Is Julius Malema good for democracy?“Today was a great day for democracy,” said Julius Malema. It was August 21, 2014 and the portly commander-in-chief of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) was talking to a TV crew outside South Africa’s National Assembly, an “august chamber” whose decorum had just been shattered by Malema and his comrades, 24 young black men and women sporting red overalls and matching industrial hard hats.South Africa’s parliament is a venerable institution, established in 1853. One does not wear boots and overalls in such a place. Nor does one cheek the presiding officer, refuse to shut up…
Rian Malan
Spare a thought for South African journalists, reduced to peering into murk and gun smoke for clues to what’s going on inside South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the crisis-riddled state agency that decides the fate of criminal suspects in the country. Police files flow into the NPA’s maw, and decisions emerge on the far side—prosecute this case, abandon that one. Once, these decisions were respected. Now they often precipitate furious battles between rival law enforcement factions whose weapons include dirty tricks, illegal wiretaps and sensational leaks to the media. On August 18, however, the smoke cleared momentarily. The scene…
South Africa: race relations When white ‘allies’ want to make a difference will there still be space for their contribution? By Rian Malan The great struggle of my life thus far has been to come to terms with and, if possible, escape the consequences of being white. The need is, of course, particularly acute for a white South African burdened by ancestral sins of apartheid and colonialism, but it seems my counterparts in the West are not immune. Witness for instance all the earnest young whites seeking to wash themselves clean by joining the clamour on American campuses for “safe spaces”…
When white ‘allies’ want to make a difference will there still be space for their contribution?
South Africa: Julius Malema Is South Africa’s new parliamentary superstar good for democracy? “Today was a great day for democracy,” said Julius Malema. It was August 21st 2014 and the portly commander-in-chief of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) was talking to a TV crew outside South Africa’s National Assembly, an “august chamber” whose decorum had just been shattered by Mr Malema and his comrades, 24 young black men and women sporting red overalls and matching industrial hard hats. South Africa’s Parliament is a venerable institution, established in 1853. One does not wear boots and overalls in such a place. Nor…
