Hundreds took to the streets, calling for protection of housing rights and an end to rising xenophobia.
Operation Ubuntu marched to the Premier’s Office to oppose the PIE amendment and rising anti-migrant sentiment.
Housing activists and informal settlers argue that the revision to the PIE Act criminalises poverty.
The march’s memorandum calls for greater state accountability in handling anti-migrant hostility.
On the morning of August 8, a coalition of over 60 social justice organisations under the name Operation Ubuntu led a march to the Premier’s Office demanding an end to xenophobia and a rejection of the proposed amendment to the Prevention of Illegal Eviction (PIE) Act.
The march was one of many coordinated protests taking place in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban in response to two issues affecting marginalised communities: ongoing xenophobia and housing insecurity.
Marchers charging through the streets holding banners and placards. Photo: Jamie Ho.
Woman holding a placard condemning xenophobia. Photo: Jamie Ho.
Frustration as protestors march for housing rights and an end to xenophobia. Photo Jamie Ho.
Central to the protest was the recent proposal for an amendment to the PIE Act. Currently, people cannot be evicted from their homes without a court order as the Act operates in accordance with Section 26 of the Constitution, which stipulates that “everyone has the right to access adequate housing”.
Activists fear the proposed amendments would weaken these protections, particularly for people living in informal settlements and other forms of insecure housing. They are particularly concerned that courts could order evictions without requiring municipalities to provide alternative accommodation.
“The municipality cannot have that power of evicting us without meaningfully engaging with us and without even understanding our background,” said Operation Ubuntu coordinator, General Moyo.
Housing activists condemn the proposed revision for failing to address the structural causes of housing insecurity that stem from poverty, entrenched inequality and poor governance. Instead, it places further strain on already vulnerable communities by forcing them out of their homes.
“Critics have long referred to this approach as pounding the tip of the ice-berg or swatting at the flies when a corpse is rotting,” explained Marie Huchzermeyer of Siyafana Sonke, a civic movement aligned with Operation Ubuntu.
Furthermore, the government’s persistent failure to address housing insecurity has left residents with few options. “In 33 years, not one RDP house was built in our community,” said Fagmedah Edeies, who resides in an informal settlement within Eldorado Park. “As a mother, I must remember that I have children and I have grandchildren. Where will they then go if this amendment is passed?”
Data visualisation showing housing backlog. By: Jamie Ho.
Beyond housing insecurity, the march also confronts escalating waves of xenophobia across the nation. “We are in solidarity with all the African brothers and sisters that are facing the crisis,” Moyo affirmed.
In their memorandum, Operation Ubuntu called for greater action from state institutions in handling matters of anti-migrant hostility.
Firstly, it singled out SAPS for not protecting vulnerable migrant communities from vigilantism. “We are calling on the police,” Moyo explained, “to make sure that they abide by their obligation which is to serve and protect without discrimination and without favour.”
Secondly, they highlighted the issue of documentation as a systemic failure by Home Affairs and demanded a two-year moratorium on all arrests and forced repatriations to allow migrants sufficient time to obtain documents.
Thirdly, in light of the upcoming elections, Moyo warned political parties against scapegoating migrants for electoral gain. “We will be watching those that will be campaigning trying to use the platform of hate and violence in communities to get votes.”
Held on the eve of Women’s Day, the march highlighted the broader demand for dignity, security and equal protection. For protestors, xenophobia and housing rights are part of the same struggle: a move to ensure that vulnerable communities, and the women and children within them, are not left without a home or a voice.
A mother holding a placard advocating for women and children safety. Photo: Jamie Ho.
Protestors chanting through the streets against the PIE Act amendment and xenophobic violence. Photo: Jamie Ho.
“Stop treating us like animals” reads sign at protest. Photo: Jamie Ho.
FEATURED IMAGE: A placard advocating for women and children safety during the Operation Ubuntu protest. Photo: Jamie Ho.
Here’s my confession: politics was never my thing. I saw it as something that belonged to politicians in parliament who engaged in debates and speeches televised on the news. These politicians sometimes appeared in headlines that I occasionally skimmed through before scrolling to something more entertaining. In my mind, politics was like arts, maths or science. It had its own people, and I was not one of them.
In high school, my history teacher tried to convince my class to vote. She argued that by choosing not to vote, we were automatically voting for the majority party. I later learned that this isn’t how South Africa’s electoral system works, but the broader point she was making was that choosing not to participate still has consequences.
Ironically, studying journalism made checking out of political discussions much harder.
Current affairs, breaking news and policy decisions constantly impact how and why we tell stories. I realised you can’t study journalism without keeping one eye on the country around you. So, when I stumbled across an Instagram video by content creator zkiaba, I didn’t scroll past.
Their words lingered.
“Politics is not a hobby you do to unwind after a long day or to bond with like-minded individuals online. It is the context in which you live.”
That was the moment I realised my definition of politics was too narrow.
It wasn’t just about politicians in parliament. It was the taxi fare that increases because of geopolitical conflict. It was the quality of public healthcare, the condition of our roads, the education we receive and even the price of bread. I certainly had not considered that the opportunities waiting, or not waiting, for me after university were political too.
One could say it was quite ignorant of me, but we don’t judge, right?
“If you’re not at the table, then you’re on the menu.”
Who is making decisions when I am not at the table?
On July 30, I decided that the decisions affecting my life shouldn’t be made without my participation.
I registered to vote for the first time. It turns out, I was not the only young person thinking this way.
A Mail & Guardian article, citing Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) figures, noted that nearly half (46%) of all new voter registrations during the June and August
2026 registration weekends came from people under the age of 29. I now form part of that statistic
Voting is only one part of it. It also means reading beyond party manifestos and staying informed about the issues and policies that affect your life and community. It’s working with others to solve local problems instead of just complaining about them. It’s speaking up when something isn’t right, not just for yourself but for others too. And it’s helping people understand their rights, because democracy works best when participation spreads.
I still don’t enjoy political shouting matches, and I probably never will. But I’ve stopped telling myself that politics has nothing to do with me. Because whether we choose to participate or not, the system continues to shape our daily lives.
Africa’s first G20 Summit put youth, fairness and global cooperation at the centre amid grandstanding from a key member.
The 2025 Declaration is stronger than last year’s, adding clear commitments on youth unemployment, food security and critical minerals.
South Africa kept the summit focused despite the United States’ boycott, showing that no single country is bigger than the G20.
Experts and youth leaders say this summit is a turning point, giving Africa a louder voice in global decisions.
Group photograph of world leaders at the G20 summit on 22 November 2025. Photo: Jairus Mmutle/GCIS
The first G20 Summit held on African soil opened with symbolism that felt heavier than just ceremonial. Johannesburg, the “cradle of humanity,” as President Cyril Ramaphosa framed it, hosted a meeting shaped by global fragmentation, a US boycott, and the weight of expectations that Africa would finally speak in its own voice.
The unanimous adoption of a declaration on Saturday, November 22, signals a level of global consensus on pressing matters. Beyond the speeches, the real significance of this summit lies in what the declaration promises, how it differs from past commitments, and how South Africa managed the absence of one of the world’s most powerful nations.
What’s in the declaration?
Compared to Brazil’s in 2024, the 2025 Johannesburg Declaration is far more assertive in addressing long-standing inequalities between the Global North and South. It introduces structural reforms that African states have demanded for decades.
These include deepening international financial architecture reform, expanding multilateral development bank lending capacity, and setting up the first-ever G20 Critical Minerals Framework, which pushes beneficiation and manufacturing in resource-rich developing countries.
The declaration also goes further than previous years on food security through the Ubuntu Approaches, focusing on price volatility and support for smallholder farmers.
The declaration introduces the Nelson Mandela Bay Target, which aims to reduce the number of young people who are not in employment, education or training by 2030.
This target will be supported by new training programmes, more job-creating investments, and digital skills initiatives that the G20 has committed to rolling out for young people.
Rather than simply stating a percentage, this commitment signals that the G20 now recognises young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) as a measurable crisis that requires intentional policy, financing, and monitoring a major shift from previous summits where youth were mentioned only in passing.
It essentially means governments are now expected to treat youth unemployment as a structural problem that must decline meaningfully, not symbolically.
Dismissing the boycotter in chief and the future
For Frank Lekaba, Senior Lecturer at the Wits University, South Africa handled its diplomatic tensions with the US strategically.
“Ramaphosa refused to let the absence dominate the narrative,” he says.
Lekaba repositioned the G20 as larger than any one member. “The message was clear: there’s the G20, and then there are member states. None is bigger than the G20.”
Youth representatives also see this summit as a turning point. Levi Singh, the sherpa of the Y20, says the declaration “contains good context” for addressing youth unemployment, even if gaps remain.
“While it doesn’t prioritise youth issues as strongly as it could, the participation of young people is finally being recognised,” he says.
He praises the South African presidency for modelling a more people-centred, human-focused approach to multilateralism. “It showed that the G20 can be a platform for the Global South. It located Africa’s voice inside the G20.”
With the US absent, some feared the summit would fracture. Instead, South Africa secured unanimous agreement on a declaration that places Africa’s priorities at the centre of global governance discussions.
FEATURED IMAGE: G20 signage outside the media centre at Nasrec. Photo: Likho Mbuka
National Dialogue exposes deep cracks between citizens and state officials, raises doubts about its impact.
Tensions rose during the launch of the National Dialogue at UNISA in Pretoria, where disruptions overshadowed the opening session.
Former President Thabo Mbeki, alongside several organisations and political parties, withdrew from the process over concerns about credibility.
Citizens and students voiced disappointment at what they described as exclusion and lack of genuine representation.
The first National Convention in Pretoria over the weekend was intended to begin shaping a shared national vision and create a space for forthcoming dialogue. However, the event revealed a clear disconnect between government officials and ordinary citizens.
Audience members during Day 1 of the first National Convention of the National Dialogue of South Africa at Unisa. Photo: Likho Mbuka
Proceedings on Friday, August 15, 2025, at the opening of the National Dialogue at UNISA in Pretoria, were interrupted when individuals not listed as panellists attempted to force their way onto the stage, demanding to speak before President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The event began with a welcoming address by UNISA Vice-Chancellor Professor Puleng LenkaBula, followed by a musical performance.
Tensions unfolded shortly after panellists were invited to the stage for the first engagement session before the president’s address.
While panellists representing the citizen-led National Dialogue roadmap – a framework drawn up by civil society groups and legacy foundations – were called to the stage, two men not on the list rushed the stage.
They demanded to speak ahead of Ramaphosa and other high-profile delegates. They were asked to respect the process and calmly escorted off the stage.
The day had already been marked by an earlier disruption when an attendee collapsed, prompting a brief pause while emergency personnel provided medical assistance. Delegates sang them off with struggle songs until order was restored.
The dialogue itself opened under a cloud of eleventh-hour withdrawals. Former President Thabo Mbeki, the Thabo Mbeki and FW de Klerk Foundations, several Government of National Unity (GNU) partners, and several civil society organisations pulled out of the process. Opposition parties, including the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), also withdrew, accusing the African National Congress of hijacking the initiative for political gain ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
In an interview with Wits Vuvuzela, ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bengu-Motsiri said,
“Our participation will be anchored in the values of the ANC, the resolutions of our national conferences, and the current lived experiences of our people,” she said.
Not everyone left convinced. Wits University first-year politics student, Sekhu Vivian Lerato, said she had hoped to witness inclusivity at work, but the disruptions only underscored her concerns.
“It felt more about political optics than citizens’ voices,” she said.
President Ramaphosa, however, cast the Dialogue in more optimistic terms, calling it “the real conversation” for South Africans to confront poverty, inequality, and poor service delivery.”
Whether the excluded voices will accept that invitation remains an open question.
FEATURED IMAGE: President Cyril Ramaphosa during Day 1 of the first National Convention of the National Dialogue of South Africa at Unisa’s Pretoria Main Campus. Photo: Likho Mbuka
In the space of just a few weeks, South Africa has been shaken by a flurry of political scandals, arrests, assassinations, and suspensions that read like the script of a crime thriller. But this is not fiction. From the corridors of government to the backrooms of political parties, we are witnessing either the collapse of our democratic institutions or the long-overdue reckoning with the criminalisation of politics. The real question is: is the rot finally being exposed?
One of the explosive claims made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi was that when Vusumuzi “Cat” Matlala was arrested, police discovered messages on his devices indicating he was receiving inside information from police “fixers”, including meetings arranged with suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.
Cat Matlala, a name tied to shady tenders, including one linked to murdered whistleblower Babita Deokaran, has most recently received a tender with Tshwane SAPS. His case is not an outlier. It is part of a wider, disturbing pattern: police officials enabling criminal syndicates, with political figures complicit in the cover-up.
The suspension of Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu following Mkhwanazi’s damning claims is only the beginning. It is alleged that Mchunu protected criminal networks within the police turning the justice system into the very problem it should be solving. Journalist Mandy Wiener has called the positions of police minister and national commissioner a “poisoned chalice” and these revelations seem to prove it. Yet the idea of high-ranking police figures colluding with criminals is not new. Think Jackie Selebi and Radovan Krejcir. This is a cycle we have seen before.
Shortly after Mchunu’s suspension, Patriotic Alliance (PA) deputy leader Kenny Kunene, until recently a PR councillor in the City of Johannesburg, was found in the company of Katiso “KT” Molefe, the alleged mastermind behind DJ Sumbody’s assassination. Kunene claimed he was escorting a journalist – yet that journalist has never reported on what would have been the scoop of a lifetime: Kunene being found at Molefe’s house during the arrest.
Kunene resigned, and the mayor has claimed the city’s “hands are tied.” This incident is yet another glimpse into the entanglement of political office and gangsterism.
Meanwhile, Gauteng Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola is reported to have attempted to intervene in Matlala’s arrest corroborating Mkhwanazi’s assertion that parts of the police are proverbially in bed with criminals. The system is protecting itself.
This past week, the Minister of Higher Education, Nobuhle Nkabane, resigned after being accused of lying to Parliament’s portfolio committee regarding the appointment of SETA board members. Her resignation means she escapes the very accountability that parliamentary oversight was supposed to ensure.
These are not isolated incidents. The list grows longer: the assassination of whistleblowers and construction mafia figures, allegations within the ANC, U.S. Treasury sanctions, and a justice system that increasingly appears either captured or hollowed out.
It is no coincidence that as state capacity erodes, criminal networks rise. The ANC, weakened and divided, can no longer police its own ranks let alone govern ethically. Political office is being used to legitimise criminal empires. Today’s councillors were yesterday’s construction mafia bosses. And tomorrow’s ministers? Who knows.
So what? This erosion of the line between politics and crime puts South Africa on the brink. As citizens lose faith in democratic systems, they may begin to embrace authoritarianism or strongman figures who promise order through force. The Patriotic Alliance’s recent calls to reinstate the death penalty while its leaders are under scrutiny are telling.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has responded by firing some implicated officials and promising yet another commission of inquiry. But after years of unattended recommendations gathering dust on his desk, society has little reason to believe that justice will follow.
Firoz Cachalia, a former ANC politician and now a Wits law professor, has been appointed interim Police Minister. He enters a poisoned environment, one where few believe the rule of law still applies evenly. Will he win public confidence in a country where institutions seem broken?
This last month has exposed a web of criminality so vast and interconnected that each new scandal feels less shocking than the last. Viewed in isolation, these incidents may appear as individual failures but step back, and the picture becomes clearer: a democracy under siege from within.
We cannot afford to normalise this rot. The fight against corruption must be unrelenting – not just for the sake of good governance, but for the survival of our democracy.
Ongoing protests highlight the complicity of corporations operating in Israel or funding its military.
On July 25, the Wits Palestine Solidarity Committee and several other organisations picketed against companies supporting Israel.
McDonald’s, Google, Amazon, and Coca-Cola are among the mega-corporations complicit in the genocide.
Protestors spoke of the power of boycotts, divestment, and sanctions to advance the Palestinian struggle.
“Every time the media lies, a little child in Gaza dies!” and “hey hey, ho ho, occupation has got to go!” were two of the rallying cries heard on Friday, July 25, as the Wits Palestine Solidarity Committee led the latest in a month-long series of pickets.
Rainy and cold weather could not keep the group from showing up, again, to protest against corporations accused of funding and supporting Israel by operating in the country.
The picket formed part of the wider Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement, a global, non-violent initiative formed in 2005 to promote divestment and economic sanctions against Israel. Much like the anti-Apartheid boycotts of the 1980s, the movement aims to secure liberation for Palestine through financial pressure.
“It’s so important that we keep on coming out because we know what it’s like to experience apartheid. What’s happening in Gaza has surpassed that, it’s gotten to the point of genocide. We cannot stop fighting. We need to keep on showing up,” said Nureen Salooji, a member of the Palestine Solidarity Alliance Youth League.
A mother and son chant calls to free Palestine. Photo: Mbali Khumalo
Members of South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJFP) attended, waving Palestinian flags and displaying banners that highlighted their solidarity.
“We’re here to express condemnation against Israel’s genocide against Palestinians and against the companies and countries that are complicit,” said Julia Hope from SAJFP.
“This week, we’re dealing with the reality of what forced starvation looks like, which is hundreds of children dying in Gaza. This is not just a famine by circumstance, it’s an active forced starvation,” she continued.
The location of the protest was strategic, taking place across the street from a McDonald’s branch and the Coca-Cola offices in Rosebank, on Oxford Road.
Protestors argued that an action as simple as purchasing a Big Mac makes everyday people, many unknowingly, complicit in funding a genocide.
Picketers on Oxford Street hold up signs protesting Zionism and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Photo: Mbali Khumalo
The BDS boycott list includes companies such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Amazon, Reebok, and several more food, technology and travel corporations. These businesses operate branches or franchises in Israel that have allegedly provided generous donations to the Israel Defence Force (IDF).
Some support the genocide more directly, with Amazon and Google having previously developed AI technology and computing infrastructure for the IDF in a $1.2 billion contract in 2021.
The struggle for a free Palestine is ongoing, and pickets will be continuing as Joburg residents add their voices to the global call to end violence in Gaza.
FEATURED IMAGE: A sign displayed by protestors calling on the public to boycott McDonald’s. Photo: Mbali Khumalo.
Young South Africans consider the intersections of freedom, art, and activism as a ‘new freedom’ is envisioned.
Thirty-one years into democracy, the question of what freedom truly means remains at the heart of South Africa’s national dialogue. On Thursday, June 26, the Nelson Mandela Foundation provided a space of reflection, resistance, and reimagining as young people from across the country gathered under the theme Born Free but Still Not Bound: Redefining Freedom for South African Youth.
June, known as Youth Month, honours the historic 1976 student uprising and continues to carry the weight of memory. But as many young people shared, the legacy of freedom is still unevenly felt. South Africa remains the most unequal country in the world, with economic hardships and social instability disproportionately affecting the youth.
Quoting her father, Amahle Invelo Jaxa, a passionate social activist, said being “legally free but economically excluded is no better than being in chains”.
Photo of the Dr Naledi Pandor at the podium on Thursday, June 26, 2025. Photo: Phenyo Selinda
“Yes, we are free to speak our minds, but who listens when unemployment is almost at 45%… when 60% of them have never had a job?” She stressed that memory must be a form of resistance. “An idea, unlike walls, cannot be locked down… As young people, we cannot afford to inherit struggle passively but must repurpose it to fuel our ideas and our art.”
Attendee, Marievonne Daya added: “Freedom cannot be measured just by the fall of apartheid alone; it must be stated in every day of our lives.” She mapped out today’s youth challenges of unemployment, crime, substance abuse, and mental health, and called on her peers to carry forward the unfinished struggle of 1976 for a better standard of living.
“Apartheid is a crude, sophisticated system of social engineering,” she said, drawing a comparison to Israel’s ongoing treatment of Palestinians. “The struggle and concept of resistance were enriched through young people’s leadership,” she added, naming icons like Solomon Mahlangu, Steve Biko, and Hector Pieterson. “If we don’t think of the rhetoric of what society we are trying to form, then we are building a dangerous society.”
Programme director and advocacy coordinator at the foundation, Nomahlozi Ramhloki, closed the event with a powerful reminder, “The thing about freedom in 1994 is that the work was only beginning,” she said. It would be a betrayal if we inherited a democracy and did nothing with it.
What unfolded at the Nelson Mandela Foundation was far more than a panel discussion. It lit a spark for the collective reawakening of young South Africans to boldly imagine a future where freedom is a lived experience.
FEATURED IMAGE: Photo of the Nelson Mandela Foundation logo
On May 21, 2025, the US government met with SA’s presidency to discuss key issues that threaten SA and the USA’s longstanding alliance.
This follows the first group of Afrikaner refugees being granted asylum in the USA under the executive order by President Trump.
False claims of white genocide and persecution continue to threaten the stability of social and political relations.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump publicly addressed accusations of white genocide in South Africa, highlighting the Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 as proof of these claims. Trump followed this up by issuing an executive order granting Afrikaners refugee status in the U.S.A. Three months later, the first group of refugees departed from O.R. Tambo International Airport on Sunday, May 11.
AfriForum’s media manager, Ilze Nieuwoudt said: “AfriForum is not involved in the resettlement programme of the refugees but has been involved in the debate as it has developed over the past few months.”
The highly anticipated meeting happened on May 21 at the White House. Ramaphosa was accompanied by Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau and Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshaveni. Interestingly, the entourage also included golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, and billionaire Johaan Rupert.
During the meeting, Ramaphosa expressed “joy” and said he wanted to “reset the relationship between the United States and South Africa” due to the longstanding alliance.
Trump’s attempt to corner Ramaphosa and his delegates by playing video clips of Julius Malema singing the controversial, ‘Kill The Boer’ (an Apartheid-era struggle song) at an EFF rally was unsuccessful. Another clip included former president, Jacob Zuma singing ‘Dubula iBhunu’ (Shoot the Boer) at an ANC rally.
South African Research Chair in Mobility & the Politics of Difference in the African Centre of Migration and Society at Wits University, Dr. Loren B. Landau, said that by any standards, white Afrikaners do not face persecution.
“Individuals may face discrimination or threats, but if you look at landownership, employment, government leadership, and business, Afrikaners are overrepresented.”
Echoing Landau’s statements, Director of Wits University’s Centre for Diversity Studies, Professor Nicky Falkof, highlighted that legitimate refugees are still being excluded while privileged white Afrikaner refugees get the “red carpet treatment” from the U.S.A.
“The less airtime we give to these ridiculous, self-serving, hysterical, sensationalist far-right mythologies, the better,” Falkof asserted.
Worried of the risks and the potential fallout, Falkof warns that racial violence could be on the horizon, with retaliation from armed local far-right groups looming due to the current misinformation crisis that is radicalising their political stances and ideologies.
Ramaphosa addressed Trump’s misinformed claims as false and urged that Trump listen to South African voices, including those of his white friends in the room.
The meeting concluded on a hopeful note. Ramaphosa said that he still expects the U.S. to remain a key ally, especially with the upcoming G20 summit in November 2025.
FEATURED IMAGE: Digital artwork showing the flags of South Africa and the United States of America, with side-by-side portraits of President Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump while a fire rages beneath them. Graphic: Katlego Makhutle
A new political society has its sights set on changing the dynamic of student representation in the university’s decision-making processes.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Student Movement is officially registered as a student society.
They plan to represent marginalised societies on campus.
Some students see MKSM as a chance for deeper political engagement.
As of May 20, 2025, the uMkhonto weSizwe Student Movement (MKSM) was officially registered as a political society at Wits University.
The Dean of Student Affairs at Wits University, Jerome September, confirmed that the movement met the requirements for registration. These include a constitution aligned with that of the Student Representative Council (SRC), a motivational letter, and at least 50 student signatures.
“Should there be a challenge in terms of the application, feedback is given, and they are allowed to appeal. The MKSM met the requirements and was thus approved,” he said.
Wits convenor, Mthembeni Mzobe, said the movement faced delays and only received approval during the moratorium period, which temporarily restricts political activity on campus.
“We arrived late. Now we need to sort out documents while other student organisations are hitting the ground,” he said.
Despite the delays, Mzobe said MKSM plans to engage communities often excluded from mainstream campus politics. “We will approach churches and traditional societies on campus. They have constituencies but no representation,” he added.
In an interview with Wits Vuvuzela, Regional MKSM convenor Nkuna Gift said their goal is to “empower students and provide a platform for their voices,” while aligning with the party’s national vision of economic transformation and social justice.
The national deputy coordinator of MKSM Siphesihle Sibande engages with students in front of the Umthombo Building. Photo: LikhoMbuka
In discussion with various students on campus, many welcomed the formation of MKSM, they said it reflects the diversity of political views on campus.
Third-year student Sindiswa Zondo said “It would be ignorant to think there can be space constraints. Wits students come from all walks of life.”
When asked whether MKSM would be contesting in the upcoming SRC elections, Mzobe declined to comment but said they would “expand political representation” on campus. The 2025 Wits SRC elections are expected to take place in September.
FEATURED IMAGE: A member of the MK Student Movement wears the party’s T-shirt on Wits campus. Photo: Likho Mbuka
When power stops fearing protest, silence wins. This is a wake-up call on how South Africa’s loudest weapon is being disarmed.
Democratic South Africa was born through struggle. Its foundations were laid not in conference rooms, but in the streets carved out by those who refused to be silent. From the 1976 protest against the government’s policy of using Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in schools for Black students to the 1994 apartheid conquerors who got the first taste of freedom, the story of this nation has always been written in protest.
We protested against apartheid. We protested against economic exclusion. We protested for transformation in our schools and our institutions. In each case, protest was the only language those in power could not ignore.
We are a people who know those in power only listen when they are threatened, often violently. And it has been the history of our country’s leaders who respond not to the polite murmur of petitions but to the thunder of marching feet and tires burning.
But what happens when even that language starts to lose its meaning?
Protests have become more frequent and more urgent, yet they are ignored. Communities rise to demand water, electricity, housing and dignity, and yet these demands are met with the same routine: a visit from officials, a statement to the media, and a fake promise of “investigations”. Then, silence.
These issues persist, the cycle continues, and people begin to feel that speaking out changes nothing.
We can all remember the protest of 1976 when young people confronted the might of the apartheid state with nothing but conviction and clarity. They stood together because they believed in the power of their collective voice.
More recently, #FeesMustFall reminded us that protesting could still unsettle the powerful, but even then, the demand for free, decolonised education was diluted, redirected, and largely ignored.
I think the problem today is that the protest itself is being neutralised. Institutions have learnt to co-opt movements, to divide people, and offer symbolic gestures while preserving the status quo by either suspending, expelling or even criminalising protest action. A meeting here and there, tools to manage dissent without ever dealing with the problem.
Along with the above, the rise of individualism has made people easier to divide. In the age of likes, followers, and branded activism, the collective power that once drove our revolutions is fast fading.
We are now in a period where movements become moments and action becomes content. And real transformation is replaced by representation without change.
Institutions, both political and academic, have learnt to exploit this. They divide and conquer, selecting a few voices to ‘engage’, elevating individuals while ignoring the masses. In doing so, they extinguish the flame of the collective, turning urgent demands into manageable noise.
This is how protest dies, not with suppression, but with performance. Not with silence, but with strategic listening.
The tragedy is that we are living in a time when protest is needed more than ever. Economic inequality continues unabated. Corruption is a daily headline. Basic services have collapsed in many communities. And yet, when people rise, their voices bounce off a system trained to survive outrage.
We must remember that protest is not a problem. It is a pulse. It tells us when a democracy is in distress. To dismiss or defang a protest is to allow injustice to deepen in silence.
The choice is simple: either we rebuild the collective strength that once brought down giants, or we continue to shout into the wind while power pretends to listen.
Wits University academic confronts the ongoing dispossession of Black communities in post-apartheid South Africa in new book.
Growing up under the shadow of stark inequality, Dr. Dineo Skosana developed a lifelong commitment to understanding and challenging the historical forces that shaped them. Now a lecturer in politics and researcher at the Society, Work and Politics Institute (SWOP) at Wits University, she weaves her academic and activist role around the themes of land, memory and social justice.
These are not just abstract ideas in her work, they are rooted in South Africa’s contemporary reality. “There’s a dangerous and growing discourse that says Black people don’t need land back, just jobs,” she says.
Dr. Dineo Skosana. Photo: Supplied
For Skosana, this narrative is both ahistorical and harmful. Her work consistently pushes back against such distortions, asserting that land is not only an economic asset but also a site of identity, heritage, and spiritual connection.
In her newly released book, No Last Place to Rest: Coal Mining and Dispossession in South Africa, Dr. Skosana reveals how coal extraction continues to dispossess Black communities, not just physically, but spiritually. “Dispossession is a continuing lived experience,” she explains. As South Africa faces both an energy crisis and an unresolved land reform debate, her book arrives at a crucial moment. It challenges whose knowledge and experiences are centred in national policy and how we define the meaning of land.
As a Black academic working in a historically white-dominated institution, Skosana has had to navigate systemic barriers. When she first entered Wits as a student, there were few Black South African lecturers. “Academia was associated with whiteness,” she recalls.
That legacy, she says, still lingers. “Many of us are challenging this,” she says. Urging senior African scholars to mentor emerging academics rather than gatekeep. “To bask in the company of European scholars can’t be our measure of success. We must build legacies with our communities and younger Black scholars.”
Her teaching is deeply informed by her research and by the knowledge of African communities themselves, co-producers of the insights she brings into the classroom. “Understanding the correlation between research and teaching maintains the integrity of what I teach,” she says.
Dr. Skosana’s journey is a reminder that academic spaces can be sites of resistance, and that knowledge especially when grounded in lived experience, remains a powerful tool for justice.
FEATURED IMAGE: Photo of No Last Place to Rest: Coal Mining and Dispossession in South Africa book. Photo: Supplied by Dr. Skosana
The IPID has dropped its charges against KZN’s Provincial Police Commissioner due to a lack of evidence.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has officially dropped its charges against the Provincial Police Commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The case, launched on March 19, was a result of an anonymous tip off against Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
According to EyeWitness News, he was accused of having cleared allegations against a prison official, Feroz Khan, who was alleged to have interfered in a drug dealing case.
There’s been a lot of noise around Mkhwanazi lately. Under his leadership, KZN has seen a more assertive police force that isn’t afraid to take the fight to criminals. As recent as January 30, the police were involved in a shootout with Inanda West Gang, a notorious gang that has been terrorising communities in northern Durban.
Mkhwanazi has publicly declared war on gang crime and gun violence, with over 100 suspects getting killed during confrontations with KZN police units. It’s no surprise that figures like National Assembly Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee of Police Ian Cameron have raised concerns about the political undertones of the IPID’s case against Mkhwanazi.
There are questions worth asking. Was this ever really about justice, or just a way to sideline a cop who doesn’t play politics? The latest crime stats from the South African Police Service (SAPS), ranging from October to December 2024, show a 1.6% decrease in contact crime. KZN showed a significant decrease in murders by 9.5% amongst other contact-related crimes.
Some commentators have tried to paint his approach as ruthless and unduly lethal, with the DA leading the charge of pressuring SAPS to implement body cams for everyday operations. However, if that means showing up, cracking down on drug networks and, sending a clear message to criminals, then maybe it’s what the rest of the country needs to adapt to.
Recent data from the IPID in the fiscal year of 2023-2024 reported significant concerns regarding the use of force by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and they additionally reported 187 deaths resulting from police action in KZN, the highest in all provinces. This alarming number was countered by Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu, who argues that these were results of police acting in self-defence against suspects.
Law enforcement can’t be effective when it’s second-guessed at every turn by people who’ve never been put in highly threatening situations. Communities under siege from gangs and drug dealers don’t need long lectures, they need decisive action. Mkhwanazi has been open in recent interviews about the fact that being soft on crime simply doesn’t work in this country and he’s not wrong.
Perhaps, it is time we let more leaders like him do just that, even if we disagree with the methods at hand. A stronger law enforcement system is needed now more than ever, with a balanced reform of policing and law enforcement protocols. That will assist in ensuring that all crime is addressed fairly, immediately and without bias against SAPS.
FEATURED IMAGE: Katlego Makhutle. Photo: File/Paul Botes
Since her announcement as the Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, Helen Zille has dominated national headlines. In this bonus episode of We Should Be Writing podcast, hosts Lulah Mapiye and Bonolo Mokonoto dissect a media meet-and-greet with the mayoral hopeful. From her extensive political résumé to her controversial public utterance, we examine why the Democratic Alliance has chosen Hellen Zille as their candidate for the 2027 local mayoral elections. Additionally, […]
