My Own Liberator: A South African Story

Dikgang Moseneke was born in Pretoria, South Africa in December 1947. He was imprisoned on Robben Island, where most political prisoners were kept, off the coast of Cape Town for 10 years as a young man for his political activity. While in prison, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Political Science and later completed a Bachelor of Laws degree. After his release from prison, he was admitted as an attorney in 1978 and in 1983 was called to the Pretoria Bar as a Senior Counsel. During the 1980s he worked underground for the Pan-African Congress and became its deputy president when it was unbanned in 1990. Moseneke also served on the technical committee that drafted the interim South African constitution of 1993. After a corporate career between 1995 and 2001, President Thabo Mbeki appointed him to the High Court in Pretoria and in 2002 as a judge in the Constitutional Court. In June 2005, he became the Court’s Deputy Chief Justice, a position from which he retired in May 2016. In this essay, he chronicles his years of protest, political activity, and imprisonment as a young man. The essay is an excerpt from his memoir, My Own Liberator, which is published by Picador Africa (2018), and is available online and at all good bookstores.

THE QUESTION OF INTERPRETATION IN THE NICHOLSON JUDGMENT Jacob Zuma v The National Director of Public Prosecutions [2009] I AII SA 54 N

It is interesting that prior to Nicholson J’s judgment in the matter of Jacob Zuma v The National Director of Public Prosecutions, that Judge President Tshabalala stated quite categorically that he did not want the judge who was to preside over the corruption trial of Jacob Zuma to be placed under scrutiny (see “Zuma Judge Gets Legal Professional’s Approval” 31 July 2008 Business Day 3). However, since Nicholson J’s decision of the Jacob Zuma trial, both the judge and his judgment have invariably become the subject of intense scrutiny. Nicholson J’s judgment is fraught with inconsistencies, incongruities and controversy. Nevertheless, no matter what the views are regarding the findings of Nicholson J, it has to be conceded that it resulted in one of the most far reaching political decisions in South African legal history, which resulted in the ousting of the country’s president (Thabo Mbeki). While the judgment raises a plethora of both political and legal issues, it is not the intention of the author to venture into the political arena; rather an analysis ofthe approach adopted to statutory interpretation which influenced the court’s decision, is considered.

Politics of rule of law: A human and state security perspective in the case of Jacob Zuma and geo-politics in the 21st century

This research is a desktop research that, looks at the ligament that connects politics of rule of law, human security and state security perspectives in the case of Jacob Zuma. The study looked at various framing and diverging interpretations of Zuma’s case by the various sections of South Africa. Some sections of the society especially the Zulus and Malema believed that, Zuma’s case is a continuation of apartheid politics and is targeted at the Zulu tribe who were the most vocal during war against Apartheid. From the perspective of the principle of the rule of law the law was applied without fear or favour. Former president Thabo Mbeki was concerned about timing as he believed that there was no urgency in handing inn the arrest warrant. Mbeki projected that, the judgement can result in loss of lives and property. Mbeki believed that, Ramaphosa should not pride himself in succeeding to jail Zuma but should look beyond the act. The study noted the human security dimension where the Zuma case is merely a scapegoat by already agitated general populace. From a security perspective the study noted that, the Bantustan revolution is not far from being imminent. The Zulus have for long been indoctrinating their children and forming regiments to prepare a reclamation of Zulu empire. Even the education in KwaZulu Natal prepares children to pursue the dream of the restoration of the Zulu empire. The role of agitated foreigners and illegal immigrants who crossed to South Africa in anticipation of sustainable livelihoods only to be bothered and subjected to xenophobic attacks. The violence presents an opportunity for them to loot and also to fight for a better South Africa since they do not harbour any prospective of turning to their countries anytime soon, South Africa is now their own country and any developments in the country affects them directly. Since political determination is through the ballot box a key aspect, limited to citizens. Non-citizens regard themselves as both de facto and de jure citizen Streets demos presents an opportunity for the non-voting constituency push for their human security needs. The study in light of the foregoing proposed case scenarios of the likelihood outcomes.

Politics of rule of law: A human and state security perspective in the case of Jacob Zuma and geo-politics in the 21st century

This research is a desktop research that, looks at the ligament that connects politics of rule of law, human security and state security perspectives in the case of Jacob Zuma. The study looked at various framing and diverging interpretations of Zuma’s case by the various sections of South Africa. Some sections of the society especially the Zulus and Malema believed that, Zuma’s case is a continuation of apartheid politics and is targeted at the Zulu tribe who were the most vocal during war against Apartheid. From the perspective of the principle of the rule of law the law was applied without fear or favour. Former president Thabo Mbeki was concerned about timing as he believed that there was no urgency in handing inn the arrest warrant. Mbeki projected that, the judgement can result in loss of lives and property. Mbeki believed that, Ramaphosa should not pride himself in succeeding to jail Zuma but should look beyond the act. The study noted the human security dimension where the Zuma case is merely a scapegoat by already agitated general populace. From a security perspective the study noted that, the Bantustan revolution is not far from being imminent. The Zulus have for long been indoctrinating their children and forming regiments to prepare a reclamation of Zulu empire. Even the education in KwaZulu Natal prepares children to pursue the dream of the restoration of the Zulu empire. The role of agitated foreigners and illegal immigrants who crossed to South Africa in anticipation of sustainable livelihoods only to be bothered and subjected to xenophobic attacks. The violence presents an opportunity for them to loot and also to fight for a better South Africa since they do not harbour any prospective of turning to their countries anytime soon, South Africa is now their own country and any developments in the country affects them directly. Since political determination is through the ballot box a key aspect, limited to citizens. Non-citizens regard themselves as both de facto and de jure citizen Streets demos presents an opportunity for the non-voting constituency push for their human security needs. The study in light of the foregoing proposed case scenarios of the likelihood outcomes.

Integração regional no Sul Global: Brasil, África do Sul e Índia

Resumo Este artigo discute a integração regional no Sul Global, a partir de uma análise comparada entre Brasil, África do Sul e Índia. Em particular, destacam-se os governos do Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) entre 2003 e 2016, as administrações do Congresso Nacional Africano sob Thabo Mbeki (1999-2009) e do Congresso Nacional Indiano (INC) entre 2004 e 2014. Examinamos como projetos de internacionalização de setores capitalistas destes países se articularam a iniciativas de integração regional no seu entorno geográfico imediato, para indagar em que medida este movimento foi concebido pelos governos analisados, como parte de uma estratégia de projeção política. Procura-se identificar quais os principais setores econômicos interessados na integração regional, em que medida o Estado nacional dos respectivos países avançou uma estratégica coerente respaldando estes interesses, e se havia uma intencionalidade política acompanhando o apoio a estes negócios. A hipótese do artigo é que, embora os três governos tivessem objetivos de política regional comparáveis, visando consolidar uma posição de liderança política assentada na projeção econômica, a comparação salienta a singularidade da estratégia brasileira sob as gestões petistas, que resulta de considerações de natureza histórica, política e econômica.

From Offline to Online Imagined Community: Recuperating Asante Culture and History for Development in Ghana

Since the advent of social media, mediated through smartphones, about a decade ago in Ghana, West Africa, many of the youths have appropriated this modern communicative technology to rejuvenate indigenous cultures as important models for fashioning the pathways of development. About half a decade ago, some young men and women of Asante origin in Ghana embarked on a project of recuperating Asante cultures. These youths saw themselves as responding to the national call, since the mid-2000s, for re-traditionalisation. It was also partly a response to the United Nations’ call for alternative development narrative, framed around cultural revivalism, since the 1990s. It equally dovetails with the call of Thabo Mbeki, former president of South Africa, for African Renaissance. Given this continental and trans-continental contexts and the recent coronavirus protocol of social distancing, a group of Asante youth aligned themselves with their chiefs and cultural historians to establish an online community on WhatsApp. Their aim was/is to recuperate the Asante Kotoko Society, which was first established as an offline Society in 1916, to support Asanteman’s progress. Thus, this online imagined community has been established to serve as a point of confluence for the teaching, researching, and promoting “relevant” Asante cultures to ensure the socio-economic development of Asanteman and Ghana. Using critical discourse analysis and ethnographic technique of in-depth interviews with key respondents of the Society, I contribute to the discourse on community as I analyse the question: How relevant is online community to offline development?

South Africa-Russia Trade Relations in the Mbeki-Putin Years, 1999-2008 - Ideological Minimalism and Growing Commercial Flows

With both leaders focused on integration (or re-integration) with their respective regions, between South Africa and Russia under the coinciding presidencies of Thabo Mbeki and Vladimir Putin (1999 to 2008) distal ties would appear to have been a peripheral consideration, albeit one pursued with relative consistency. These years were un-ideological, having followed the collapse of the USSR but preceding the emergence of the intermittently ideological BRICS project. I use trade data from multiple sources to assess the two countries' economic relationship under these leaders. Upon noting the continued but slow growth in political interaction under the two leaders, the article documents the effects of political interaction on trade, which was encouraged by both leaders as they sought deeper south-south cooperation (SSC) and lessened dependency on the West (with which both countries were nevertheless growingly intertwined). Trade responded favourably on both sides after the 2006 mutual visits by the two presidents (as seen by 2007 trade volumes). Overall, under the Mbeki-Putin years, we observe Russian products forming a higher share of South African imports than the other way around, whilst growth in access to each other's markets saw mostly new access for South Africa (giving it a favourable surplus of over US$25-million, which grew to over US$2-billion under the Zuma years), thereby complicating our understanding of the relationship and the nature of the asymmetry which defines it.

Reminisces of Participants in the Struggle against Apartheid about Studying in the USSR (1960s–1980s)

This article is a review of South African cadets’ and students’ memoirs that received political or/and military education in the Soviet Union as a part of Soviet assistance in solidarity against the apartheid. Most of them were fighters of the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC) “Umkhonto we Sizwe”. This paper examines and cites the curious aspects of Soviet life noted by the arriving students, among whom was the ex-President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki, as well as many former and current high-ranking authorities of this country. It is worth saying that the authors of the published recollections highlighted not only the positive aspects of their stay in the Soviet Union, but also did mentioned some negative sides, thus providing a more “complete” picture. However, one should not forget that in many ways the description of certain events was directly related to the student’s outlook and could differ from the real state of affairs. The authors of this article were especially interested in what trainees expected to see in the USSR, how their relations with Soviet citizens were built, and what experience they kept in mind at the end of their studies. The authors tried, partially quoting the memoirs of some freedom fighters, to answer these questions. It is worth pointing out that as one of the main results of cooperation Soviet officers and other instructors, by their own example, were able to change the racial perceptions of South Africans by showing how “white” people could be.