In January I began the process of exposing an apparently corrupt network of magistrates, lawyers and police in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) that has allowed accused rhino poachers and rhino horn traffickers to evade conviction and jail time despite thorough, detailed evidence being presented against them. On 10 April of this year, the revered Public Protector of South Africa Thuli […]

“I want you to get up right now. Go to your windows. Open them and stick your head out and yell: I’m as mad as hell and I’m not gonna take this anymore! Things have got to change. But first, you’ve gotta get mad! You’ve got to say, I’m as mad as hell, and I’m […]

It started – as so much of my research has – with a hunch. For many years I have been completely overwhelmed by the high walls that South African suburbanites have created around their dwellings. They have always struck me as confronting, offensive and aesthetically unappealing. But, more than this, I couldn’t shake the feeling […]

While we all love our South African sunrises from the Highveld, Golden Gate, and Karoo to KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape… there are some for whom sunrise is not just a pretty photo. It’s the dawn of another harsh day… Capetonian photographer JUSTIN SULLIVAN captured this sunrise picture of Vrygrond (near Muizenburg, Cape Town). The white […]

Here are some of the things that non-Greeks may not know about Greek Easter: We don’t do bunnies. We don’t do chocolate. We don’t do pastels. We do lamb, sweet cookies, and deep red. The lamb is roasted and not chocolate, the sweet cookies are called Koulourakia and are twisted like a braid, and our […]

Now that the balance of power has irrevocably turned against President Jacob Zuma, we should be less concerned with exactly when he’s going to resign than with under what circumstances and with how we’re going to clean up the mess afterwards. The ANC, opposition parties and civil society should start preparing an exit strategy for […]

A Facebook post about race, and the ordinary and extraordinary people of this country, has gone viral… touching the hearts of many South Africans who recognise the truth in these words. With kind permission, we hereby republish the post, written by sports journalist Michael Vlismas after his experience at the Two Oceans Marathon in the Western Cape […]

The erstwhile Russian KGB called it dezinformatsiya and spent a large amount of energy and resources on it: the distribution of false information, malicious rumours, fabricated intelligence reports and forged documents, letters and photographs. The aim was to disrupt and discredit opponents, to deceive and obscure and to influence public opinion. Dezinformatsiya came straight from […]

There’s a great future in South Africa…but you must have a plan. Here’s mine: 1. There are many places much worse than South Africa….with grinding poverty, authoritarian governments and failed states. People still, somehow, make a life for themselves and their loved ones. Maybe there’s a lesson there for us. 2. Africa’s political leadership is […]

On my recent visit back to South Africa for two weeks, something really bothered me for a number of reasons. I was at morning market in Sedgefield (near Knysna), which is fantastic and has a unique group of visitors – many foreigners. I had taken out my camera and was walking around with the camera bag open […]

Four days ago there was a terrorist attack in Côte d’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast), in a resort town called Grand Bassam not far from the capital city of Abidjan. About 19 people were killed, plus the six gunmen who were reportedly affiliated with Al-Qaeda. My friend Henrike Grohs was one of the people killed… I hadn’t spoken with Henrike in […]

South Africa is weeping. I am weeping. There have been too many terrible incidents too close to home recently for me to ignore. It has been impossible not to be profoundly affected. Just in my little circle here in Cape Town: A month ago, a friend arrived home to find her beautiful, sweet and innocent 17-year-old daughter […]

Sometimes the first few notes of a song will take you back in time. A time you may not have thought about in 20 or 30 years. One minute you are sitting in traffic on a congested freeway in the stifling Texas heat. Or in London in the drizzle, or Perth or Prague. The next second you […]

Let me start with some context: I am a well-off white male – the international trifecta of privilege – and Afrikaans to boot, just to add some local flavour to my human stew of oppressiveness. Born eight years before the end of apartheid the only thing I really remember about the dark days are oddly vivid […]

It’s tough being a rich white male. Alright, now that I’ve got your attention … I’ve witnessed a tectonic shift in this country’s narrative over the last 18 to 24 months. Today, as a white South African, I’m feeling vulnerable. I feel like I can’t speak freely. I feel like I’m damned if I do, […]

The great continent of Africa seems to be the flavour of the month. As the world wakes up to its potential, I can’t help but cringe each time an “African tech” article is published on a popular medium like TechCrunch (the magazine where this article first appeared). The lack of data and “exotic charm” of […]

The last month has been a very interesting trial in patience and acceptance, as well as a tremendous learning curve on what South Africa is really like. I live outside the country and thus get all my news on our country via the media…and it’s not good. It began in December with a lost passport […]

Christmas and New Year have come and gone and somehow we are staring down the barrel at the end of January 2016 with the month of February looming. As a South African expat it’s been great to see all the Facebook posts about all the little tots and kiddies heading back to their first day of […]

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I think I speak for most Africans who grew up here that we have at one point in our lives wanted to go live somewhere else, far away. Preferably somewhere with snow and no power cuts. Somewhere with adequate water supply and quite possibly better job prospects. I was thinking of this a couple of […]

Ek is nie ‘n boer nie, ek en my man het ‘n hoewe buite Bloemfontein waar ons met lusern boer en ‘n paar skape het. Vandag was vir my ‘n sielsdodende dag. Ons Damara ram Oupa het vandag net gaan lê. Hy het goeie jare gehad en het vir ons baie dragtige ooie gegee. Ek […]

I am not a farmer. My husband and myself have a small holding just outside Bloemfontein where we farm with a few sheep and lucerne. Today was a heart wrenching day for me. My Damara ram “Oupa” refused to stand up. I tried everything to get him to get back up but alas. He was […]

On Saturday at the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate horse race in Cape Town, a woman (apparently drunk) insulted a group of other guests, repeatedly using the k word on them. The incident, which came on the heels of several other highly publicised racial incidents, was immediately publicised and the woman was quickly fired from her job, which she’d had […]

In South Africa we didn’t have the luxury of easing into the year – for us 2016 exploded into life, sparked by racist social media posts followed by a backlash that has us angry, confused, pained, despondent and some crying out for leadership. Leadership is a fascinating concept, a nebulous concept at times and at […]

Just before the last full moon of 2015, I was out in the early evening walking down a dry river bed in a densely populated rhino area with three field rangers and a dog. Armed to the teeth, the K-9 unit walked quietly either side of me. Sure I felt safe, but I was nervous. […]