South Africa celebrates Freedom Day this week amid growing discontent over misrule by President Zuma and the ANC. This has led to increased calls for ethical and caring leaders.
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Protests in South Africa have largely been confined to black working class townships and informal settlements. Is this beginning to change?
The promise of Easter, which Christians around the world celebrate, can be likened to the new struggle in South Africa for a new leadership and government that cares about the people.
The militant talk and antics by the ANC’s ex-soldiers may seem like theatrics, but they are a chilling reminder of how Zimbabwe used armed militia to crash opponents and democracy.
The latest backlash against South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma sees demands for his removal grow wider and deeper than ever before.
South Africa’s army is in a dire situation because the government hasn’t provided sufficient funding over the past two decades, hampering its ability to fulfil its duty.
It’s long past time the ANC acted to end the Zuma era. But does it have the moral backbone to act?
Are those ANC members critical of Zuma willing to stand up and be counted? Will Pravin Gordhan, popular hero of the hour, provide one further great service to the nation?
The focus will now be on how the social democratic and left-leaning members of South Africa’s cabinet – the “constitutionalists” – will respond to the reshuffle.
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille ‘s Twitter rant about colonialism caused an uproar as it brought back memories of a brutal and violent time in South Africa.
South African struggle stalwart Ahmed Kathrada believed in non-racialism to his core, even as others around him began to argue for an Africanist approach.
For Western Cape Premier Helen Zille to invite black South Africans, in a casual manner, to differentiate the legacies of colonialism is asking a lot.
As South Africa marks Human Rights Day and the 20th anniversary of its constitution it’s a good time to reflect on the problems it faces in making constitutional rights a reality.
South Africa’s social grants fiasco begs the question: was it orchestrated to undermine the judiciary and the constitution and hide sheer incompetence on the part of government?
Besides a reminder of a dark period in South Africa’s history, Human Rights Day also celebrates the country’s unique, highly acclaimed constitution which guarantees human dignity and equal rights.
South Africa’s Constitutional Court is in a fix. The only way to deliver social grants that support millions would be through a process that’s without validation, would be unlawful and invalid.
The growing incidence of racism on social media in South Africa suggests that there are consequences. Whether there ought to be criminal sanctions remains an ongoing debate.
It’s hard to award a prize to esteemed former leaders when so many are determined to die in office.
Vigilantism challenges the formal boundary between crime and punishment, between law and justice. But its largely been overlooked as a legal topic worthy of in-depth consideration.
The ANC should draw the lesson that South Africans are unlikely to tolerate the ongoing descent of their politics into the gutter without strident resistance - in the streets, if necessary.
Top contributors
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Political Scientist, University of the Western Cape
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Professor in Political Science, University of South Africa
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Professor of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor of Public Affairs, Tshwane University of Technology
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Professor of Political Studies, University of Johannesburg
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Professor of World Politics, SOAS, University of London
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Visiting Professor and Professor Emeritus, University of the Witwatersrand
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Emeritus Associate Professor in Public Law, University of Cape Town
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Professor and Head of Department of Political and Conflict Studies, Nelson Mandela University
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Chief Research Specialist in Democracy and Citizenship at the Human Science Research Council and a Research Fellow Centre for African Studies, University of the Free State
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Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of Leicester
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Professor of Urban Governance, University of the Witwatersrand
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Distinguished Reserach Professor, Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor of Digital Society, University of Glasgow
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Associate Professor: Department of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology, head of the Unit for Moral Leadership, Stellenbosch University
