Niren Tolsi

@NirenTolsi

Niren Tolsi is a freelance journalist whose interests include social justice, citizen mobilisation and state violence, protest, the Constitution and Constitutional Court, football and Test cricket.

Stories by: Niren Tolsi

Sport

11 October 2019: Temba Bavuma fielding on day two of the Proteas’ second Test match against India at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, India. (Photograph by Isuru Sameera Peris/Gallo Images)

Temba Bavuma, a cricketer with principles

The South African batsman, like many of his countrymen, has struggled in a tough Test series against the No. 1 ranked India. But he remains defiant as a vice-captain who wants to lead by example.

By: Niren Tolsi
22 Oct 2019

News

20 September 2016: Jacob Zuma pictured three years ago. On 11 October 2019, the Pietermaritzburg high court was unanimous in its decision to deny Zuma a permanent stay of prosecution. (Photograph by Peter Foley – Pool/Getty Images)

Jacob Zuma will have his day in court

The National Prosecuting Authority has won the latest round in the fight for accountability after the high court dismissed the former president’s application for a permanent stay of corruption charges.

By: Niren Tolsi
11 Oct 2019

Sport

3 October 2019: South Africa’s Senuran Muthusamy delivers the ball during day two of the first Test against India at Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, India. (Photograph by Isuru Sameera Peris/Gallo Images)

A ‘normal South African’ cricketer

Senuran Muthusamy had a remarkable Test cricket debut with ball and bat, including taking the wicket of India’s Virat Kohli. It was enough to make his captain sit up and take notice.

By: Niren Tolsi
9 Oct 2019

Sport

22 November 2012: Hashim Amla during the second Test of the series between Australia and South Africa in Adelaide, Australia. Still the only South African to score a triple Test century, he announced his retirement from the Proteas on 8 August 2019.

Long Read | The meaning of Hashim Amla

The Proteas’ legendary batsman brought more to the team than his record-breaking runs. But before he earned legend status, he had to endure being reduced to an ‘outsider’.

By: Niren Tolsi
20 Sep 2019

News

23 August 2016: The ANC recalled eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede (left) because of fraud accusations, but she has since withdrawn her resignation. (Photograph by Gallo Images/The Times/Jackie Clausen)

Zandile Gumede flip-flop further undermines ANC

Regional party conferences in KwaZulu-Natal will have repercussions for the ANC and its stability under Cyril Ramaphosa, leading those who remain pro-Jacob Zuma to fight for their positions.

By: Niren Tolsi
30 Aug 2019

Features

Valliamma and Gumede, an unfortunate pairing

A clash of values was inescapable when Zandile Gumede unveiled a sculpture of Hindu child martyr Valliamma Munuswamy Mudliar.

By: Niren Tolsi
30 Aug 2019

News

16 September 2017: The funeral service of former ANC Youth League national secretary Sindiso Magaqa in uMzimkhulu, KwaZulu-Natal. Magaqa died in a Durban hospital two months after being shot multiple times. (Photograph by Gallo Images/Sunday Times/Thuli Dlamini)

Witnessing the bloody unspoken in KwaZulu-Natal

The majority of the more than 100 people killed in the province have been ANC members, but now witnesses, and even police officers, appear to be on hit lists.

By: Niren Tolsi
14 Aug 2019

Editorial and Analysis

17 July 2019: Former president Jacob Zuma during his testimony at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photograph by Gallo Images/ Sowetan/ Thulani Mbele)

Zuma’s Zondo testimony was like a five-day Test

Former president Jacob Zuma spent his week testifying to the commission on state capture by deflecting, misdirecting and sticking with his strategy of crying victim.

By: Niren Tolsi
24 Jul 2019

News

13 August 2018: Former NPA head Mxolisi Nxasana. Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo requested that he appear at the commission of inquiry into state capture at short notice. (Photograph by Gallo Images/ Sowetan/ Alaister Russell)

Former NPA head tells Zondo of dirty tricks campaigns

Bigwigs in the prosecuting authority played their part in Zuma’s godly game by destabilising the NPA and ensuring the prosecution of people considered enemies of the former president’s regime.

By: Niren Tolsi
13 Jun 2019

News

24 May 2019: Former South African president Jacob Zuma in court facing charges of fraud, corruption and racketeering from more than 13 years earlier. (Photograph by Themba Hadebe/Pool via Reuters)

Advocates go toe-to-toe in Zuma case

A letter purportedly proving that a high-level meeting took place in 2003 to discuss Jacob Zuma’s prosecution is the latest twist in the former president’s appeal for a permanent stay of prosecution.

By: Niren Tolsi
24 May 2019

News

20 May 2019: Former president Jacob Zuma outside the high court in Pietermaritzburg after applying for a permanent stay of prosecution regarding 16 charges of money laundering, fraud, racketeering and corruption. (Photograph by Gallo Images/Phill Magakoe)

Stay of prosecution or of justice?

Jacob Zuma’s lawyer says he is the victim of a ‘pattern of behaviour’ that has made his name synonymous with corruption, while Zuma takes pot shots at Cyril Ramaphosa.

By: Niren Tolsi
22 May 2019

News

23 August 2016: eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede during her inauguration at Durban City Hall. Gumede was the first woman to be elected mayor of the metro. (Photograph by Gallo Images/The Times/Jackie Clausen)

The Iron Lady of Inanda

eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede is facing charges of fraud, racketeering and corruption that implicate 62 city councillors. But how did she rise to such a powerful position?

By: Niren Tolsi
17 May 2019

News

23 April 2019: A soldier stands guard behind Catholic priests and other clergy members during a mass funeral at St Sebastian's Church in Negombo. Sri Lankan authorities declared a state of emergency on Monday. (Photograph by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Sri Lankans mourn a country at odds with itself

As Sri Lanka reels from the Easter Sunday attacks, it must also confront its history of violent atrocities, secessionist sectarianism, ethnic populism and corrosive power politics.

By: Niren Tolsi
24 Apr 2019

News

3 April 2019: Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng chairing the JSC interviews.

JSC confounds at ConCourt interviews

It’s up to commissioners of the JSC to interview candidates for the judiciary in a manner that determines their suitability, but recent interviews for judges did not comply.

By: Niren Tolsi
5 Apr 2019

News

25 March 2019: (Left to right) Mlungisi Ncalane, Mbulelo Mpofana, Zweliphansi Sikhosane, Mlululeki Ndobe and Sandile Myeza seated in the uMzimkhulu Magistrates Court at their bail hearing.

Unravelling the machinery of political murder

Part two of a series on political killings in South Africa details this week’s cross-examination of some of those accused of the murders of KwaZulu-Natal local politicians.

By: Niren Tolsi
29 Mar 2019

News

19 March 2019: From left, Zweliphansi Sikhosana and Harry Gwala District mayor Mluleki Ndobe in the uMzimkhulu magistrates’ court. They stand accused of murdering ANC Youth League leader Sindiso Magaqa in 2017.

Political assassination the currency of corruption

Part one of a series on political killings in South Africa delves into the breakdown of integrity at party branch level in KwaZulu-Natal, and the subsequent rise in corruption and murder.

By: Niren Tolsi
25 Mar 2019

Sport

16 February 2019: Kusal Perera of Sri Lanka looks skyward in celebration during day four of the first Test match between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban. (Photograph by Lee Warren/Gallo Images)

Fast track bullies must learn Sri Lankan lesson

The Proteas have flown close to the sun all summer. It’s to be hoped that the defeat by Sri Lanka triggers the changes needed for South Africa to reach the top of the World Test Series.

By: Niren Tolsi
20 Feb 2019

Sport

15 December 2018: Dimuth Karunaratne of Sri Lanka executes a pull shot during day one of the first Test match against New Zealand at Basin Reserve in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photograph by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Sri Lanka in search of the maverick within

The Lions are in search of their lost bite to make up for the drop-off in their results since their roaring success in Sri Lanka against the Proteas.

By: Niren Tolsi
9 Feb 2019

Editorial and Analysis

7 February 2019: President Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife (front right), Tshepo Motsepe, on the steps of Parliament before Ramaphosa delivered this year’s State of the Nation Address. (Photograph by Gallo Images/ Ziyaad Douglas)

ANC need not ask for whom the bell of blame tolls

Why and how has South Africa’s post-1994 parliament developed an attitude of such deference to the executive? The answer is discomfiting, and lies within the ruling party itself.

By: Niren Tolsi
8 Feb 2019

Editorial and Analysis