With authoritarians on the rise, the left needs a viable party
The passing of the great Kenyan writer and former political prisoner Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o reminds us of the kind of political and moral clarity offered by the best of our intellectuals. At home, a number of our public intellectuals have drawn comparisons between Jacob Zuma and Ngũgĩ's Big Ben Mambo — the grotesque autocrat obsessed with grandeur, sycophancy, and delusions of eternal rule in his final novel, The Wizard of the Crow...
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The Citizen
5 hours ago
- The Citizen
ANC is a very sexist organisation
It's not only women who feel they are being excluded. ANC first deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane says her party has always been a male-dominated organisation. This, according to Mokonyane, played itself out publicly when Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma contested the party's presidency against Cyril Ramaphosa in 2017. At the time, over 4 000 delegates voted, with Ramaphosa winning 2 440 votes to Dlamini-Zuma's 2 261. There were questions on the capabilities of women to lead the party, and Dlamini-Zuma's relation to former president Jacob Zuma. ALSO READ: ANC55: 'I am going to win,' says confident Nomvula Mokonyane Mokonyane used the incident as one that testified to the ANC's sexism. 'There must not be an illusion that the ANC has never been a male-dominated organisation – very sexist. The question that arises is: Are women ready? Women have always been ready. All of us say the ANC was founded on the following values, the value of a non-sexist organisation was not a priority in the ANC,' Mokonyane told Sunday World. 'They demonised Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma – the ANC. I don't care about the people outside. The women themselves were not united, and there was also this issue about associating her with Jacob Zuma, which is so wrong. If there was somebody who could have gone and formed a party, it would have been her, not Jacob Zuma.' ANC: Old vs young It's not only women who feel they are being excluded. Last week, the ANC Youth League in Gauteng lamented the exclusion of young people by 'old people' in the party. Addressing a media briefing, Secretary Mpume Sangweni stated that the ANC's argument that young people are not ready for leadership positions was invalid. ALSO READ: ANC holds provincial conferences ahead of local government elections 'There appears to be a deliberate attempt to exclude young people in this province,' he said. 'Our impatience is that there are no responses, and we are starting to have problems. Generally, old people are starting to be allergic to the rise of young people in the province. 'There is an MEC who was an MEC when he was 26 years old. No questions were asked whether he was ready or not. Today, he's the second senior MEC in the executive. They themselves were given an opportunity that they have; what then prevents them from giving the chairperson of the GP [Gauteng] youth league that experience? We don't buy that explanation, and we have raised these issues with them.' READ MORE: 'Asi spani': Frustrated Gauteng ANCYL in an 'abusive relationship' with Lesufi
TimesLIVE
11 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
With authoritarians on the rise, the left needs a viable party
The passing of the great Kenyan writer and former political prisoner Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o reminds us of the kind of political and moral clarity offered by the best of our intellectuals. At home, a number of our public intellectuals have drawn comparisons between Jacob Zuma and Ngũgĩ's Big Ben Mambo — the grotesque autocrat obsessed with grandeur, sycophancy, and delusions of eternal rule in his final novel, The Wizard of the Crow...
eNCA
2 days ago
- eNCA
Second officer arrested over Kenya custody death
A second officer has been arrested in connection with the death of a teacher in custody in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the police watchdog said Friday, a case that has sparked nationwide outrage. Albert Ojwang, 31, died in custody last weekend after being arrested for criticising a senior officer online. Police initially said Ojwang had fatally injured himself by banging his head against a wall, but a government pathologist later found the wounds were "unlikely to be self-inflicted". His death has reignited anger over a wave of abductions and heavy-handed policing during anti-government protests last year. Protesters marched on parliament on Thursday, some throwing stones and police firing tear gas. The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) watchdog said in a statement that Samson Talaam, the head of the central Nairobi police station where the incident occurred, had been arrested along with an unnamed civilian. A police official confirmed to AFP that Talaam had been arrested in the western city of Eldoret. Another officer from the same Nairobi station, Constable James Mukhwana, appeared in court earlier in a case under the charge of the IPOA. The watchdog asked for three weeks to complete its investigation, telling the court Mukhwana was present on the night Ojwang was processed by officers. Earlier in the week, police spokesman Michael Muchiri said five officers had been removed from active duty, to "allow for transparent investigations". President William Ruto has called for a swift investigation, and promised on Friday that the government would "protect citizens from rogue police officers". The IPOA recently reported 18 people had died in police custody in the past four months. Protesters have called for the resignation of Deputy Inspector-General Eliud Kipkoech Lagat -- the officer Ojwang was accused of criticising.
