Cecil John Rhodes: British Empire Hitman

We can appreciate the power of a documentary to express the truth, but this film falls short in explaining the condition of Blackness during South Africa’s tumultuous transition to democracy. A focus on the factual accounts of violence, backed up by archival material and interviews from primary sources, is helpful. But overall, it fails in the same area as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

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.

African art can be considered a deep search. The film introduces “immersive art” as a descriptive term but acknowledges that categorising African art is not always possible due to how linked our creations are to our identity and suffering.

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.

As part of women’s month commemorations, it is fitting to remind ourselves as a contemporary South African public, about the poem penned by the ‘Prophet of Marabastad’ Es’kia Mphahlele, entitled Tribute to Zodwa Veronica, a Great Woman.