Khartoum, the Capital city of Sudan, bore witness to the historic mass(ive) sit-in outside the army's headquarters where (mostly) young people engaged in what has come to be known as “bread protest{s}” demanded an immediate end to former president Omar al-Bashir's reign which stretched for three decades, an end the people believe(d) will bring about freedom from military rule (since their independence in 1956), peace. & prosperity.

With over 50 combined years of poetic practice experience, the barren Jozi skies have at least unleashed upon us three consecutive weeks of spectacular poetry. The three kings comprising Mutle Mothibe, Makhafula Vilakazi and Sabelo Soko will recall the past and the contemporary in titles, Disassembling Mutle Mothibe, Mandela Is Dead and the Umkhondo Experience respectively.

“My biggest obsession is to show Africans and the world who the people of Africa really are, and this Festival remains a great showcase of our traditional and modern musical talents. It’s always a great party!” - Hugh Masekela

But let’s be blunt, for most of us liberation has become synonymous with the neatly trimmed lawns of Sandton, desires of walking the dog on the clean pavements of Bryanston all the while speaking English from the nasal. That is the kind of freedom we imagine, not the turning upside down of history.

Like one of her heroes, Bheki Mseleku, whose album Home at Last, reflects a celebration of returning, Thandi feels a great eagerness to reconnect with her long-standing collaborators; bringing all her “becomings” and musically sharing a conversation on what’s new as she says: “I just wanna play!”

Using indigenous poetic forms such as izibongo, izisho, amahubo and chants, the wanderer turns to the source for a way forward. To celebrate the going back to the source theme of Umkhondo, Sabelo Soko is joined by two exciting wordsmiths from his hometown eMkhondo, Kazii_M and CooleGun.

Sankara transformed the nation from being impoverished to self-reliant, economically independent and socially progressive. He denounced the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) as instruments of imperialism from which he rejected loans.

As a 29-year-old woman motherhood is the farthest thing from me due to my current social standing. I was raised by a strong caliber of women, especially my paternal grandmother who gave me an opportunity to be independent. The strong will she instilled in us as her grandchildren shaped my way of living.