FIFA World Cup: even in defeat, SA had its moments
Despite bowing out on the pitch, South Africa’s presence at the FIFA World Cup has given us something to celebrate at a time when our collective faith in the country and its future is being tested, writes Phakamisa Mayaba. Read more >>
Grass-roots patriots speaking out against crime
South Africa is witnessing the rise of an important new category of motivational speakers, namely current and former convicts speaking out against crime and its consequences. Report by Destine Nde. Read more >>Â
Colesberg muzo heads for provincial honours
After putting in the hard yards, the afro pop artist MekzaRsa – real name Asemahle Mekile — is heading for a provincial competition in Kimberley. Read more >>
'Tell that boy to jump for joy ...': in memory of Adullah Ibrahim
Riaan de Villiers remembers Abdullah Ibrahim’s performance of the Duke Ellington song ‘Jump for Joy’ in the Green Point Art Centre, many years ago. Read more >>
Back foot or front foot: which Bafana will turn up?
After a poor start, Bafana Bafana has to put its best foot forward to stay in the FIFA World Cup tournament, writes Destine Nde. Read more >>
Whose history is it anyway: yours, mine, ours?
A proposed ‘African-centred’ and ‘decolonised’ history curriculum for South African schools has run into heavy flak from educationists, historians and others, writes Phakamisa Mayaba. Read more >>
LEST WE FORGET: COMMEMORATING 16 JUNE 1976
TODAY (16 June 2026) is the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising on 16 June 1976. To commemorate this momentous event, we are publishing – besides this brief introduction – the three items introduced below. Read more >>
'Never, never again' - the testimony of Peter Magubane
Among those who witnessed and recorded events in Soweto on 16 was the renowned photographer Peter Magubane. In July 1998, he testified about his experiences at a special session of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, held in Soweto. Read more >>
'I did not think there would be violence' - the testimony of Sophie Tema
Sophie Tema (later Sophie Tema-Mosimane), a reporter for The World and Weekend World, was one of a small number of black journalists and photographers who witnessed the traumatic events in Soweto on the morning of 16 June. Among others, Hector Pieterson — the 13-year-old schoolboy who was shot by police — was taken to Phefeni Clinic in her small staff car. Her subsequent reports and evidence before the Cillié Commission of Inquiry provided an important counterpoint to the official version of events. An edited version of her testimony to the Cillié Commission follows. Read more >>
The Hector Pieterson image -- then and now
Soweto 1976 will forever be associated with a single image. We briefly trace its history, and explore the dynamics around its publication, which has continued to develop until the present day. Read more >>
A Brother with perfect timing has left us
Jasper Cook pays tribute to the legendary South African jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, who passed away in Germany a day before Youth Day 2026, at age 91. Read more >>
Ramaphosa speaks as the marches swell
Rather than calming tensions over the presence of undocumented foreign nationals, the president’s address to the nation seems to have pushed them up a notch, writes Phakamisa Mayaba. Read more >>
All eyes on Bafana Bafana in historic FIFA World Cup 2026
Destine Nde sets the scene for the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament, which kicks off in two days’ time. Read more >>
Running on empty: the ANC's leadership succession crisis
Besides dwindling voter support, the ANC is in the throes of a growing leadership crisis. R.W. Johnson examines the reasons. Read more >>
Tug of war over ANC has tilted to the Liberals
After many years, the competition between communists and liberals for influence over the ANC has swung towards the latter, writes R.W. Johnson. Read more >>
Notes from a clear stream in the Karoo
Jeremy Witts-Hewinson writes about living in a tiny Karoo village where, as he puts it, ‘one doesn’t pursue meaning; meaning has a habit, from time to time, of finding you.’ Read more >>
Ominous buildup to 'illegal immigrant' deadline
Tensions are rising around demands by grassroots organisations for ‘illegal immigrants’ to leave the country by 30 June. Report by Phakamisa Mayaba. Read more >>
End of 14-year title drought for Orlando Pirates
After a 14-year drought, Orlando Pirates has taken the Betway Premiership Trophy back to Soweto. Destine Nde writes about their path to the finals. Read more >>Â
The bogus xenophobia debate
Given economic and demographic realities, South Africa has no choice but to adopt a highly restrictive immigration policy and to enforce his rigorously, writes R.W. Johnson. Read more >>
'Mess with the bull, you get the horns': Phala Phala, Part 2
Like a bad penny, Phala Phala has turned up once again to haunt the top echelons of South African politics. Phakamisa Mayaba takes stock of the latest developments. Read more >>Â
E Cape floods leave Willowmore in the dark
The storms of the past two weeks have wreaked havoc in the Eastern Cape, washing away roads and bridges, and disrupting electricity and water supplies. Destine Nde chronicles the impact on one small town. Read more >>
What price accountability?: From Nkandla to Phala Phala, Part 1
The resurgent Phala Phala saga has provided yet another window on the lengths our lawmakers will go to to avoid any form of political accountability, writes Phakamisa Mayaba. Read more >>
Hubble and Gaia light the way
Thanks to the Hubble space telescope and the Gaia space observatory, we have learnt more about the universe in the past 30 years that in the rest of recorded time, writes R.W. Johnson. Read more >>Â
No place an island: the Strait of Hormuz reaches into the Karoo
The Us-Israeli war on Iran has presented South Africans — especially rural people — with a cost of living crisis over which they have little or no control, writes Destine Nde. Read more >>
Cheers to Bell and Vavi on a distracted May Day
On a confused and confusing Labour Day, Phakamisa Mayaba laments the loss of the late Terry Bell, who was one of few who kept the true voice of labour alive. Read more >>
Freedom Month: a time for national reflection
Freedom Day and Freedom Month provide all South Africans with an opportunity to reflect on the extent to which the rights enshrined in their vaunted constitution have been realised in practice, writes Destine Nde. Read more >>
Freedom Day: Colesberg’s nostalgia, and empty seats in Bloem
Phakamisa Mayaba writes about the long journey from the heady days of 1994 to the empty Freedom Day seats in the Dr Rantlai Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein. Read more >>
Die Karoo se eie dinosaurusse
Die wêreldberoemde Rubidge-fossielversameling – bestaande uit fondse in die Karoo – word nou gehuisves in ‘n sentrum op Graaff-Reinet. Volgens Ona Viljoen bied dit ‘n ondervinding wat mens nie moet misloop nie. Lees meer >>
Into the ground: the scandal of SAA
Financial disclosures and sudden resignations have dispelled the myth that SAA is being turned around. R.W. Johnson traces its flight into disaster. Read more >>Â
André du Toit: a tribute and a memory
The renowned political philosopher André du Toit has passed away in Cape town, aged 88. Riaan de Villiers, a former student, reflects on his life and career.
EFF election ploy could actually make a difference
The EFF’s call for the abolition of registration fees for unemployed professionals is an unabashed vote-catcher — but it could actually help young graduates who struggle to find jobs, writes Phakamisa Mabaya. Read more >>
Pope Leo XIV in Africa
Destine Nde writes about Pope Leo’s widely publicised tour of four African countries, and its relevance for a continent that remains ravaged by violence and inequality. Read more>>
The small white church at Muxima
During his visit to Angola, Pope Leo XIV performed a religious ceremony at the Church of Our Lady of Muxima on the Kwanza River. However, writes Riaan de Villiers, much of the underlying significance of this visit has remained unacknowledged. Read more >>
Trump's extraordinary military budget
Donald Trump is trying to push US military expenditure to unprecedented levels — but this may well bring him to a fall, writes R.W. Johnson. Read more >>
Malema: will he survive or will he fall?
Following his jail sentence for illegally discharging a firearm, Julius Malema is back on a high-stakes political tightrope, writes Phakamisa Mayaba. Read more >>
The last notes in the Barnes-Webb memoirs
The last notes in the Barnes-Webb memoirs provide a fascinating glimpse into life on farms in the Nuwe Hantam in the early 20th century. Read more >>
Nowadays, SA's border starts online
Be careful about what you say about the SA government on social media — it might get you barred at the airport, writes Phakamisa Mayaba. Read more >>
Help to save the sea birds on Marion Island !
Maeder Osler reports on a massive campaign to eradicate invasive mice on Marion Island, which are eating Wandering Albatross chicks alive. Read more >>
Reparations for slavery: going nowhere slowly
Growing demands for reparations for slavery amounts to a ‘huge grab for Western resources’ to be redistributed to the Third World. Given the astronomical potential costs, writes R.W. Johnson, developing countries are unlikely to agree, Read more >>
The golden-hearted petrolheads
Destine Nde writes about an unusual car rally that lifted Willowmore’s spirits a few weeks ago. Read more >>
New dawn for legal rights
Colesberg has a successor to the fabled Karoo Law Clinic. Phakamisa Mayaba reports on its founders, its goals, and its early promise. Read more >>
Why does the ANC cling to the clearly impossible NHI?
Enacting the proposed National Health Insurance scheme in its present form would be a ‘self-induced national calamity comparable only to the great Xhosa cattle killing of 1856-7’, writes R.W. Johnson. Read more >>
Diferent town, same debate
If we’re going to change the names of towns in the interests of correcting historical bias, argues Phakamisa Mayaba, then at least all the local communities should be consulted. Read more >>
Declarations of war: national interest versus international law
R.W. Johnson writes about the continued tension between international prescriptions for declaring lawful wars and perceptions of national interest – including national survival. Read more >>
Trump and Hegseth: red faces over Iran
Two weeks ago, Pete Hegseth, the American secretary of ‘war’, boasted that President Donald Trump’s hands were ‘firmly on the wheel of the Iranian conflict’. Increasingly, writes Destine Nde, this grip seems to be slipping. Read more >>
Remembering Terry Bell
The renowned journalist, author and political activist Terry Bell — among others, a valued contributor to Toverview — has passed away. Read more >>
Nicholas (Fink) Haysom: a memory
In the late 1980s, Jasper Cook worked under the radar at the pioneering law firm Cheadle Thompson & Haysom, founded among others by the renowned Fink Haysom, student leader, legal activist, presidential advisor and later UN peace emissary, who died in New York last week. Read more >>Â
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OPENGATES
Toverview founder and associate editor Maeder Osler has started a new blog called Opengates. Designed to complement Toverview, it offers a fresh, more informal platform he likes to call a ‘sandpit’ – or ‘playpen – for ramblings, reminiscences, stoeptalks and the like by himself, family, friends, and whoever else wants to contribute. Enjoy!
FROM A ROOM WITH A VIEW
Riffs and links, mostly by Maeder Osler, from an Old Waenhuis in the Northern Karoo which he still visits from time to time. Latest:
TOVER PORTALS
Toverview acts as a portal for several notable writers.
Jasper Cook
Besides contributing to Toverview, our esteemed friend Jasper Cook maintains a blog called Scazima, which is well worth visiting from time to time. Added to this, his son, Donovan, has started a YouTube channel called JAZZTRAINS, featuring conversations with Jasper about working as a fireman on steam engines, his international travels with the African Jazz Pioneers, ‘and everything in between’.
Phakamisa Mayaba
TOVERVIEW also acts as a portal for the Colesberg-based freelance journalist and creative writer Phakamisa Mayaba. He also maintains his own website, Eparkeni.