A compelling piece that takes the reader into the minds of South African serial killers through narrative psychology.
On Saturday, 17 August 2024, the Wits Origin Centre hosted the launch of a book titled Killer Stories written by psychologist Brin Hodgskiss and Nicole Engelbrecht, which uses the stories of serial killers to explore their psyche.
Hodgskiss interviewed several serial killers to tell their own version of events. He then applied the principles of narrative psychology to help the reader get a glimpse of how the individuals think, using his role as a psychologist to better understand them.
In his conversations with the serial killers, Hodgskiss learnt that the environment played a huge role in the way that these individuals turned out. He also noted that many of them had a misogynist outlook that made it difficult for him to bear and listen to.
While writing, Hodgskiss realized that “the role that was played by the stories I told myself about myself was part of the problem.” He added, “I noticed amongst all the serial murderers I spoke to was the power that their story has.” These stories that serial killers told to themselves about their place in the world “influenced the crimes they committed”.
Hodgskiss was joined by the curator of the Wits Origins Centre Dr Tammy Reynards and Wits academics Beth Amato and Dr Sahba Besharati who formed a panel to discuss crime, trauma, and healing in South Africa.
Speaking to the audience, Hodgskiss explained his journey prior to writing the book, stating that it all started when he was part of a team at Rhodes University that went to Grahamstown to help the police with identifying offenders. This led him to different maximum-security prisons, where he interviewed serial killers.
Nichole Engelbrecht, the host of True Crime South Africa, a victim-focused true crime podcast, invited Hodgskiss a guest on an episode after reading his research on ‘Lessons from serial murder in South Africa’. The two managed to maintain a relationship that resulted in them agreeing to write a book together which was completed in just nine months.
The book comes at a time where South Africa is experiencing a high crime index. According to South African Police Service statistical report for 2023/2024, there were 27, 368 recorded cases of murder, meaning that an average of 75 people were murdered every day in that period. The annual crime stats are due to be released next week, and one can only hope that a less chilling picture awaits.
Nevertheless, this book helps bring to the forefront that the lived experience of serial killers and their understanding of their role in society play a huge role in their destiny.
FEATURED IMAGE: Left to right: Brin Hodgskiss, Sahba Besharati & Beth Amato. Photo: Siyanda Mthethwa.
“Believe women when they ask for help and believe men when they threaten women,” said Dr Nechama Brodie.
Dr. Nechama Brodie signing her new book Domestic Terror at its launch at Rosebank on September 6. Photo: Seth Thorne
Incidents of domestic violence are not isolated – they show patterns of systemic violence in South Africa. This is the chilling reality explored in Dr. Nechama Brodie’s new book Domestic Terror: Intimate partner violence in South Africa.
The book tracks South African women’s experiences with domestic violence over a 100 year period, many of them living in fear and terror in their own homes, some murdered by the intimate partners they shared those spaces with.
Brodie, a veteran journalist, writer and lecturer at the Wits Centre for Journalism was in discussion with broadcaster and journalist Azania Mosaka at the book’s launch at Exclusive Books, Rosebank on September 6.
“By definition, terror is the deliberate instillment of fear…when controlling partners feel as if they are losing control, they up the levels of violence to instil more fear and for them, control,” said Brodie. There are many instances of instilling fear, from smashing a phone to stalking – anything that may cause emotional, physical or any other form of distress.
“Women are often killed with protection orders in their handbags. Police should intervene ‘on the small stuff’ (warning signs) before the ‘big stuff’ happens.”
Dr Nechama Brodie
There is a huge failure of the police and justice system when women seek protection from their domestic partners but are not taken seriously. A more intersectional approach which includes healthcare services and the judiciary is needed she emphasised.
A big takeaway from this book is that the warning signs are usually there. Friends and family see abusive relationships and may know about the abusive nature of partners (mainly men) but ignore it until it is too late. Some families and friends paint violent partners as “devoted” and ignore calls for help from women by sending them back to the abuser for “the sake of the family” explained Brodie.
Journalist and presenter Azania Mosaka facilitating the conversation at the book launch on September 6. Photo: Seth Thorne
“Bodies show a life of terror,” said Mosaka, referring to a 2019 case of a 54-year-old woman who was murdered by her partner and had her body dumped in a veld, left to decompose. Pathologists had to examine her bones, with her cause of death (ultimately finding that she was beaten with a brick) indistinguishable from previous injuries – some healed, some had not. Almost every bone imaginable was broken at some point.
For those who survive and report their abuse, the risk of being retraumatized is high during the trial process. Character assassinations, slut shaming and sanitizing the abuser’s image are some of the things victims face in court. “The fact that she was drunk or spoke back does not excuse her for being murdered…this links to the historical nature of the societal entitlement of men over women’s bodies,” explained Brodie.
This is Brodie’s third book on true crime in South Africa. She admitted that she thought she could not finish the book halfway through because of the subject matter, but it was more important to finish writing it. “The terror was far too real. It is a heavy book to read because some of the stories become relatable,” she shared.
Having read the book, member of parliament Glynnis Breytenbach said it is “hugely important, impeccably researched . . . It must be said, and it must be read”.
Attendee, Tannur Anders says she wants to read the book because “Dr. Brodie is an incredible researcher and journalist. [Her] extensive data-driven work provides valuable insights to better understand South Africa.”
FEATURED IMAGE: Dr. Nechama Brodie poses proudly with her third crime book at its launch on September 6. Photo: Seth Thorne.
Joburg’s oldest market showcases how migrant workers weaved their cultural practices into what is now known as CBD’s popular trade zone.
Anthropologist and music guru, Dr Sipho Sithole and Bridge Books, a bookstore focusing on African literature in Marshalltown hosted a tour of Kwa Mai Mai – Johannesburg’s oldest traditional market — early this week.
Kwa Mai-Mai, located in the CBD is an economic centre, where you can find traditional healers, clothes and medicine. The place is also popular for its food: phuthu which is a staple, traditional South African dish that is made from Mielie-Meal served with braai meat of your choice. Overall, Kwa Mai Mai is a place welcoming for everyone looking for relaxation, healing and traditional items for any purpose.
The market was first established after 1929, as a camp for migrant workers coming to work in the mines. It has now become a home to many people, a community and an entry way to African spirituality.
The tour was part of the marketing of Sithole’s book about Kwa Mai Mai, titled Maye Maye! The history and heritage of the Kwa Mai Mai market. The book gives readers a historical view of market and the people who reside, sell and work in it.
The tour began at Bridge Books in Commissioner Street where Sithole spoke about the inspiration behind the book followed by a trek on the busy roads down to Berea Road, where Kwa Mai Mai is located.
Dr Sithole, who was leading the tour, first introduced the audience to the popular Shisanyama spot and then the Nazareth Baptist “Shembe” church and next to it, a compound where cultural goods are sold. Dr Sithole said, many of those who visit the compound are surprised that the shops, which typically measure 3m x 6m, double up as living quarters for the traders.
Sithole said the market consists of 218 stalls, including shelters, catering to more than 400 individuals and has more than 100 kids living in it with their parents.
Walking into the traditional market. Photo: Mbalenhle Dlamini
Sithole, who holds a PhD in Anthropology from Wits University explained that “this book records my collective observations and interpretations from the ethnographic work that I conducted over a period of four years among Kwa Mai Mai traders and residents”.
The market’s committee chairperson, Malibongwe Sithole said that: “Kwa Mai is an informal trading zone, but we want to formalise it so that it can be recognised and respected worldwide”.
Street photographer Nonzuzo Gxekwa who attended the walkabout said: “[I am] fascinated by the fact that there are a lot of women that run this space, but I have never known the story behind it and going through the city with someone else’s insights is always refreshing, it gives me something to think about”.
Bridge Books founder, Griffin Shea added that the book and the walkabout are a way of thinking about the CBD as “a massive trading space that is super valuable” that can receive the same level of support as places like Sandton get for small businesses to run effectively.
When asked what he hopes the book will achieve, Sithole told Wits Vuzuzela that he hopes it will “redress the past, formalise that place and bring traffic of people to buy there because those people do nothing but sell their goods.” He also added that he wants it to bring awareness to young people so that they talk and write about the place.
FEATURED IMAGE: Dr Sipho Sithole speaking about the office at Kwa Mai Mai. Photo: Mbalenhle Dlamini
Live performance can be used as an act of transgressing societal norms and expectations. This was the sentiment shared by the panellists at the launch of Acts of Transgression: Contemporary live art in South Africa, hosted by the Wits Institute of Social and Economic Research (WiSER) at Wits University on Wednesday, February 20.
The non-fiction book of essays, published by the Wits University Press, was edited by the director of the Institute of Creative Arts, Prof Jay Pather, and writer Catherine Boulle. Pather says that he and Boulle decided to compile the book because of the unique position of live art in South Africa and because of Pather’s professional experiences in combining performance and choreography with academia.
“We had an awareness of how much live art was in the country and the uniqueness of it which needed to be written about in depth,” Pather told Wits Vuvuzela.
Pather said that he and Boulle had a list of potential writers that they used to select the final group of contributors.
“We wanted people who had been published, and some who hadn’t. We wanted people who were writers, artists and academics, and we made up the book that way,” he said.
The panellists at the launch, Zen Marie, Prof Achille Mbembe and Katlego Disemelo, focused heavily on the subject of ‘performativity’ which was defined as the description or the contribution of something new to a discussion rather than a representation of something of the past. The panellists also discussed how performativity had been used by performance artists to disrupt established social norms and expectations.
Disemelo, one of the contributors to the book, described how he used Instagram for research on his chapter on queer bodies and performativity.
“I viewed Instagram as a storytelling medium. By scrolling through carefully curated photographs you can see queer people telling a story about themselves to the public,” Disemelo said.
Wits Applied Drama MA student, Rutendo Chigudu, who attended the launch, said that she would be interested in reading the book based on the discussion that had taken place. “I think it really raises questions to artists, academics, practitioners, and audiences on what our view and interpretations of art are,” she said.
“It forces us to question the artists’ intentions and the audience has to ask themselves, am I coming to see the art or be part of it?”
FEATURED IMAGE: Prof Achille Mbembe, Zen Marie and Katlego Disemelo argue for the relationship between power and performance.
Photo: Naledi Mashishi
Love Books is able to survive in a suburb that is constantly evolving due to its relationship with its customers and members of the community.
A faded Afrikaans quote from Réney Warrington’s book, Oktober, has lain on the doorstep of one of Johannesburg’s oldest suburb’s remaining independent bookshops, Love Books, since 2012, emphasising a habitation that was once predominately Afrikaans.
ENTRANCE: A customer step’s over the quote from Réney Warrington’s book, Oktober.
Love Books is situated in Melville’s Bamboo Lifestyle Centre and has its front door a metre away from the bustling Rustenburg Road. Situated at the corner of the centre, Love Books’ main entrance stands out due to the pink and red cut-out stickers on the windows and the display of books’ visibility from the road.
The structure of the shop allows for one to see through to the back of shop and catch a glimpse of the sunshine in the courtyard upon entering by the front door. Another two entrances allow for visitors of the centre to explore something new after having their hair cut or something to eat at one of the centre’s eateries, the Service Station, for example.
The inter-leading doors between Love Books and Service Station makes it easy for customers to stroll in and out. The wooden tiles leading into Love Books tell the story of many who have walked through, while the shop itself looks the same as it did nine years ago. The majority of traffic that flows into Love Books is made up of Service Station customers and one cannot help but wonder whether the footsteps leading into Love Book would be fewer without the presence of their neighbour.
GENRE: One of many embroidered signs hangs on a bookshelf of non-fiction books.
It’s not every day that one comes across an independent bookshop. The existence of Love Books is unique as it is one of two independent bookshops in the area and one of few in Johannesburg. The survival of the bookshop in an artsy and evolving Melville goes unnoticed as almost every customer that walks in has a relationship with owner, Kate Rogan, or one of her three employees. The way in which the bookshop values itself on the relationship it has with its customers allows for its survival in a time when a hardcopy book is not always an individual’s first option.
As the front door creeks open, a carefully selected range of books strikes the eyes of a well-dressed, middle-class lady. Books are arranged by genres which are labelled by signs embroidered by shop manager, Anna Joubert. Shelves from floor to ceiling and tables both high and low are bursting under the weight of unread books. Posters of books and picture frames relating to authors occupy the spaces on the walls and unopened boxes of books hide under shelves. Gift cards, colouring-in books and notepads fill the gaps. Dolls hang from the ceiling and music softly plays while the chatter from neighbouring conversations seeps in through the inter-leading doors.
ENTREPRENEUR: Kate Logan, owner of Love Books, glances at one of the many books on her shop’s shelves.
A confused-looking individual rushes in through the front door looking to buy wine only to find out that for the past nine years the space has been occupied by a bookshop. She exits the shop as fast as she walked in.
A young girl dressed in a multi-coloured striped towel, matching costume and flipflops is reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling. Another lady, dressed in her gym-gear, walks in only to realise she has used the wrong door and does not want a book but a cup of coffee from the Service Station.
Love Books was started by Jaci Jenkins and Kate Rogan on June 8, 2009. Rogan remembers the days before her shop’s doors opened and how her home lounge was filled with boxes of books waiting to be shelved. Having started 11 years after Service Station came into business she says that having the eatery next door has helped her business a lot and that the inter-leading door brings out the idea of books and coffee.
“When we started out the majority of our traffic came from the Service Station, well a big portion of it did, and now we can stand on our own completely. So, I do not mind having people using our doors to get there as we needed their doors to get people here,” she says.
READ: Saaleha Idress Bamjee’s poetry collection is selected by a customer.
Louw Kotze, the manager of Service Station and customer of Love Books, says that he has a great working relationship with Rogan and her bookshop. “We fill in each other very well. I enjoy our shops being linked as our customers go there and their customers come here,” he says.
Rogan has managed to keep the doors of her bookshop open through her entrepreneurial mind-set of running a business. The 52-year-old has always been a part of the book industry in one way or another. Before opening Love Books, Rogan produced Talk Radio 702’s Book Show from 2004 to 2009, which she says helped increase her book knowledge and understanding of the market. She was also a commissioning editor at Zebra Press, which became a part of Struik, where she worked on “loads of interesting books”. She prides herself on her shop’s book collection which she has individually handpicked. She buys books directly from their publishers and regularly meets with book representatives in order to keep updated with the new books that are coming out
Louw Kotze, the manager of Service Station and customer of Love Books, says that he has a great working relationship with Rogan and her bookshop. “We fill in each other very well. I enjoy our shops being linked as our customers go there and their customers come here,” he says.
Rogan has managed to keep the doors of her bookshop open through her entrepreneurial mind-set of running a business. The 52-year-old has always been a part of the book industry in one way or another. Before opening Love Books, Rogan produced Talk Radio 702’s Book Show from 2004 to 2009, which she says helped increase her book knowledge and understanding of the market. She was also a commissioning editor at Zebra Press, which became a part of Struik, where she worked on “loads of interesting books”. She prides herself on her shop’s book collection which she has individually handpicked. She buys books directly from their publishers and regularly meets with book representatives in order to keep updated with the new books that are coming out.
Most of the books in Rogan’s shop are written by local authors as Love Books honours itself on its support of local authors. Before making room on loaded bookshelves, selected books are welcomed into the shop through book launches which have been taking place since Love Books opened its doors and have always been catered by the Service Station. To date, their biggest book launch has been Suzelle’s DIY: The Book by Ari Kruger. Rogan explains that over time more launches have occurred and, as a result, they have become “an integral part of [the] business”.
Saleeha Idrees Bamjee, a South African author, is a regular attendee of book launches at Love Books. She says, “It’s helpful that [Love Books] is in a complex with popular eateries, I’m sure they benefit from the foot traffic and vice versa … Many people would rather support a small independent business than a franchise, especially one that makes an effort to be inclusive and on the pulse.”
Bamjee had her first published poetry collection launched in the shop in September this year. “To have my own (book launch) take place there felt like a graduation, a culmination of a fulfilling creative journey,” says the 35-year-old.
Bamjee has her own book on the shelves but she admits to being a Kindle reader as it allows her to download books quicker than she can get to a book shop. She believes that technology is affecting the way in which individuals interact with hardcopy books as well as bookshops.
“Some people do only Kindle, some people do only books, some people do a combination and it is okay for now,” says Rogan.
Joubert, who manages the shop on weekdays and spends time reading with her family on weekends, says that customers unashamedly come into the shop and admit to having downloaded a book on their electronic device. She says there is no judgement on how individuals prefer to read and that some of the customers who have downloaded a book come in looking for a hardcopy.
Amanda Mitchell, another Love Books employee who works on Sundays, says that with the evolution of technology not many people read anymore. “It’s the parents raising their children to read rather than have all the other available technologies and interests who come here,” she says.
Another effect on Love Books is the competition that the bookshop has with the country’s leading book chains. Rogan explains that she is not always able to compete with book chains as she does not have the mass market that a shop such as Exclusive Books has. She may sell items other than books, but her market is not looking for anything more. She says that she can put the books and items Exclusive Books has on their shelves, but they are not going to go anywhere.
“I offer a sort of curated selection of stuff. I think people come in here, like my customers like coming in here, because they know that what is on the shelf has been thoughtfully chosen and they can kind of rely on that part of their decision making around buying the book,” she says.
Customers of Love Books are mostly made up of Melville’s community members, but others have come from all corners of Johannesburg, with the odd customer being a tourist from a foreign country.
Community members consist of residents, students from universities nearby such as the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) and the University of Johannesburg (UJ), individuals from neighbouring suburbs as well as those who work nearby. The proximity and offerings of the suburb to its neighbours is inviting for all and Rogan is both proud and pleased that her bookshop has been able to survive the evolving environment of what has become an artsy Melville.
Having had two bookshops close down since 2009, one of which Rogan signed a petition to keep open, she is confident that her shop will continue to survive. As one of two remaining independent bookshops in the suburb, Rogan believes that, “Melville is a great place to have a bookshop because we are really part of the community, and it’s a community that is interested in reading and supportive of authors”.
MAP: A map of the surrounding entrepreneurial hubs in Melville. Created by: Mary Sayegh
The shop has individuals, who are mostly middle to upper-class, coming through the doors on a daily basis. The age of these individuals ranges from as mature as 99-years-old to as young as 9-week-old babies in strollers having their parents purchasing them their first book.
While some individuals use the main entrance as a gate-way to the Service Station or others stroll in through the back door that links to the centre’s hairdresser, most individuals come in to see what book they can get their hands on. Most individuals who enter show some interest in what the bookshop has to offer and although a purchase may not be made on every visit, a conversation between an employee and an individual is usually had.
Rachel Silber, an employee of Love Books who works on Saturdays, believes that the shop has been able to keep its doors open due to its reputation in the community and word-of-mouth attracting new customers.
The full-time Wits BA student does not think that everyone who is a customer at the Service Station knows that there is a bookshop right next to them but having the inter-leading doors allows for them to discover something new.
“We (at Love Books) like to think that we are a portal to knowledge and enlightenment for people who walk through the doors of Service Station,” says the 19-year-old.
Nicole Fritz, a long-standing customer of Love Books for the past five years, regularly visits the centre with her husband and two children. They frequently have their Sunday breakfast at the Service Station as it allows for their kids to come into Love Books and let their imaginations run wild.
The basket of easily-accessible books for young children, who are wanting to read on their own in the shop, allows for any child to come in and enjoy the books. The basket is piled with books that have been used by children over the years and is inclusive of all genres from fairy-tales and fantasy to fables and myths.
Fritz’s kids rush into Love Books in their Sunday best to pick up whatever they can get their hands on. Although they are at an age where they cannot read, they can be seen opening books at a rapid rate and staring as if to make up their own narrative just by looking at the illustrations inside their selected book.
ENTRANCE: The inter-leading doors between Love Books and the Service Station.
Nicole Fritz, a long-standing customer of Love Books for the past five years, regularly visits the centre with her husband and two children. They frequently have their Sunday breakfast at the Service Station as it allows for their kids to come into Love Books and let their imaginations run wild.
The basket of easily-accessible books for young children, who are wanting to read on their own in the shop, allows for any child to come in and enjoy the books. The basket is piled with books that have been used by children over the years and is inclusive of all genres from fairy-tales and fantasy to fables and myths.
Fritz’s kids rush into Love Books in their Sunday best to pick up whatever they can get their hands on. Although they are at an age where they cannot read, they can be seen opening books at a rapid rate and staring as if to make up their own narrative just by looking at the illustrations inside their selected book.
READ: Used children’s books are ready to be read by any child who walks into the shop.
Fritz explains that her family’s attraction to Love Books comes from the shop’s selection of titles and friendly staff. “It’s got a very different feel from like an Exclusive Books. We’ve got to know the people who are here and the staff are incredibly patient with my children so that’s a big thing.”
Maintaining good relationships with customers is an integral part of Love Book’s future. Every employee explains that being interested in people and what they are looking for is the reason customers return.
Joubert explains that she has journeyed with customers just by getting to know them. “There’s regulars that I have seen dating each other, breaking up and then asking me to witness their prenuptials and now they are parents of two-year-olds,” she says.
The journey of Love Books is far from over. Rogan sees herself running the shop for years to come and believes that being in a destination centre with no passing trade emphasises the importance of inter-leading doors drawing people into her shop. Her entrance will remain open to all customers of the Bamboo Centre while the words on the front stoep slowly fade away.
FEATURED IMAGE: Kate Logan, owner of Love Books, glances at one of the many books on her shop’s shelves. Photo: Mary Sayegh.
Acclaimed South African author and Wits English professor, Ivan Vladislavić, launched his new book at Wits University last week.
DETECTIVE: Acclaimed South African author, Ivan Vladislavić launched his new book 101 Detectives at Wits on Thursday, as part of Africa Week. Photo: Samantha Camara
101 Detectives is a collection of fictional short stories that follow the adventures of different detectives across Johannesburg, Mauritius, the American West and Germany. The book is the latest offering from Wits English professor and celebrated author Ivan Vladislavić, and was launched at Wits University last Thursday.
Speaking at the launch hosted by the Wits School of Language, Literature and Media (SLLM), Vladislavić said the collection is an extension of his previous work The Loss Library.
Kirby Mania, who completed her doctorate on Vladislavićs’ works, described the collection as an “act of detection” as the reader is invited to not only journey with the characters but also decipher clues and patterns which are hidden in the stories themselves.
Mania suggested that the collection is an “anti-detective” story which follows “no grand system that can be relied on to restore order”.
The book was published by Umuzi, a local branch of Penguin Random House and is on sale at leading bookstores.
Listen to Vladislavić read from the title story of the collection (click below):
Justice Edwin Cameron meets and greets well-wishers at the launch of his book Justice this week.Photo: Luca Kotton.
by Luca Kotton and Roxanne Joseph
Being gay or even supporting gay rights is now illegal in Uganda and can lead to life imprisonment.
Less than a week ago, President Yoweri Museveni signed the anti-homosexuality bill into law and since then, the onslaught from both local and international communities alike has been significant.
The act “prohibits any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex; prohibits the promotion or recognition of such relations and to provide for other related matters.”
First drafted in 2009, the bill originally proposed the death penalty, but was later amended to life imprisonment because of international pressure.
Having sex with someone of the same gender, marrying someone of the same gender and touching someone of the same gender with “intent” to engage in a sexual act will land you in prison for the rest of your life. Officiating a same-gender marriage, aiding or counselling an LGBTI individual, offering premises or supplies to an LGBTI individual and directing a company or NGO that supports LGBTI rights leads to prison time of five to seven years.
Despite the watered down version of the bill coming into law, several countries – including Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the US and the UK – have pulled financial aid from Uganda, one of the world’s poorest nations (as classified by the World Bank).
South Africa’s Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke said “oppressors like (Ugandan President Yoweri) Museveni should not be allowed to flourish.”
Speaking at the launch of Justice Edwin Cameron’s book Justice, on Thursday night, Moseneke added his voice to the condemnation of Uganda’s recently signed Bill. Cameron is one of South Africa’s most prominent gay rights activists and a colleague of Moseneke at the Constitutional Court. [Read an extract from Cameron’s newest book here.]
No official condemnation of Uganda’s anti-homosexuality act has yet been issued by the South African government.
From the Sidelines is a podcast that uncovers the realities of building a career in football journalism, focusing on the ups and downs of breaking into this competitive field. In second episode, we sit down with Mazola Molefe, a highly acclaimed South African sports journalist known for his impactful coverage and respected voice in the […]
