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News24
12 hours ago
- Politics
- News24
Shivambu removed as MK Party secretary-general, deployed to Parliament
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The Citizen
21 hours ago
- The Citizen
Not every story needs to be a struggle story
The real heroes of the struggle remain silent, while others craft fiction for fame. Let's honour truth, not myth, to preserve the integrity of our shared past. General view at the Handing Over and Reburial Ceremony of Umkhonto weSizwe freedom fighters, Comrades Benjamin Moloise and Abraham Mngomezulu, at Orlando Communal Hall on May 03, 2025 in Soweto, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images/Fani Mahuntsi) These days, it seems that to die in South Africa is to finally receive your liberation stripes. A friend sent me a link to a social media tribute the other day. The dearly departed was someone we had all known, an ever-present figure in the entertainment scene, known more for their fashion statements and lavish brunches than for their political convictions. But there it was, typed with deep conviction: 'She was an MK operative, underground since her teens. A real soldier of the struggle.' Another funeral, another surprise unveiling of yet another 'former operative'. It's become such a pattern that one starts to wonder if uMkhonto weSizwe was, unbeknown to us, bigger than the SA Police Service, the army and Eskom combined. Welcome to the world of the zama zamas of the struggle. Those who, like illegal miners operating in the shadows, emerge only in the haze of incense and praise poetry, often just after the obituaries have been filed. Umkhonto weSizwe – The Spear of the Nation. Once a name that evoked quiet respect, nervous admiration and sometimes fear. People trained in Angola, the Soviet Union, Mozambique and East Germany. ALSO READ: Chinese embassy honours struggle stalwart Dr Tlou Cholo Some were part of cells inside the country. Committed, trained, ideological. And most kept quiet because silence was survival. There were codes, protocols, drop-offs, safe houses. I recall one woman working as a nurse in Lusaka. She spoke little, listened a lot. Years later, we discovered she coordinated three safe passages into the Eastern Cape and trained two units. She never once referred to herself as a cadre. The true underground was invisible by design. The danger was real. Names could mean death. To be known then was to be dead. And yet now, somehow, in the democratic glow, everyone was underground. South Africa's post-liberation mythology is fertile ground for what I call struggle laundering. There are many reasons why this happens. Some are benign, but then grief does strange things. Communities want to honour their own. Families need dignity. Others are more strategic: access to state funerals, provincial honours, or proximity to history. Struggle credentials open doors, even from the grave. We've seen fashion designers, club promoters, music producers, even TV actors posthumously declared liberation operatives. ALSO READ: Families of 21 MK operatives still grapple with losing loved ones We do not dishonour the dead when we demand truth. In fact, truth is the only proper tribute. False credentials not only distort history, but they also undermine the quiet courage of those who asked for nothing, expected nothing, and yet did everything. The real zama zamas of the liberation were those who dug deep with nothing but belief. Some never returned. Some returned with broken bodies and scarred psyches. Some came back to nothing, to find that others had become ministers, moguls and men of means while they stand in SA Social Security Agency lines or live in rented back rooms. They remember Operation Vula not as legend but as survival. ALSO READ: 'We will never forget their sacrifice' – Mashatile honours fallen former MK operatives They remember walking barefoot across borders, changing names, missing funerals. They remember learning Russian in dim dormitories. There's Joe, who ran logistics in Lesotho for years, carrying messages on microfilm in matchboxes. Lindiwe, who ferried weapons in her child's nappies. Or Rashid, who spent nine years in Swaziland before slipping back into SA through bush trails, living in safe houses, never seeing his children. These people exist. Many are alive. And you will never hear them speak of the struggle unless you ask, and even then, rarely in detail. The zama zama, in literal terms, is a miner without permit or protection. They go underground illegally, dangerously, driven by the hope of gold. South Africa has thousands of them. Most are unknown until a tunnel collapses or an explosion is heard at midnight. The zama zamas of the struggle are much the same. Some genuine, digging in the dark against apartheid, risking it all. ALSO READ: Others? Well, some mine the struggle retrospectively, hoping for glittering rewards: recognition, validation, burial benefits, family pride. But here lies the danger: if everyone was underground, if everyone was MK, who filled the marches, the boycotts, the student movements, the defiance campaigns? Are we rewriting our history to make room for ghosts that never walked the corridors? As the nation wrestles with who we were and what we became, we must ask: are we honouring sacrifice or manufacturing struggle fiction? I write this not to mock, but to mourn. To mourn the loss of truth. We owe the struggle more than retroactive glory. We owe it honesty. Not every DJ was an MK commander. Not every fashionista ran a cell. But that doesn't mean their lives weren't meaningful. ALSO READ: Vote for MK = vote for Putin The idea that struggle is the only currency of worth is poverty. Some cooked for cadres. Some wrote poems. Some raised children alone. Some simply survived. And that, too, is history. Let us honour all of it. But let us also be vigilant against the commodification of sacrifice. Because one day, our children will ask what we did. And we must not hand them a mythology mined from gold dust and exaggeration. 'We are not short of heroes,' Keorapetse Kgositsile, who was inaugurated as SA's National Poet Laureate in 2006, once said. 'We are short of those who remember them honestly.' NOW READ: Military veterans: ANC fails to care for its own
Mail & Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Government withdraws ‘flawed' waste-tyre management plan for full review
Environment Minister Dion George. (OJ Koloti, Gallo Images) Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister The withdrawal of approval for the plan, which was published in the Government Gazette on 20 March last year, would enable the department 'to revisit the plan with a fine-tooth comb', the The minister's decision reflects his 'commitment to thoroughly reviewing and strengthening environmental policies as a newly appointed leader', it added. In September, the In its court documents Redisa, which managed waste tyres from 2013 to 2017, said the plan had unachievable and unrealistic targets; lacked any budgetary detail; failed to use the available information and projections and was created and approved in a procedurally flawed manner. Redisa has welcomed George's decision after 'publicly calling for this materially flawed and self-defeating plan to be scrapped'. The environment department said that, since taking office, the minister had prioritised a 'meticulous evaluation' of decisions made by previous administrations. 'After careful consideration, he [George] has opted to withdraw the (plan) approval to allow for a detailed reassessment, ensuring the plan fully aligns with the department's objectives of sustainable waste management and robust governance.' George said that, while the plan was developed through a prolonged and consultative process, 'concerns have been raised regarding its alignment with current sector realities and policy intent'. 'The withdrawal enables a focused review to ensure the final plan is implementable, transparent and fully responsive to the operational and governance complexities facing the sector.' The thorough review of the plan will involve renewed stakeholder engagement and the appointment of an organ of state, probably the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, to refine it, addressing areas such as data accuracy and sector capacity. The minister said his goal was to deliver a waste-tyre management plan that is practical, inclusive and futureproof. 'This withdrawal is a proactive step to ensure we get it right, building a stronger foundation for the waste-tyre industry and environmental justice.' Existing interim arrangements for waste-tyre collection and processing would continue, ensuring no disruption to the sector, the department said. It noted that engagements with the treasury were under way to secure a sustainable funding model while further details on the review process would be shared with stakeholders in due course. Redisa was responsible for the implementation of a waste-tyre recycling scheme from 2012 — the only one of its kind in the country — which entailed the creation and management of a national network for collecting discarded tyres, storing them and delivering them to recyclers for processing. This was envisaged as the beginning of a tyre recycling industry and the foundation of secondary industries for the use of products created by recyclers. In September 2017, Redisa and its management arm, Kusaga Taka Consulting, were placed in final liquidation, based on a request from former environmental affairs minister Edna Molewa. In January 2019, the supreme court of appeal overturned the liquidation order. Redisa said that George 'has made a rational decision' and 'should be commended for taking the right action to resolve an issue he inherited'. It was committed to cooperating fully with all parties and would request a meeting with the minister 'to discuss how best to manage the waste-tyre crisis in the country'. The waste-tyre management plan, it maintained, was never going to be an effective solution to South Africa's crisis. The country produces at least 253 000 tonnes of waste tyres a year, which was being 'mismanaged' by the waste bureau under the department, with depots filling up and becoming fire hazards, while tyre dumping was increasing. 'Apart from the public health threats caused by the uniquely toxic character of waste-tyre pollution, the mismanagement is also a lost opportunity for the South African economy, because, through a well-coordinated recycling process, economic development and job creation can be strengthened considerably,' it said. The minister's decision was 'good news, not just for the environment, but also for job creation through recycling in South Africa', it said, adding that it was eager to work with government departments and other stakeholders to make sure the waste-tyre crisis is addressed. It said that, during its tenure, it had built 22 tyre collection centres, employed more than 3 000 people, created 226 small waste enterprises, offset 59 000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, empowered unskilled workers and stimulated emerging entrepreneurs. 'Redisa has the technical and policy experience to play a significant role in turning the waste-tyre crisis into a viable form of economic empowerment because it has done this before.'
The Citizen
a day ago
- The Citizen
‘No proper investigation was done': Defence frustrated over missing evidence in Senzo Meyiwa murder trial
The defence sharply criticised the lack of vehicle tracking data. Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya (L) and Bongani Ntanzi in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial at Pretoria High Court on 17 July 2023. Picture: Gallo Images/Phill Magakoe As the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial resumed on Monday at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, the defence expressed frustration over missing vehicle tracking data critical to the case. The defence team has been seeking automatic vehicle locator (AVL) data related to the arrests of accused number one, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, and accused number two, Bongani Ntanzi, in 2020. Both men allege they were assaulted and coerced into confessing about their involvement in the former Bafana Bafana captain and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper's murder while in police custody during stops made in multiple vehicles. Meyiwa was fatally shot on 26 October 2014 at the family home of his then-girlfriend and singer Kelly Khumalo. Senzo Meyiwa murder trial: State unable to retrieve key records Prosecutor George Baloyi informed the court that the state had received an affidavit from an official at the City of Ekurhuleni, who reported an inability to recover the AVL data. The vehicles in question—a white Audi A3, white BMW 125i, white Nissan NP300, and white Isuzu double cab—were assigned to a SWAT team of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) during May, June, and July 2020. No vehicle movement data could be retrieved for this period. 'He says that he conducted a thorough search within the city's fleet tracking system or that the current tracking system was only implemented after 2020. 'He states, furthermore, that there's no historical AVL data that was migrated from the previous tracking platform into the current system,' Baloyi said. The affidavit cited several reasons for this gap in data. ALSO READ: Will Senzo Meyiwa murder trial finally end in 2025? Among them was a 'supplier lock-in' – a contractual dispute between the Ekurhuleni Municipality and the previous service provider that prevented access to old AVL data during a system transition. Additionally, Baloyi told the court that the Toyota Hilux, driven by the now-deceased Sergeant Steven Mabena, also lacked tracking records. The vehicle's log sheet was also unavailable. 'The vehicle log sheet for the month of June 2020 was searched and could not be traced from the storage, and the person who may have been in a better position to assist in this matter is now deceased. 'Furthermore, the said motor vehicle was involved in an accident on 23 September 2022, where Sergeant Mabena lost his life, and was sold as scrap as a result of the accident.' Watch the trial below: The Volkswagen (VW) Polo Golf driven by Constable Sizwe Zungu, who previously testified he 'partied' with all five accused at a Vosloorus hostel just hours before Meyiwa's death, was also without AVL tracking data. An affidavit from a police fleet manager in the Ekurhuleni district confirmed that logbook records for the vehicle could not be found. 'He says he went into the storeroom, he checked, but unfortunately he couldn't find any record or log books of this vehicle.' The AVL records of the Toyota Fortuner that transported Ntanzi to North West have already been presented to the defence and submitted to the court. Defence decries lack of evidence Advocate Charles Mnisi, representing Sibiya, sharply criticised the lack of vehicle tracking data, stating that it is crucial to his client's defence. 'It is just not enough for somebody to pen an affidavit and say I am unable to get the information here and, therefore, the story must end. No, it does not work like that,' he said. 'They must go deep because these AVL records are central to a just decision in this matter as it relates to the accused's case, without which the accused would not have a fair trial.' READ MORE: Senzo Meyiwa trial: Cop says NPA did not refuse to issue arrest warrant for Kelly Khumalo Mnisi insisted the AVL data for Zungu's VW Polo Golf must be produced, arguing that relying on log books alone was unreliable. 'We are not looking for log books because there is a propensity of information being falsified in log books, and I'm saying this with due respect. 'That happens a lot, so that will not give a clear picture of the destinations, directions and places that this motor vehicle went to on the alleged dates,' he said, adding that 'even in the police, things go missing'. Defence demands witness testimony in Senzo Meyiwa murder trial Mnisi further questioned how no tracking data could be found despite prior statements from Brigadier Bongani Gininda, the lead investigator, indicating that all vehicles were equipped with tracking technology. 'It is not only surprising, but it confirms our view that we held all along that we could not have actually expected our prosecutors to become our redeemers and saviours at the same time. 'This is exactly what is happening, and I pray that it does not come to that. There's no proper investigation that was done here.' He urged the court to summon those who submitted affidavits to testify in court. 'The people who penned these affidavits should either come to court here to give their explanation, be cross-examined or be assisted on how to conduct this investigation rather than to simply accept on the face of it.' The defence lawyer added that the Toyota Hilux vehicle, which was involved in an accident, was 'neither here nor there'. 'Unless the state wants us to believe the accident also took away the records that are stored in their system, which would be very unintelligent.' NOW READ: 'That is the law': Judge intervenes as lawyers squabble in Senzo Meyiwa murder trial
The Citizen
a day ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
PICTURES: The best from the world of sport over the past weekend
PICTURES: The best from the world of sport over the past weekend Here is a selection of the best sporting pictures from around the world over the last weekend. Harold Vorster of the Bulls on his way to scoring a try during their United Rugby Championship quarterfinal against Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images Fez Mbatha of the Sharks is helped over the tryline by his captain Eben Etzebeth during their United Rugby Championship quarterfinal against Munster at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday. Picture: Steve Haag/Gallo Images Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos lifts the Uefa Champions League trophy surrounded by team-mates at the at the Parc des Princes Stadium on Sunday after they beat Inter Milan 5-0 in the final in Munich on Saturday. Picture: Thibaud Moritz/AFP Paris Saint-Germain's players light smoke flares as they parade on a bus on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris a day after they won the Champions League. Picture: Thibaud Moritz/AFP Pyramids' Egyptian defender Ahmed Samy raises the trophy as his team-mates celebrate winning the CAF Champions League final against Mamelodi Sundowns at 30 June Stadium in Cairo on June 1, 2025. Picture: Khaled Desouki / AFP McLaren's Australian driver Oscar Piastri crosses the finish line to win the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo on Sunday. Picture: Albert Gea/AFP Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka celebrates after beating American Amanda Anisimova in the fourth round of the French Open at Roland Garros Complex on Sunday. Picture: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP Frances Tiafoe of the US serves to Germany's Daniel Altmaier during their fourth round match at the French Open at Roland Garros on Sunday. Picture: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP Team Visma-Lease a Bike's British rider Simon Yates kisses the Giro d'Italia trophy wearing the pink jersey of the overall winner after the 21st and last stage in Rome on Sunday. Picture: Luca Bettini/AFP England's Joe Root celebrates after hitting the winning runs to win the second one-day international against the West Indies at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Sunday. Picture: Paul Ellis/AFP Siyakholwa Kuse (right) and Samuel Salva trade punches during their fight at the Coronation Boxing Tournament at Emperors Palace on Saturday. Picture: James Gradidge/Gallo Images Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia celebrate their victory against Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae of South Korea in their men's doubles final match at the Singapore Open badminton tournament in Singapore on Sunday. Picture: Roslan Rahman/AFP
