ANC (apparently) pays back the money
President Cyril Ramaphosa also reassured South Africans that the ANC had paid back the money the party owed for the use of a South African National Defence Force plane. This is after a delegation from the governing party hitched a ride on a plane going to Zimbabwe. That delegation, which included ANC secretary general Ace Magashule, was not conducting state business. It also wasn’t, technically, allowed to cross the borders of the country — what with the lockdown being in full force at the time. It does seem that Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-nqakula is forgiven after forfeiting three months’ salary and receiving a reprimand reprimanding from the president, who said she made an “error in judgment”.
Strength amid turmoil in Mozambique
As hundreds and thousands of people flee their homes in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province, where a three-year conflict is intensifying, the birth of a baby has yet again brought hope. In 2000, Baby Rosita was born in a tree during heavy flooding, and in 2019 Baby Sara was born in a mango tree as cyclone Idai hit the country. This year is no different, except perhaps for the location. Fleeing the violence of Cabo Delgado, a (very) soon-to-be
mother was brave enough to board a wooden boat alongside villagers seeking refuge in the provincial capital, Pemba. But as fate would have it, the mother gave birth to a baby while still on the boat. After reaching shore, both mother and baby were taken to hospital in good health. This time, it’s Baby Awa who again reminds the country’s citizens of their strength and perseverance amid the turmoil.
Latest on Meyiwa killing
Confusion or laying bare the incompetence of our policing system? It started when five suspects, arrested six years after the murder of former Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa, refused to stand in the dock in court, arguing that they did not kill Meyiwa and police were using them to protect those actually responsible for killing the soccer star. The accused, who continued to maintain their innocence, also refused any legal representation. Then a mistakenly leaked document from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) revealed that singer Kelly Khumalo, who at the time of the murder was Meyiwa’s girlfriend, is possibly linked to the suspects. This coincides with the theory espoused by Afriforum, which argues that Meyiwa’s killing was not the result of a robbery, but was in fact a hit. Let’s hope that when the case proceeds on 27 November, the police and the NPA will have their ducks in a row to ensure a successful conviction of those who are truly guilty.
A conservative US Supreme Court
On Monday evening the United States Senate on confirmed Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court after a vote (52–48) sealed her position, and strengthened a conservative majority of 6–3 in the country’s highest court. Barrett’s swearing-in ceremony was overseen by President Donald Trump, who naturally described it as a “momentous day for America”. Barrett is the successor to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away last month, leaving a liberal void in the office. Although the Democrats have argued that it should be up to the winner of next week’s election to choose the nominee for the Supreme Court vacancy, it cannot be ignored that Barrett is the fifth woman on the high court and the first mother of school-age children, two of whom are adopted, to fill this leading role.
Miss South Africa 2020 is …
Shudufhadzo Musida wears the crown! Growing up in Ha-masia in Limpopo, a village in the Vhembe district municipality, the newly crowned Miss South Africa 2020 attributed her win to her village, saying “it took an entire village to get me here and I would like to thank all of you for being my village”. Musida, is determined to drive change: she plans to create awareness around mental health issues in rural and disadvantaged areas, join the battle against food insecurity and create opportunities for educational empowerment.
Angry citizens take to the streets
In South Africa, protests are a common occurrence, but we’re by no means the only country in which this is the case. Violent clashes between protesters and police broke out in Philadelphia in the United States, after police fatally shot another black man, 27-year-old Walter Wallace. It’s only months since the global outcry of Black Lives Matter when hiphop artist George Floyd was killed during an arrest. Over in Bangladesh, protests erupted calling for a boycott of French goods after President Emmanuel Macron said that Islam was in a “crisis”, after the murder of a teacher who had shown cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his students. And in Poland, thousands of people took to the streets after a constitutional court ruling that abortions are illegal, despite a 2014 poll showing the majority of the country to be against abortion. Protests took place in nearly 50 cities across the country, while crowds also gathered outside Polish embassies in London in the United Kingdom and in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
Syrian ceasefire in jeopardy
Sacred tree sacrificed for a highway
In Victoria, Australia, a tree sacred to the Aboriginal people was cut down on Monday in the government’s quest to upgrade a highway. Many people, together with activists independent of the Aboriginal group, condemned the removal of the tree, which is described as a culturally significant object for the local Djab Wurrung women. This is not an isolated event: Australia’s cultural heritage laws were criticised earlier this year after the demolition of ancient Aboriginal caves in Western Australia by the mining company Rio Tinto. The company’s chief executive Jean-sébastien Jacques eventually announced his resignation after receiving heavy criticism from investors and Indigenous community leaders.