The Weekly Editorial
Anywhere else where the rule of law is sacrosanct, Nigerian prophet TB Joshua would be facing his day in the dock over the death of dozens of worshippers, including 84 South Africans, at his church complex in Lagos a fortnight ago. Honestly, shouldn’t someone be accepting responsibility for housing people, as agency reports suggest, in a dangerously sub-standard building that allegedly sidestepped construction standards? But, perhaps, that would be expecting too much of Nigeria where efforts to rescue survivors from the rubble of the four-storey building have been at best dodgy and at worst pathetic. While we condole with the…
Is our parly a spectacle of ridicule?
On May 8 1996, the parliament of the Republic of South Africa adopted a constitution to serve as the supreme law of the land. It was on this historic day that the deputy president at that time, Thabo Mbeki, made his famous “I am an African” speech. Speaking on behalf of the ruling ANC party, Mbeki declared his pride in being an African on account of, amongst others, a model constitution which was manufactured by Africans on African soil. It is the constitution that ensured that all were equal before the law, and everybody had rights and freedoms not present…
The land is our heritage
Heritage Month is upon us and, as Africans located at the tip of southern Africa, we have correctly commenced festivities to celebrate and honour our various languages, customs and heritage. It is a universal fact that Africa boasts itself as a leading continent rooted in its innumerable cultures and authentic African languages. More so, South Africa is very peculiar since it consists of different cultures, faiths, religions and is divided by the 11 official languages that are recognised by the constitution. There are however many drawbacks that discourage people like me from genuinely committing to celebrating Heritage Day. First of…
