In celebration of Africa Day, Wits invited internationally renowned South African poet to perform and teach students.
At age 73, famous poet, writer and activist, Diana Ferrus continues to dazzle audiences with her spoken word.
Born in 1953 in Worcester, in the Western Cape, Ferrus started writing poetry at the age of 14. She went on to study psychology and sociology at the University of the Western Cape in 1988. She then did a Master’s degree with a focus on Black Afrikaans women writers.
Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela, the mixed heritage writer of Irish and Khoisan explained how her hometown had an influence in her writing — specially to placate her, when hardships arose.
“The winters were so cold that there was ice on the top of the mountains. That has been etched into my mind”, she said, in addition to this, she grew up in a household where there was domestic violence and child abuse.
Furthermore, people in Worcester worked in the surrounding vineyards which paid them with alcohol — leading to the area having the highest foetal alcohol abuse in the world.
She recalls how the street that separated the coloured area from the white area was nicknamed “Kanteen Straat” (Canteen Street) and those who wanted to shop for groceries on the other side of the street would have to pass this road, “many people never got there” because they stopped to drink in the bars instead.
However, Ferrus is proud of her upbring: “The town formed me. Those were my formative years”, she said.
She won a fellowship to study at Utrecht University in the Netherlands in 1998. It is here that she wrote her most famous poem for Sarah Baartman, I’ve Come to Take you Home. Ferrus said she was homesick at the time and learnt about Sarah Baartman again in a course entitled, “Sexuality in the Colonies.”
Baartman was a Khoikhoi woman who was taken by French travelers in the 19th century to be displayed in Paris as a freak show where she died, and her remains were kept and displayed.
Ferrus said when she stared out of her window in Utrecht, “the stars were so far away. If I was in my own country, I’d be able to touch them.” It was then that she heard a voice in her say “take me home” and, she thought, “that must be Sarah. In fact, it might have just been me,” she said jokingly.
Poet Diana Ferrus teaches the Wits community to write their own poetry in a workshop on May 24 at the Wits Writing Centre. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
Ferrus has written many other poems since then about South Africa. One such poem, My Mother Was a Storm, was inspired by the murder of the University of Cape Town’s student Uyenene Mrwetyana in 2019. “I was angry about that, ” she explained.
“I’m disappointed in the patriarchy and the corruption and the violence.” She continued, “It is too far gone now, I do not know how it will change. Unless we put women in charge.”
Philippa De Villiers, Diana’s friend of 15 years and creative writing lecturer at Wits said, “I love her poetry. She is an example of a tradition that has been overlooked by academy, that of the community poet. She carries the dreams of a community. It is the raw animal of poetry.”
Nosipho Mngomezulu, lecturer at the Anthropology department at Wits ,who uses Ferrus’ poetry in her teaching said that her work is important for social science students.
“I use her work to humanize Sarah Baartman and make her a three-dimensional person.” Ferrus humanizes history through storytelling, she explained.
FEATURED IMAGE: Diana Ferrus performs one of her poems in celebration of Africa Day on May 24 at the Wits writing centre. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
Rosebank’s newest eatery is the coziest spot for winter in Johannesburg.
Fugazzi opened its doors in April 2023 at the Zone in Rosebank Mall to serve soul-warming Italian food with a twist.
This is the latest restaurant venture by Warren Murley, owner of other successful restaurants such as Proud Mary, which is opposite to Starbucks in Rosebank and Mama Samba which lies just next door to Fugazzi. Manager of Fugazzi Marco De Costa told Wits Vuvuzela jokingly that Murley has “a bit of a chokehold on the area.”
It takes a special restaurant to be full of chattering people on a cold Tuesday night and Fugazzi achieved just that.
The cosy wood-finished interior is influenced by 1980’s New York diners, with long red booths lining the walls and 80’s inspired green tiling and eclectic artwork, adding colour to the large, open space.
The vision behind the restaurant’s concept pays homage to the way Italian cuisine has been altered by restaurants in the United States of America. This is why Fugazzi is no regular Italian restaurant, “if you want Andiccio’s, there’s one on every corner, but if you want Fugazzi, this is the one and only” said De Costa, adding that: “Fugazzi means different or messed-up” which means that everything served comes with a twist from the traditional Italian recipe.
The interior and bar of Fugazzi restaurant in Rosebank. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
When entering the restaurant, the warmth from the surplus of gas heaters with bright orange flames flickering around the room immediately makes one forget about the winter outside. The price of the food ranges from R80 to R250 for a main course meal, stretching a student budget slightly. The most affordable beverage option is a soda float or an ice-tea, which will set you back R50, while the pricier cocktail and martini selection ranges up to R100.
The service was efficient and friendly as the waiter was happy to recommend both food and beverages; and brought everything within a reasonable time.
Fugazzi prides themselves on their wine collection, and I was impressed by the recommendation of a glass of Mason Road Chenin Blanc, which was smooth and lightly wooded. It was not too dry and easy to drink.
For vegetarians, the many menu options which catered for me were a pleasant surprise. The waiter’s recommendation was the linguini Aglio e Olio, a linguini served in a sauce made of olive oil, garlic, chilli and cherry tomatoes. The dish was delightfully presented in a tangle of pasta on a long oval plate.
The linguine aglio e olio and the pasta Genovese with glasses of red and white wine inside Fugazzi. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
The food was flavourful and comforting to eat, however the twist from traditional Italian food is difficult to notice. In addition, the waiter said that they don’t make their own pasta dough and so one cannot help but feel that the simplicity of such dishes, does not warrant a price of R95.
The warm interior of the restaurant and the carb heavy nature of the tasty food makes this a great place to go to escape the cold, as winter approaches.
FEATURED IMAGE: The entrance to Fugazzi restaurant in the Zone at Rosebank Mall. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
Prince Mashele’s latest book focuses South African citizens’ gaze on their next political leader
UPDATE: On Monday May 22, Jonathan Ball Publishers withdrew The Outsider from retailers, effectively pulling the book from shelves. The publishers of the supposed “unauthorised” biography, did so in reaction to allegations made by Brutus Malada, ActionSA member and a researcher on the book project, that a sum of R12,5 million was paid to the author, Prince Mashele by the book’s subject, Herman Mashaba.
In a statement, Jonathan Ball publishers said they were “left with no option but to withdraw The Outsider from the market” as they see Mashaba’s involvement as “a material non-disclosure…and as a breach of trust.”
Mashele has since appeared in a number of broadcast interviews, attempting but failing to dispute the allegations. His utterances include pointing the finger at the publishers for the book’s title, calling the payment a loan and routinely and inconsistently citing ‘binding contracts’ when asked relevant questions.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Former Johannesburg Mayor, Herman Mashaba visited the Wits Business School to help launch the book, ‘The Outsider’ written by well-known political analyst and author Prince Mashele. The launch took place at the Donald Gordan Hall earlier this week.
The book follows the personal, financial and political life of Mashaba, from his development as an entrepreneur to the formation of his own political party, ActionSA.
This is the second book written by Mashele, the first being, The Fall of the ANC, What Next? , which outlined the problems and failures that currently plague the ANC’s leadership. Mashele explained that he wrote his latest book because he felt he had not answered the question of who is next to lead South Africa – but he realised that maybe the answer lies outside of the ANC.
Mashele identified a global trend of non-politicians entering politics, “outsiders”, using examples such as the banker Emmanuel Macron in France and Donald Trump in the United States of America. In South Africa’s case, Mashele pustulates in his book that Mashaba is one such outsider.
The former mayor was primarily a businessman, having founded the successful company, Black Like Me in 1985 at the height of apartheid. Mashaba joined the DA after losing faith in the ANC and became mayor of Johannesburg as representative of the DA in 2016. He resigned from the party in 2019, after disagreements with other members. It is after this experience that he formed Action SA in 2020.
The fall of the ANC, according to Prince Mashele, began with the election of Jacob Zuma as president in 2009. Since then, support for the party has waned, as the country battles with corruption, load shedding and unemployment. After losing control of Tshwane, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay in 2016, coalition governments took over which caused further chaos as disagreements between parties arose. Mashaba was one of few mayors to successfully balance the interests of the coalition in Johannesburg between the EFF and the DA.
However, instead of solely focusing on the contents of the book, the audience members shifted the focus of the panel to the shaky political landscape field of South Africa, questioning Mashaba on what he will bring to the table if he becomes the next president.
Not all impressions of the book were positive. Professor Themba Maseko another panelist, said that the book “does not give the reader [Herman Mashaba’s] vision for the future” adding, “I now know what the problems are but not the solutions.”
The audience further emphasised this critique, asking Mashaba to provide specific points of action that he would take to improve the country’s political and economic situation. Mashaba ambiguously responded by saying, “watch this space.”
Mashaba told Wits Vuvuzela that young readers of the book can learn “personal responsibility and independence” from his career as a businessman and as a politician. “I have been invited to speak at many business schools over the years and I say the same thing; don’t tell me about role models. If Herman Mashaba is my role model, others will follow.” Mashaba encourages young people to take charge of their own lives and work to being their own role models.
The biography was written without any input from Mashaba himself. Aside from the facts, Mashele had full artistic license with the text. This is why he calls it an “unauthorized biography.” Nicole Duncan, one of the book’s editors from Jonathan Ball Publishers, said that the editors did their best to “keep Prince’s voice Prince’s voice.”
FEATURED IMAGE: The discussion panel for the book launch of The Outsider held at the Donald Gordon Hall at Wits Business School on Tuesday, May 9. From left to right: Professor Themba Maseko, Herman Mashaba, Prince Mashele, Stephen Grootes. Photo: Kimberley Kersten.
Young women artists and entrepreneurs, some still at university, gathered to display their work and celebrate their creativity.
Constitution Hill’s old Women’s Jail held Ode to the Woman, an exhibition and pop-up market on Sunday, May 7 to showcase women artists and business owners.
The event was organised by the community called Among the Lillies, who are frequent hosts to creative happenings in Johannesburg. On the choice of location for the exhibition, Sandile Pooe the technical manager, said that the old women’s jail was “culturally, historically and artistically” appropriate for an event which brings together a creative community of African women.
One such exhibiting artist was Wits’ own Zukhanye Ndlaleni, a fourth-year fine arts student, chosen by curator Penina Chalumbira for her collection of paintings of a character she calls “Blue”.
Ndlaleni told Wits Vuvuzela that her art is inspired by her own personal experiences of mental illness. This collection in particular deals with “derealisation and depersonalisation.She uses the colour blue “to situate different spaces” and for the Constitution Hill display, she chose “dreamscape”.
She evokes the idea of healing through symbols of tea and pillows featured alongside the character. Writing on the event’s social media page, Ndlaleni said, “When individuals encounter my work, I want them to get a sense that they are not alone, that we are all navigating this space together … We all have a little Blue in us, but to different degrees.”
Being a part of this event was an honour for Ndlaleni who said she was thrilled to be exhibiting alongside artists she had followed on social media for a long time, “It’s flattering to be considered on par with them.”
One of Kaebetswe Seema’s collages hangs on the walls of the Women’s Jail at Constitution Hill on Sunday, May 7, 2023 while visitors to the exhibition admire the art. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
Also featured at the exhibition were Tshegofatso Tlatsi, a recent graduate of the University of Johannesburg, for large-scaldrawings and paintings exploring her “personal experiences as a black female existing”, and Kaebetswe Seema, a University of Pretoria fourth-year fine arts student for her work using collage and mixed media to explore identity.
Pooe emphasised the value of collaboration in organising the affair. Collaboration was definitely the word of the day in an exhibition combining market stalls, visual artwork as well as musical performances by women DJs. The market stalls surrounding the art featured young women entrepreneurs and their products, such as Refilwe Modise, co-owner of the Enjoyment Co. Her small business is based in Linden, Johannesburg and produces environmentally friendly scented candles. Modise said she was happy to be involved in Ode to the Woman. “I’m hoping people will see us and know what we do [by the end of the day].”
FEATURED IMAGE: Zukhanye Ndlaleni’s oil painting, The Green Teacup is displayed at the Women’s Jail on Constitution Hill on Sunday, May 7, 2023. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
The club launched an open climbing event to attract climbers and non-climbers alike, to try their hand at indoor rock climbing.
On Tuesday, May 2, the mountain club opened the indoor-climbing wall to all in the launch of a tournament that is open to the public, but the public didn’t show.
The bouldering league is taking place for the first time in three years at the multi-purpose sports hall on Wits main campus. According to Uwais Khan (22), the administrative head of the club, the event used to be an annual occurrence. This changed at the onset of the pandemic of 2020, preventing large events from happening by law.
Wits Mountain club members and alumni climb the indoor rock-climbing wall in the open boulder league on May 2 at the multi-purpose sports hall. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
The turnout for the event was dismal, with only a handful of Wits alumni joining the club in facing the wall. Khan said it is to be expected, “It’s the first event after the long weekend,” but he is optimistic that the numbers will improve as the tournament goes on. The league will continue twice a week for four weeks, entries remain will reopen until the 11th of May for those who want to win prizes (vouchers to City Rock climbing center).
The event costs visitors R50 to enter per evening, funds raised will go to the Dawson fund, a Wits fund which pays for expenses for those interested in climbing but who cannot afford it. “The major goal is to increase the diversity of climbing” said Jonothan Faller (21), chair of the club.
The club also opened the event up to everyone to build back the support for the sport which has been waning for a few years now. Faller said that the club hopes to hold a national university competition at the end of 2023, which would be the first in “a very long time”.
Bouldering is climbing which does not use protective gear. Faller told Wits Vuvuzela that this type of climbing is made up of complicated courses that don’t reach dizzying heights, but rely on problem solving skills as well as creativity in scaling the wall.
Lea Timmermans (22), a climber from the mountain club, said, “I entered to see how much I’ve improved [since joining the club this year]” and added that it’s an interesting challenge.
A climber prepares to take on the sixth course of the league on Tuesday May 2 at the multi-purpose sports hall. Photo: Kimberley Kersten.
FEATURED IMAGE: A climber chalks up her hands before climbing the indoor wall on May 2 at the multi-purpose sports hall. Photo: Kimberley Kersten.
The Wits anthropology department puts to test the ideas around benevolent aid from developed to developing countries.
Professor of political science at the University of Amsterdam, Polly Pallister-Wilkins has criticized how rich countries have used humanitarian aid to infantilise third world countries.
Dr Pallister-Wilkins was a guest for the Wits Anthropology department’s event titled, Humanitarian Futures,named after a chapter she co-wrote in the book, The routledge international handbook of critical philanthropy and humanitarianism. The discussion was the second in a series of “collaborative, multidisciplinary” seminars held by the anthropology museum, with a mix of local and international visitors. The even took place on Wednesday, April 26.
The paper argues that aid from the global north to countries like South Africa in the global south help keep a power hierarchy in play. This is because aid from the western world comes with financial conditions that economically cripple the countries that receive it.
To avoid perpetuating this power dynamic, Dr Pallister-Wilkins explained that the goal is to have a “mutual aid system, a grass roots approach”, which means that countries help themselves and their neighbours through local organisations, without relying on first-world countries.
She said this can be built by empowering crisis affected communities to lead aid programmes. These efforts, according to the professor, could be supported financially by historically colonizing countries in “reparative justice” as a way of paying back countries that were damaged by colonization.
Attendees in the audience questioned her about the validity of her suggestions. Questions around how one makes aid local without building a new power struggle inside countries based on who receives the reparative justice money and who does not were asked.
In response to these concerns, Dr Pallister-Wilkins said that although she believes in her ideas, however, truthfully, she does not know how to practically get around some concerns which were raised.
Attendee Bohlale Lamola, an anthropology honours student at Wits said that she came to the seminar to think about her own research “on how the corporate world is moving to take a humanitarian stance” and if this stance is superficial or real.
Lamola said she got confirmation from the seminar that “there is still a lot of work to be done” in making humanitarian ideas that can actually be used practically for positive change.
FEATURED IMAGE: Amsterdam professor Polly Pallister-Wilkins sits between Wits anthropology professors Kholeka Shange (left) and Kudukwashe Vanyoro (right) in a seminar at the Wits anthropology museum. Photo: Kimberley Kersten.
More than 85 protea bushes in the nature reserve have fallen victim to a mysterious attacker.
The race is on for researchers to save the protea bushes of the Melville Koppies nature reserve from being wiped out completely by an unknown, undocumented natural force.
On Sunday, April 16, a group of 10 local volunteers and researchers from Wits and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) gathered to spray a mixture of soap, methylated spirits and cooking oil on the Koppies protea bushes to kill an unidentified insect believed to be killing the plants. The mixture was created through trial and error by the nature reserve’s conservation committee, and seems to have had positive results in recent weeks.
According to Jessica Howard, a third-year BSc student at UJ doing research on the Koppies proteas, the 85 identified dying protea bushes all appear to suffer from the same ashy black substance on the back of the leaves and the presence of a mysterious, unknown insect.
Because little is known about the insect, student research has focused on trying to understand and identify the suspect. “We think that it could be an unknown, under-researched or exotic psyllid (lerp), part of the Psyllidae family under the Aphidoidea superfamily,” Howard said. Similar to mosquitoes, these insects suck the life out of the host plant to survive.
A sign of infection among a cluster of proteas at the Melville Koppies is eggs of an unknown insect on the leaves. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
Tam Scheideger, head of conservation at the Melville Koppies watched the infection rapidly spread. “In October [2022] there was one tree in a cluster that was infected and by April [2023], 25 trees in that cluster had become infected.”
The infection is mostly affecting the north side of the park but has recently spread to the ridge and the south-facing side, threatening to infect every Protea caffra in the park. “It seems that once a protea is infected, it takes around a year for it to completely die,” said Howard.
The start of the infection is difficult to spot. The noticeable difference between healthy plants and infected plants is the blackness on the back of the protea leaves and small, brown bumps on the leaves of the plant, in which the eggs of the insect can be found. However, once the infection takes over, the bushes turn black, shrivel up and die. These can be spotted throughout the north side of the park.
According to the Melville Koppies website, the nature reserve is a well-used tool for teaching and learning at Wits. According to volunteers at the park, departments which utilise the Koppies include the geology department as well as the departments of archaeology and of animal plant and environmental sciences.
Student researchers such as Howard hope that DNA from surviving plants can be used to develop a cure for the disease, but this will take time and will depend on getting to the root cause of the deaths.
FEATURED IMAGE: A volunteer sprays an infected protea bush at the Melville Koppies with a special mix of insecticide on Sunday, April 16, 2023. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
Milk the Beloved Country is a provocative historical exploration of South Africa’s past and present.
“I am not just reflecting on certain key episodes in our country’s story, I am at the same time questioning things that, to an extent, have not received the contemplation and deliberation they deserved.”
It has been just over a month since South African author and Wits business school graduate Sihle Khumalo’s book, Milk the Beloved Country hit the shelves in bookstores and e-commerce sites.
The subject of Khumalo’s newest book is a hybrid of travel and history, which begins by exploring the landmarks and names of South Africa through a historical lens. The book reflects on South Africa’s history and asks, “how did we get here?”
Ntokozo Ndlovu, South African Facebook book reviewer said the “interesting part of this book is about the naming of towns and cities” which makes for “thought provoking history”. An impressed Ndlovu said, “[Khumalo] is incapable of writing a boring sentence.”
The author’s approach to non-fiction utilises irony and humour as Khumalo mixes historical fact with myth, anecdote and controversial opinion. With discussions such as the failure of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), filling in gaps in South Africa’s colonial history and a name-and-shame approach to dealing with powerful groups such as the Broederbond, Khumalo confronts the reader with an uncomfortable deep dive into some of the issues which have been skimmed over in modern texts.
The image of the past which comes to life on the pages of this book is a multicultural, multifaceted history which describes our complex nation in a way that a chronological, fact-based timeline could not do, although the author’s interrupting and digressive style can at times be difficult to follow. As Khumalo writes, “History, like life, is complicated.”
In the context of South African history, Khumalo’s book is a refreshing antithesis to previous historical analyses of South Africa which tended to fall either on the side of Afrikaner nationalism (pre-1994) or African nationalism (post-1994) which discredited counter-ideologies and portrayed the historical as natural and inevitable. Khumalo examines the ifs, buts and maybes and the various available perspectives on the past.
The book also discusses the “power brokers” of our nation, including the heavy influence of the Broederbond during apartheid South Africa, the influence of communism in the formation of a new South Africa and the legacy of freemasonry in South Africa. Each of the topics are explored with nuance and a colloquial, conversational style.
Khumalo clearly is not afraid to hold up a mirror to our, as he calls it, “perfect-from-a-distance-but-very-structurally-shaky-rainbow nation” and explains in detail who is responsible for the situation we find ourselves in today.
In reflection on the text, Khumalo asks vital questions such as, “When did the feeding frenzy on state resources begin?” to which he answers that South Africa’s corruption and nepotism problems extend so far back in its history, one might believe “we have always been led by rogues”.
In an interview with Polity, Khumalo said that his reason for writing this book is that he believes it is time, “to have open, frank conversations about the state of the nation…It is time that we hold our leaders responsible.”
Throughout the book, the danger of leaving out certain histories in favour of upholding the image of a rainbow nation is criticized by Khumalo, who writes, “Due to our obsession with the ‘rainbow nation’…and all those fluffy terms, we lose endless opportunities for having genuine national conversations and instead end up putting lipstick on a pig.” Khumalo’s retrospective on South Africa examines the whole pig in a witty and daring way.
Copies of the book are available online for R300 in its paperback form on Loot, and Takealot.
Vuvu rating: 7.5/10
FEATURED IMAGE: Sihle Khumalo’s Milk the Beloved Country soft cover. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
Reading enables me to escape the confusing and confining circumstances of my own world through gaining a deeper understanding of others.
Literature has always been my escape from everyday life, and when I do face real people, it is also the reason that I resist judging a book by its cover, so to speak.
When life becomes hard for me, such as in 2020 when the covid-19 pandemic trapped me within the walls of my house and I experienced grief for loved ones and family members, I turned to books to escape. Sometimes the characters I used to escape were heroes who looked at the world and tried to make it better. Other times, the characters I read were villains. However, when I read a story, even one whose main character was someone who did bad things, I still grew to understand them, sometimes even root for them. In escaping from the confusing and confining world of my own, I entered the world of others.
A 2012 study by researchers from Dalton State College and Converse College in the US, explains the phenomenon of ‘rooting for the bad guy’. Richard Keen, Monica Powell McCoy and Elizabeth Powell examined how narratives make readers feel empathy. The study used psychological concepts and linked them to literature to conclude that literature makes us feel so deeply for characters because we are given a first-person perspective into their lives and so we avoid blaming actions on the characters themselves but rather blame their circumstances. This is similar to the perspective we take on when examining our own actions. We judge our actions by blaming things outside of our control and rarely blame our own internal thoughts and values for wrongdoings.
Getting lost in these characters has shown me how stories have the potential to make us understand the most incomprehensible situations. Later in life, when covid-19 released its deadlock on our lives, I came across people I couldn’t see eye to eye with, people who hurt me or made me feel inferior but, I had learnt that behind every one of these people who seemed incomprehensible to me, there was a whole story that had led them to where they were. I could not judge them for how they treated me without keeping in mind the villains that I grew to know and love through books. Stories made me feel mercy and empathy in the judgement of the most despicable characters, in books and in life. As there will always be people who hurt me in some way or other, this is something that I like to think I carry with me through life.
As a journalism student and an avid news reader, I notice how often the world and the press in particular refer to people who have done bad things, as bad people. There is little room to explain how factors beyond their control lead people to where they find themselves in the latest gossip or news article. I believe literature is such a valuable art form because through it, while escaping from my own life, I have entered the lives of others and lived how they have lived. It is so important to keep in mind that we judge the actions of others differently to how we judge ourselves, unless we know their whole story. But there is always a whole story. I hope to carry this idea into my own practice of journalism and avoid creating two dimensional characters out of multi-dimensional people.
An unbeaten season for Wits Cricket Club secures a historic first place victory in the Gauteng Premier League 50-over format.
On Sunday, April 2, Wits Cricket Club played in the last game of the season and beat Kagiso Cricket Club by eight wickets. The Wits side were first on the Enza league table and needed a win to maintain their position.
Wits Cricket Club celebrate after restricting Kagiso Cricket Club to 181 runs on Sunday, April 2, 2023 at Wits main campus. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
After forfeiting the toss, Kagiso were sent in to bat first. They got off to a good start in the power play with the first few wickets, but shortly after Wits were able to pull that lead back. With Mohammad Manack’s fantastic spell of five wickets for 21 in 10 overs, Wits restricted Kagiso to a subpar 181 runs.
Ndumiso Mvelase, Kagiso Cricket Club’s vice-captain said that the game was competitive but enjoyable, he said: “We knew that we were playing against the champs and ultimately we came out on the wrong side.”
When Wits took to batting, they were met with the fall of the skipper (Deeran Baba) in the opening overs. But Billy Van Zyl 65* (106) and Manack 81 (78) steadied the ship with a match winning partnership. Lions player, Conner Esterhuisen, struck the final blow with an explosive 25 not out, propelling Wits to 182/2 with 17 overs to spare.
This win marked the second trophy for the team this season after winning the USSA B division in December 2022, which saw them qualify for Varsity Cup and promoted them to the USSA A division.
Spectator Willem Van Zyl said: “The coaches have a lot of experience, they really know what they’re doing.” The new head coach, previous Lions player Nono Pongolo, who took up the post at the start of the year, looks forward to building upon the season’s success by preparing for Varsity Cup in the winter.
Speaking to the season that was, Captain of the Wits Cricket club, Deeran Baba, said: “The boys have worked hard behind the scenes to put out results every weekend and success has come our way. There is definitely more to come.”
FEATURED IMAGE: Wits batsman, Mohammad Manack, hits a ball against Kagiso Cricket Club on Sunday April 2, 2023 at Wits. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
Today we’re taking a look at the #WitsShutdown protests which are over historical debt and unaffordable accommodation, which have seen several students suspended, physical clashes between protestors and security and disruptions to the academic programme for many. In this bonus episode of We Should Be Writing, we let students unpack their views on what has […]
