The JSC needs a concrete path, in writing
The new chief justice will need to reform how the Judicial Service Commission operates if it is to retain its former standing.
Editorial and Analysis
Mali’s historic, anti-imperialist victory
Calls for French troops to leave the country have been growing since 2020 and Mali’s transitional government has adopted an increasingly defiant posture with regards to France.
Clover strike takes on shades of Marikana
Tensions are rising as negotiations fail to progress. In the absence of a national emancipatory vision and amid an escalating social crisis, violence is tightening its hold.
The unbearable lightness of being Ukraine
History has run off the groove of the ‘liberal world order’ and on to a new trajectory, propelled by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, for which all sides are responsible and deserving of blame.
The real trick to Bongani Masuku’s case
The media simply repeating what the South African Jewish Board of Deputies says is misleading. The Constitutional Court judgment is something of which our country can be proud.
Egyptian labour in the revolutionary struggle
The Egyptian labour movement has a long history of resistance, but the current repressive regime is coming down hard on independent trade union organising.
Power to the people
Punishing impoverished and working-class residents for their inability to pay for electricity is unjust and immoral, especially when wealthy debtors have been getting a free ride for years.
Can we go from cancel culture to dreaming together?
While commonly viewed as a damaging form of contemporary left-wing politics, cancel culture is a symptom of a much deeper problem: the rapid erosion of our lives by computational capitalism.
No vision, no plan equals no jobs, no hope
Each state of the nation address is a random mishmash of projects dependent on the whims of the president and his speechwriters. South Africa deserves more. It needs an actual plan.
India’s hijab ban a form of ‘religious apartheid’
Muslim women wearing headscarves at college were denied entry to a classroom, sparking protests. The ban is another example of the country’s growing Islamophobia.
The JSC has always had a sexism problem
The recent Judicial Service Commission interviews for the chief justice position have been widely slated as misogynistic – but this is nothing new for a judicial body generally hostile to women.
Ramaphosa’s speech excluded the outsiders once more
Nothing in the state of the nation address signified that the president and his administration know how to win back the trust of the impoverished who feel let down by them.
An admission of failure, a turn to the Right
The president veered sharply towards a pro-business position in his state of the nation address, moving against the demands of the largest organisations of the working class.
Indecent interviews: Will the JSC self-correct?
Commissioners who threatened the reputations of judges should face sanction for ambushing and humiliating the candidates being interviewed for the position of chief justice.
‘Snakes and ladders’ for women at the JSC
Mandisa Maya’s interview for the position of chief justice overflowed with patriarchal scripts and sexual innuendo that women suffer in the workplace and society.
A requiem for the Judicial Service Commission
In a fatally flawed process, the commissioners tasked with advising the president as he chooses a new chief justice instead ensured he could not appoint whomever he wants.
King Mswati III shows no commitment to talks
In action and in speech, the ruler of eSwatini and his government refuse to listen to the mass democratic movement’s demands for a genuine dialogue.
Collapse of energy utilities sounds a warning bell
The crisis in much of the Global North is a stark reminder that privatising electricity supply, transmission and distribution can come at a terrible cost for consumers.
The hard road after Zondo
As we seek to gauge the full significance of the Zondo commission’s second report, a critical question arises: Where do we go from here?
Snowfall in the Sahara Desert
This unusual weather phenomenon may be more common historically than we think. Looking forward, climate change may lead to increased variability in rainfall along the desert’s wetter fringes.
How politicians stoke fires of xenophobic resentment
Political parties are increasingly using the ploy of blaming migrants for the country’s problems, but vigilante groups are deadly serious about targeting these vulnerable people.