Articles
My latest book reviews for Misery Merchants
Here are the latest reviews for my book “The Misery Merchants”
Listen to the inner rage, hit the punch bag harder… and let love reign
An attempt to strip me of my humanity made me realise what it means to be human. Violence inflicted on me has only made me more determined to love others and to avoid causing harm. I have a view of my garden from my kitchen table. Every morning, I look at the dried-up vegetables in the upturned, halved oil drums in my backyard. All the vegetables have died. I remember…
How communities are defying the Ingonyama Trust’s land grab
Ahead of SA’s watershed 1994 election, 3-million hectares of KwaZulu land were transferred into the Ingonyama Trust, under the Zulu king. On November 22, the high court in Pietermaritzburg will hear residents who claim they have been unlawfully forced to pay rent to the trust, which, aside from having never received a clean audit, appears to be predatory and intimidating. The Umnini holiday resort in the south of KwaZulu-Natal has…
The rise of women boxers in Nigeria
Boxing is not new in Nigeria, but female boxers have only recently started commanding the respect they deserve in and out of the ring. They still earn less than their male counterparts, though. Ishat Oriyomi, a 23-year-old amateur boxer from Nigeria, is kicking her feet in the air in short sharp thrusts. She is standing in the middle of a circle of fellow boxers who are all copying her. She…
Prison company stalls court actions
British multinational security company G4S wants the high court in Pretoria to suppress evidence that could reveal widespread torture and abuse of prisoners at its Mangaung prison in Bloemfontein. G4S has demanded that the medical files of inmates are not to be made public. The inmates allege that the multinational tortured and injected them against their will with antipsychotic drugs. The medical files could contain evidence of these transgressions. G4S…
A joint can still get you in the joint
In 2012, I was arrested with two friends for smoking a joint I had just bought off a car guard in Melville, Joburg. Now that dagga has been partially legalised, I feel I can come out of the pot closet. On September 18, the Constitutional Court ruled that the cultivation and use of dagga is legal if it is for personal use and if used in private. It confirmed an…