It is a common occurrence during protests to have foreign-owned businesses, that is businesses owned by refugees from Africa or Asia (not the wealthier ones from Europe or the USA) destroyed and/or looted. This is so regular a feature that it tends to go almost unnoticed, as in the case of the North West protests against Premier Supra Mahumaphelo, where it has generally been mentioned as an aside.  Continue reading →

In the last few weeks before and during the court appearance of Jacob Zuma in Durban last week there have been repeated self-references by Zuma to himself as being persecuted and betrayed by those whom he trusted. Continue reading →

With the departure of Jacob Zuma as ANC and state president and the positive reception accorded to the initial period of the Cyril Ramaphosa presidency, the question arises whether the ANC can recover the ground it lost under the leadership of Zuma, and what that in fact means.  Continue reading →