Photo Essay | Capturing spirituality
Sethembiso Zulu’s essay at the North-West University gallery documents his connection to his ancestors and sense of belonging to the Zion church where he spends most of his Sundays.
State looting calls ANC legitimacy into question
Early admiration in South Africa for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has quickly dissolved with representatives of the state stealing emergency funds on a massive scale.
S2 Episode 10: BLM in cricket | Zambia vs rapper
In SA, how to deal with cricket’s dirty racist secret. Then, Italian lessons on life when Covid-19 subsides. And, a Zambian musician on the music that’s landed him in jail three times.
Music Review | Flowers of the Revolution
Nahash’s new EP uses harsh industrial sounds to create a sonic response to America’s role in installing dictators in Central and South America.
South Africa’s golden age of boxing
The sweet science was the most watched sport in the country when South Africa took its first steps towards democracy, creating heroes held in high regard both then and now.
Editor's Pick
Long Read | Fully loaded taxis are a Covid timebomb
While there seems to be agreement between the government and the taxi industry in relation to Covid-19 regulations, commuters and taxi drivers find themselves without a voice.
Hopefield: Brutal police vs brutalised citizens
The small town’s residents, who say they’ve been terrorised by rogue police officers for years, were unsurprised when Reginald Linnerd was found beaten to death in a holding cell.
We need to talk about classical liberalism
A history of enslavement, colonialism, wars and coups by so-called liberal states refutes the notion that this political ideology is the true home of inclusion and non-racialism.
Long Read | Criminal Cops: The Police Crisis in SA
In this seventh instalment in a series on police violence, New Frame digs into the underlying dynamics of an out-of-control police service and how its brutality is threatening SA’s democracy.
Zwelakhe Ngobese’s hyperreal pen art
The self-taught artist from Duduza has a growing following for his ballpoint pen depictions of ‘the beauty of being in black skin’.
Series | Police violence in SA
Law enforcement relies on brutality and violence to keep the public in check. New Frame looks at how Covid-19 lockdown incidents have exacerbated fear and mistrust in the SAPS.
Podcasts
Mixtape 17: Scratch
In this mixtape, Charles Leonard plays songs about scratching – and, like an ambitious Masterchef competitor, he does it three ways.
S2 Episode 9: Terrorist Album | Deaf under Covid-19
Apartheid’s terrorist album was a “wanted” list of insurgents, and it could get you killed. Also, when you cannot lip read – how deaf people cope under Covid-19.
S2 Episode 8: How Trump abets Israel | Tribute to a fine African mind
How United States President Donald Trump’s vindictive administration went after a veteran Palestinian leader. Also, we pay tribute to one of Africa’s greatest intellectuals.
COVID-19
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News
Covid-19 Roundup | Investigations and dismissals
As the health department looks into the Covid-19 deaths of a doctor who lacked PPE and a hypoxic man in a hospital parking lot, protesting workers are suspended or dismissed.
Mystery of Maritzburg’s masked murderers
A gun-toting gang was captured on CCTV shooting and killing two migrants and injuring several others in broad daylight in Pietermaritzburg. Were they connected to the police?
Land redistribution has become ‘elite capture’
South Africa’s land reform programme was supposed to ensure that the impoverished get to own and work the land. Now, only the politically connected and economically included are benefitting.
Corticosteroids curb Covid-19 mortality rate
South African health professionals are treating hospitalised Covid-19 patients with an anti-inflammatory drug that is helping some stay off ventilators.
Mineral council denies mines are Covid-19 hotspots
Despite evidence that communities around mines are infection epicentres, the Mineral Council of South Africa is scrambling to ‘shape the message’ by fudging the numbers.
eSwatini teachers oppose hasty school reopening
For the better part of June and July, the eSwatini government has ignored protests by parents and teachers and reopened schools, despite poor levels of readiness in many institutions.
Shack dwellers determined not to back down
Western Cape residents living on occupied land continue to face off with the police and local municipality as their struggle for housing intensifies.
Evictions leave Airport Park residents stranded
East London in the Eastern Cape is yet another South African city where the brutal demolition of homes in a shack settlement has left residents despairing during lockdown.
Evicted during a pandemic
The eThekwini municipality and a security company employed by it are alleged to have evicted shack dwellers during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Features
New Books | Free, Fair and Alive
The concept of the commons has been misunderstood since the 1960s. David Bollier and Silke Helfrich have a new, refined definition to offer – and planet-saving plan.
Fanon and the ‘rationality of revolt’
Fanon’s idea that the measure of time not be that of the moment but that of the rest of the world takes on urgent significance as climate extinction meets global pandemic.
Cartoon | Gifted Takers
In this week’s cartoon, a Trojan horse meets a Trojan hyena and the people are once again left with what remains.
In Pictures | Stronger together
Uncertainty grows as Covid-19 infections begin to peak. New Frame photojournalists explore the extraordinary resilience of people trying to survive under the most extreme circumstances.
Photo Essay | Farewell, Andrew Mlangeni
The last of the Rivonia Trialists, Andrew Mlangeni, was laid to rest in Johannesburg. He spent 26 years in prison in his fight for a free and fair country.
Culture
Marcus Wyatt brings musicians playing alone, together
Marcus Wyatt’s latest project fits diverse isolated improvisations together, experimenting with musical co-creation during Covid-19, and perhaps beyond it.
From Lisbon’s projects, Nidia’s musical goal is global
The evolving sound on a trio of recent releases by this young producer is undeniable proof of her multidimensional talent – and why no one should doubt her musical ambition.
Text Messages | On second thoughts
Not achieving the distinction of being first but instead coming second tends to cause dismay. But in the case of the Nagasaki bombing it also meant being last, which is a blessing.
Gilbert Matthews, pioneer and visionary of SA jazz
The late jazz great and titan of drums sparked innovation and inspired the jazz fusion explorations of the 1970s.
The complex history of Cape Muslim cuisine
The lineage of food rooted in more than 350 years of exile and slavery – its connections and disconnections, presence and absence – can be traced from the Malay Archipelago to Cape Town.
Thandi Ntuli’s deep exploration of exile
The pianist and composer’s latest release, Thandi Ntuli (Live at Jazzwerkstatt), adds new insight into her music: how it’s put together, how it sounds and what it says.
The ‘beautiful experience’ of making and hearing Keleketla!
Three years in the making by Keleketla! Library and Coldcut, Keleketla! is a global fusion record that satisfies as a whole, delivering its punch with spectacular musical activism.
Sport
Late bloomer Phumza Maweni has done wonders
The 35-year-old is one of the senior Proteas players, but in terms of playing experience at the highest level she is among the youngest. She has, however, achieved much in a short time.
Series | Racism in South African cricket
The reaction from certain quarters to Lungisani Ngidi’s call for the Proteas to take a stand against racism leaves little doubt about the need for real transformation in the sport.
Why Cameroon has slid back since Italia ’90
The Indomitable Lions’ class of 1990 put Africa on the international football map with their showing in Italy, where they stunned the world champions. But they have since gone backwards. Why?
What the return of football could do for SA
Almost 150 days after abruptly pausing for Covid-19 and lockdown, South African football will be back. The beautiful game could give the depressed country some reprieve and an escape.
Thando Ntini unfazed by the weight of expectations
His surname and his father’s accomplishments put the 20-year-old under more scrutiny than his peers. But that doesn’t bother the talented bowler who has announced his name in style.
The roots of racism run deep in SA cricket
Cricket’s foundation phase is littered with racism, from the structural in elite all-boys schools that produced 65% of the Proteas who have played at a World Cup to the overt where black talent is doubted and marginalised.
Josia Thugwane’s golden marathon
It has been 24 years since the first black South African won gold at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. This is the story of how a cattle herder became a world champion.
Radebe jubilant at Leeds’ return to Premier League
The former Leeds United captain is over the moon at his beloved club’s return to top-flight football. Lucas Radebe talks about the pain of watching Leeds suffer and his attempts to buy the club.
Paul Beloy lambasts racism in Belgian football
Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Beloy grew up in Belgium and discusses the racism he endured as a footballer in the 1970s, a problem that’s still prevalent five decades later.
Editorial and Analysis
In the face of Covid-19, the media has failed
By treating scientists and doctors as unimpeachable, journalists have not asked vital questions about whether the wildfire spread of the pandemic was inevitable in this country.
Amid despair, grounds for new hope
In this moment, it is essential to take full measure of both how bad things are and the possibilities for developing a more viable and humane alternative.
Covid-19: Let the people decide
South Africa’s leaders have tried to curb the pandemic, but their one-size-fits-all approach has been disastrous. It’s time to let communities choose how to protect themselves.