So what are the interests of France in Mali? France has one of the world’s biggest gold reserves but no gold mines. Mali has over 50 gold mines and no gold reserves. And the Sahel is a rich source of uranium.

In his series, Story of O.J., after 4:44, Nxumalo presents a selection of portraits of young black men standing semi–nude with only their pants on, an occasional hat, but no shirts. They pose for Nxumalo’s camera in the tradition of tattooed gang members being studied by law enforcement lenses trained on their torsos for toll-tales of lived criminality.

Legend has it that the real story behind the name is that the Zuid Afrikaanse Republic (ZAR) sent Voortrekkers to hunt down and kill Kgoshi Maraba Ledwaba I, as he had been mounting resistance against settler occupation of his territory. Whilst on his trail, these hitmen came across three beautiful Ndebele maids who had gone to fetch water by the river, and had settled on the river bank to make necklaces out of beads.

"In a world of wolves one should go armed, and one of the most powerful defensive weapons within the reach of Negroes is the practice of race first in all parts of the world."-Kumkani Marcus Garvey

Despite the fact that indigenous languages were declared official languages in the ‘new’ South Africa, they have so far failed to match the growth of Afrikaans usage since 1948. With the ‘Rainbow Nation’ idea suppressing African nationalism, South Africa is left with no language that can be considered as truly national.

AfricaRise is not just four walls and a door. It is a lifestyle, committed to the values of authenticity, innovation and quality without compromise. We are Africans and we have a collective duty to rise.

The idea of dying and returning as stars haunts me, as I go through the pages of Billy Langa’s Tswalo. A one-hander comprising of a body of poems written very eloquently, revealing secrets and clues about who we were; who we are; where we come from; and who we are to become.

The world she created around herself was like the one she came from, one that affirmed womanhood and questioned societal dismissal of the feminine at every turn. She sustained that world with how she lives her life, even the women she surrounds herself with that I regard as aunts