Anti-apartheid activists reburied in a solemn ceremony in Soweto
JOHANNESBURG - The remains of two political activists have been reburied in Soweto.
Benjamin Moloise and Abram Mngomezulu were both executed during the dark days of Apartheid.
The ceremony is part of a greater effort to repatriate the remains of freedom fighters.
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi says these reburial are aimed at assisting families find closure.
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Mail & Guardian
8 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
Reimagining SA-US relations in the aftermath of the Oval Office spectacle
US President Donald Trump. The Oval Office encounter between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Donald Trump was no ordinary diplomatic engagement. It was a geopolitical theatre — a collision of clashing narratives, one anchored in misinformation, the other focused on sustaining economic opportunities. Yet beneath the theatrics lay deep tectonic shifts in the global order. If we reframe from spectacle to substance, this moment is not an anomaly, but a strong signal of change. Like a clarion call for transforming not just a bilateral relationship, but the paradigms that govern diplomacy in a fractured world. The spectacle and the system President Trump's invocation of the 'white genocide' and 'land expropriation' myths, conspiracy theories rooted in post-apartheid disinformation, transformed the Oval Office into a theatre of post-truth politics. In stark contrast, President Ramaphosa anchored his response in evidence and historical nuance. Yet, he was flanked by elites representing a narrow, privileged slice of South African society, many of whom continue to benefit from both apartheid-era structures and the post-1994 democratic order. Ironically, their presence inadvertently bolstered Trump's narrative, leaving Ramaphosa politically and rhetorically isolated. The dissonance in perspectives, most of which were tangential to the pressing structural issues, laid bare a deeper epistemic fault line in international diplomacy. A few days later, this collision of spectacle and geopolitics became more visible, more public and more fraught, as Elon Musk, a South African-born billionaire, reportedly exerted influence over South Africa's domestic ownership laws. His push to secure a license to operate These events expose a critical question — will global relations continue to be shaped by the ideological distortions of dominant powers or can emerging middle powers like South Africa assert a sovereign, historically grounded and futures-oriented voice in shaping global narratives? But to fixate solely on the leaders' exchange is to miss the forest for the trees. This encounter should be situated within four converging systemic dynamics: Weaponised misinformation: The Oval Office moment reflected a global trend in which misinformation becomes diplomatic currency, supplanting evidence-based policymaking with political spectacle. Colonial afterlives : Trump's selective empathy for lower-middle-class white South Africans, while erasing the structural violence of apartheid and ongoing economic inequality, mirrored America's own unfinished racial reckoning. Both nations remain haunted by colonial legacies that continue to shape contemporary power dynamics. Land reform in South Africa: It is central to addressing the enduring legacies of apartheid and colonial dispossession. The government's approach, as embedded in The manipulation of public discourse through misinformation further constrains the potential of land reform to serve as a vehicle for equitable economic empowerment. Geopolitical realignment: As the US recedes into transactional nationalism, South Africa is recalibrating its alliances, deepening its ties with Brics and the Global South. The Oval Office tension is not merely interpersonal; it is symptomatic of a world undergoing seismic geopolitical reordering. Creating pathways out of tension Futures thinking compels us to move beyond linear forecasting toward systemic foresight. How might South Africa and the US transform this tension into opportunity? Rather than reverting to business-as-usual diplomacy, this is a chance to craft pathways — not just to each other, but to the systemic crises unfolding across climate change, technology access, energy transitions and legitimacy: Institutionalise reparative diplomacy: South Africa should move beyond extractive and exploitative trade arrangements, such as exporting unprocessed critical minerals to the US, which disproportionately fuels US industrialisation, towards reparative partnerships grounded in mutual benefit, innovation and structural equity. This shift calls for a A reparative framework would also support greater symmetry in global power relations. South Africa's exports of critical minerals enable the US to secure its supply chains for strategic sectors, including artificial intelligence and military technologies. These partnerships must, however, also foreground South Africa's economic development priorities. At their core, they should promote domestic mineral beneficiation and intra-African value-chain development, imperatives to reducing dependency and advancing economic sovereignty. Defend transparent land reform: The South African government's land reform programme should continue evolving with clear legal frameworks, such as the Expropriation Act, ensuring fairness and promoting inclusive economic development. Redistributing land is only the first step; beneficiaries need title deeds, financial, technical and infrastructural support to make land productive and sustainable while reassuring investors that land reform will not undermine agricultural productivity or economic stability. Crucially, unutilised state and rural land under the jurisdiction of traditional authorities should be integrated into a broader national strategy. Land reform and economic development are not mutually exclusive but mutually reinforcing. Embrace post-Western multilateralism: The US should engage South Africa not as a subordinate but as a co-architect of new governance frameworks, particularly in frontier arenas such as AI ethics, climate and trade diplomacy and global financial architecture reform. Equally, South Africa should guard against surrendering its agency to a declining hegemon operating through outdated diplomatic paradigms. A truly post-Western multilateralism requires that all governments adapt and engage as equals in shaping more just and future-fit international systems. A call for courage and imagination The Oval Office confrontation was not merely a diplomatic rupture; it was a symptom of decaying systems and a crucible of possibility. Futures thinking reminds us that crises are not endpoints, but inflexion points. Here, futures studies are defined as a systematic, transdisciplinary approach to exploring, anticipating and shaping more favourable outcomes by embracing complexity and a plurality of possible trajectories. The Retrofitting established policy frameworks to accommodate Musk sets the stage for a global order where misinformation thrives, alliances fracture and diplomacy is reduced to viral spectacle. But this future is not inevitable. It is a choice. The central question shaping South Africa-US relations is no longer merely whether the two nations can afford to collaborate. Rather, it is how South Africa can most effectively navigate a shifting geopolitical landscape, one increasingly defined not by binary choices, but by the rise of multipolarity, multi-alignment and strategic autonomy. As US diplomacy contends with internal challenges and fluctuating global influence, countries like South Africa and others are exploring other partnerships, such as Brics, opening a spectrum of diplomatic possibilities. These range from deepening ties with the US to expanding South–South cooperation through Brics, to crafting a nuanced foreign policy that engages multiple partners without becoming beholden to any single bloc. A sovereign-respecting relationship between South Africa and the US would depart from the legacy of asymmetrical engagement. Instead, it would reflect the emergence of a multipolar global order in which both countries act as autonomous agents defined not by subordination or rivalry, but by mutual respect, flexible cooperation and a recognition of shared and divergent interests alike. To thrive in an increasingly multipolar global economy, South Africa cannot afford isolation. It needs a diverse portfolio of allies and partnerships. The challenge now is whether Ramaphosa will pivot to the gravitational pull of Trump-era theatrics and Musk's techno-capitalist demands or whether he can seize this moment to reset the terms of engagement with the US on the foundations of sovereignty, foresight and shared prosperity. Letitia Jentel is the senior programme manager and researcher with the Futures programme at the , an independent public policy think tank.
Eyewitness News
10 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
'Resilient, and a man of unwavering principle' - President Cyril Ramaphosa pays tribute to anti-apartheid activist, Reverent Tshenuwani Farisani
JOHANNESBURG - Resilience - the word many used to describe the late reverend Tshenuwani Farisani - a respected anti-apartheid activist and former member of Parliament. Mourners, including senior government officials, gathered at the University of Venda in Thohoyandou, Limpopo on Saturday to honour the man who they say never wavered in his fight for liberation. ALSO READ: Dr Tshenuwani Farisani remembered as a dedicated public servant Farisani passed away on Thursday at the age of 76, following an undisclosed illness. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who delivered the eulogy, reflected on Farisani's courage, recalling how he was arrested three times during Apartheid for his activism. In 1987, Farisani went into exile in the United States, but later returned - a move Ramaphosa has described as a powerful symbol of his commitment to justice and freedom. "He was a man of unwavering principle, nothing could sway him from what was right, from his dedication to the cause, the people of South Africa and their total emancipation."
Eyewitness News
a day ago
- Eyewitness News
Ramaphosa pays tribute to anti-apartheid activist and reverend, Dr Tshenuwani Farisani
JOHANNEBSURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to anti-apartheid activist and reverend, Dr Tshenuwani Farisani, describing him as an extraordinary man who will be dearly remembered. Ramaphosa was speaking at Farisani's funeral at the University of Venda in Thohoyandou, Limpopo. The reverend is being honoured with a special official provincial funeral. Family, mourners and top government officials, including president Ramaphosa and Limpopo Premier, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, gathered to pay their final respects to reverend Farisani. A Lutheran minister and black consciousness activist, Farisani played a key role in the struggle against Apartheid. His activism led to his appointment as a member of Parliament and later Speaker of the Limpopo provincial legislature in 2004. The 76-year-old died on Thursday after suffering from an undisclosed illness. President Ramaphosa said: "These experiences instilled in him a deep sense of understanding injustice. It was planted in the mind and the head of Dr Farisani, the seeds of political consciousness when he was still a teen." He is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son.
