Malema has blamed economic policies put in place during Nelson Mandela’s era for the country’s high levels of inequality. He may have a point.
On the surface, 2014 appears to represent “business as usual” for the landscape of South Africa’s electoral politics. The African National Congress (ANC) has secured a fifth straight victory in the latest…
Victory dance: ANC says it will smash opposition.
EPA/Ihsaan Haeffejee
The African National Congress drew a crowd of more than 100,000 supporters to its final election rally in Soweto at the weekend and there was a palpably jubilant mood at the rally as supporters predicted…