The Stranger in My Mirror

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The Stranger in My Mirror When I was a child, my grandmother used to say, "The border is something people draw on maps. Hunger, hope, and grief don't stop to check passports." I nodded whenever she said it, but I never truly understood. Years later, I found myself standing outside a small grocery shop in Johannesburg, watching a crowd shout at a man with a Zimbabwean accent. They called him names. They told him to go home. Some threw stones. I stood there and did nothing. In my mind, I justified it. They're taking jobs. They're making life harder. They don't belong here. I was Black. I was African. Yet somehow, I believed another Black African was less deserving than I was because he had crossed a border. A week later, load shedding hit our neighborhood. The only shop still open was the same Zimbabwean man's store. I went in because I needed bread. He greeted me with a smile. "How are you, brother?" Brother. Not stranger. Not South African. Not c...
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Whoever replaces Mogoeng when he makes his welcome departure will need gravitas and wisdom

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 Barney Mthombothi

Columnist
28 March 2021 - 00:00

There will be obvious sighs of relief in the more sober quarters of the government - and among some of his berobed colleagues - that chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng's less-than-stellar term is mercifully coming to an end soon. One hopes that when he steps down in September, the country can then elect a replacement who will not only command the respect of his peers, but will be able to steady the ship in what looks like treacherous political waters ahead.

Mogoeng is no intellectual giant and was a complete unknown when Jacob Zuma plucked him from obscurity and plonked him down in the apex court in 2009. Two years later he was catapulted over more experienced colleagues to be chief justice...

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