Living with the dead

When someone dies in the Toraja region of Sulawesi, in Indonesia, this does not mean the living are rid of him or her. Not by a long shot!

There is a bizarre practice in this community where the dead are mummified (sort of) and laid in a bed somewhere in the house. They bring them all four meals, open the windows, allow kids or grand kids to play in the room, and generally give the impression that the person is just taking a nap.

This can go in for 10 years. Yeah, 10! The deceased is finally buried in an elaborate ceremony that involves the slaughter of many (many!) buffalo.

Nuking Eskom

The Western High Court this week dealt President Zuma and Eskom a major blow when it ruled that the nuclear agreements SA had reached with Russia, US and South Korea were unlawful, unconstitutional and set them aside. 201km (1 989 miles) that separate their United States from Mexico. “And who will pay for it?” he would ask. “Mexico!” his supporters would roar back.

Well, the Mexicans have told Senor Trump to take a hike. Meanwhile, his political opponents back home have said “no way!” to his plan to use US dollars to start building in the hope that he’d recoup the cost in Mexican pesos at a later date. If you’ve been following the Trumpian rhetoric over the last few weeks, you probably know that this defeat is not his first rodeo.

Mbalulu vs Ntlemeza

Back home, police minister Fikile Mbalula has been hogging the headlines, in his stand-off with former Hawks boss Brig. Berning Ntlemeza. First, Mbalula withdrew an appeal by the former police minister in a case in which court found Ntlemeza’s appointment irrational. Then Mbalula picked Lt-Gen Yolisa Matakata as the acting head of the Hawks.

After Ntlemeza showed up “for work” this week, Mbalula asked his police commissioner to arrest the guy for absconding with a state car and cellphone. Ntlemeza’s lawyers insist he is still the Hawks’ boss, pending the outcome of his appeal against the High Court ruling that threw him out of a job. For now, Mbalula is showing that no one is untouchable.

Go Helen, Jacob

“Jacob Zuma must go‚ Helen Zille must go. Our job is to organise.” The words of social activist Zackie Achmat at a public rally Cape Town. You will remember that it was Zackie, whose Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) forced the Thabo Mbeki presidency to roll out anti-retrovirals for South Africans with HIV and Aids way back when.

His beef with Zuma is obvious. With Helen, it’s probably because of her alleged big mouth.