The power of humour in South Africa
South Africans joke about everything. Happy, sad, serious, definitely not a joking matter - nothing is off limits. During the pandemic, the July Unrest...
The DA’s Deluded or Demagogue Approach To Stellenbosch University
By Luke Waltham
The DA’s Federal Congress over the last weekend has resulted in a number of reactions and thoughts by voters, critics and commentators...
Severus Snape Is Not The Hero You Think He Is
Just a disclaimer before I start - I am a huge Potterhead. I have lived and breathed all of the Harry Potter books for...
Students Are Not “Committing Suicide”, Universities Are Killing Us
COMMENT
I first went into a psychiatric ward when I was eighteen. I struggled with serious depression and had attempted suicide. At that age I...
What is in a word – ableism
What is in a word, ableism, that is what. Yes, I can imagine the able bodied are busy trying to “get back to normal”...
UKZN Is Still A Colonial Institution
COMMENT
Last month, the Witness published a story of one Mr Vincent Luxolo Mtyende, a lecturer at the University of KwaZulu Natal, who according to...
Want To Enter Into A Muslim Marriage In SA? Here Are...
Arising out of the discussions at a recent workshop organised by the Muslim Personal Law (MPL) Network, it was clear that Muslims in South...
Afro-pessimism is the greatest form of Black optimism
Amid debates surrounding the "politics" of fallism, Zama Mthunzi reflects on the confusion surrounding Afro-pessimism.
Afro-pessimism has been misconceived as a field of thought that...
A very serious, not-a-joke letter to Eskom
Dear Eskom,
I understand that we are a nation with a power crisis right now and that it is somewhat beyond your current control -...
What The Skinny Sbu Socks Saga Teaches Us About Small Business
A couple of weeks ago Sibusiso Ngwenya (Skinny Sbu) shared on his social media platform that he had been struggling with depression and that...
It’s been 7 years since “Rhodes fell” – here’s how it...
April 9, 2022 marked seven years since the removal of the statue of Cecil John Rhodes from its plinth at the University of Cape...
The Death Penalty Is Not The Solution To Violence Against Women
COMMENT
The horrific death of 19-year old UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana, is for many South Africans the cruel combination of unsurprising and heart-breaking. It is...
English Pronunciation Does It Really Matter That Much?
COMMENT
South Africa is a diverse linguistic community that’s not only influenced by its eleven official languages, but by a multitude of international languages...
Corona on the other side of wealth
Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu or “I am because you are” is how we describe the meaning of Ubuntu. It speaks to the phenomena that we...
Scarlett Johansson: From Whitewashing To Straightwashing
After its release in March 2017, Rupert Sanders' American sci-fi action Ghost in the Shell was widely accused of whitewashing due to its casting...
“Under Capitalism, No Black Person Ever Dies By ‘Natural Causes’”
COMMENT
Whether we are aware of it or not, we see Black people as living synonymous with labour, especially through a white gaze in this...
An Open Letter to the Board of BDS-SA On The Muhammad...
COMMENT
We as individuals, committed to:
Justice for Palestine;
An indivisible, intersectional approach to justice;
Victim-centered approaches to gender-based violence (GBV), and
The creation of egalitarian societies;
categorically reject the...
Is Blackface Just A White People Thing?
COMMENT
By LAWRENCE MASHIYANE
After seeing a viral video of Batswana comedian, William Last KRM, a question of whether black people or people of colour can...