Mea Culpa: The Abdication and Co-option of the Black Middle Class
Standfirst South Africa has more Black leaders in powerful institutions than ever before. Yet the distance between the Black middle class and the communities that shaped it continues to widen. This essay reflects on the quiet abdication and co-option of that class—and the responsibility that now confronts it. There comes a moment when confession must […]
Strait of Hormuz “shutdown” and the revival of coal
When Iran declared the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in early March following coordinated U.S.–Israeli strikes on strategic targets inside its territory, the world witnessed more than just a military flare-up. It watched the sudden constriction of the most critical maritime artery for global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), triggering an energy shock […]
SOUTH AFRICA NOTES ISRAEL’S RESPONSE FILING TO THE ICJ
The South African government has noted the filing of Israel’s response to South Africa’s written pleadings in the case of Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The State of Israel filed its […]
A COURT FOR THE WEAK? WHY MAJOR POWERS IGNORE THE ICC WHILE AFRICA STANDS TRIAL
On November 13, 2025, an International coalition of lawyers and human rights groups officially appealed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) with a request to investigate the actions of President Samia Suluhu Hassan and her Government during the recent presidential elections in Tanzania. Today, six months later, we are witnessing how this event has fundamentally […]
PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA CONDENMS INTERNATIONAL LAW VIOLATIONS IN MIDDLE EAST
President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Government of the Republic of South Africa express deep concern regarding the escalation of tensions in the Middle East. These developments pose a serious threat to regional and international peace and security, with far-reaching humanitarian, diplomatic and economic consequences. President Ramaphosa calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and […]
PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA WELCOMES RETURN OF SOUTH AFRICAN MEN FROM RUSSIAN FRONTLINES
President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the return of the South African men who were lured into the battle lines between Russia and Ukraine by South African elements that remain under investigation. The South African government, working closely with the Russian government, has secured a safe return of the men. This followed receipt of distressed calls […]
HIGH COURT ORDER HALTS LAND INVASION ON PRIME AGRICULTURAL LAND NEAR EAST LONDON
The Minister of Public Works & Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, has welcomed the order granted by the High Court of South Africa (Eastern Cape Division, East London Circuit Court), issuing a rule nisi with immediate interim effect in respect of 13 unoccupied and incomplete structures erected on prime agricultural land near East London. He said the […]
DRIP BY DRIP, RIGHTS DISAPPEAR – MIDRAND IS JUST A START
South Africans wake up every day in a country where human rights exist loudly on paper and quietly disappear in practice. The unfolding water crisis in Midrand, Gauteng, is simply the latest reminder of our government’s callous neglect of its most basic obligations to its citizens. This past Tuesday, rightfully-frustrated residents in Midrand marched through […]
DESPITE RECKLESS ACTIONS AROUND IRAN AND BEYOND, REALITY CANNOT BE BULLIED
Desperate and flagrant actions are being taken by the Trump administration—at whose behest we do not know—but these should not be confused as successful interventions. Rather, they are a bald-faced attempt to force the world into a shape in which it will never bend. In Southwest Asia, heavy words continue to be levelled against Iran, […]
YES, THERE IS A LIMIT TO A TYRANT’S POWER
A nation can endure hardship, disagreement, and even bitter factional conflict—and still remain a republic. What it cannot survive is the steady replacement of law with raw force, until “authority” means nothing more than whichever armed agency arrives first. America is now witnessing, in real time, what it looks like when the Executive claims powers […]