Our African bonds defy borders
The South Africa where foreigners fear for their lives is not the South Africa envisioned by Nelson Mandela and the Freedom Charter. Reflecting on the moment on February 11, 1990 when his 27 years of incarceration ended and he walked toward the promise of a new South Africa, Nelson Mandela once recalled: “I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” His freedom heralded the opportunity of a new start for the pariah nation. Unsurprisingly, after being issued with his first South African passport eight days after his release, he embarked on a…
‘Arm yourself and learn tsotsi taal‘
‘If you want to survive this city,” the taxi driver advises, “you must learn tsotsi taal and how to dance pantsula.” In 2001, I am an asylum seeker in South Africa. My stories about corruption in Kenya have forced me to flee for my life. I arrive in the midst of xenophobic attacks in Cape Town and Joburg. On one of my first taxi rides, I inadvertently take the front passenger seat. Everyone soon knows I’m a foreigner. I don’t know that it’s my role to receive fares from the other passengers and hand them their change. Even when I…
‘Ke Yona’ hopefuls can make Bafana
The final 18 Nedbank Ke Yona Team players could possibly receive contracts from PSL outfits Shakes Mashaba believes it is quite possible for Nedbank Ke Yona Team potentials to not only make the team that will face the eventual Nedbank Cup champions, but also make it all the way to being drafted into the national team. In an interview with The Weekly on Monday, Mashaba said some of the Ke Yona Team aspirants do indeed have the potential to move from their current fundamental football phase and go on to don national team colours, provided they are adequately developed. “As…
