Polity Author Articles

A collection of then President Thabo Mbeki’s weekly ANC Today Letters, in which he expressed his opinions on current South African political and social issues.

Thabo Mbeki served as President of democratic South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress. Before that, he was Deputy President under Nelson Mandela from 1994 to 1999.

Sifiso Mxolisi Ndlovu is Research Professor at the University of South Africa and Executive Director of the South African Democracy Education Trust. His books include The Soweto Uprisings: Counter-memories of June 1976 and King Dingane ka Senzangakhona: the second monarch of the Zulu Kingdom.

He co-authored Public History and Culture in South Africa: memorialisation and liberation heritage sites in Johannesburg and the township space and The Union of South Africa and the Soviet Union, fractured solidarity between the African Nationalist Movement, the Trade Union Movement, the Communist International and the Communist Party of South Africa, 1910-1961, and is editor-in-chief of the multi-volume series, The Road to Democracy in South Africa.

‘If you made me angry, to me, for that anger to go away I have to get hold of you . . . For that anger to go away, I have to do something to you.’

These are the words of one of South Africa’s most terrifying serial killers, who spoke to psychologist Brin Hodgskiss in the bowels of the country’s most secure prisons.

Hodgskiss interviewed several of the most notorious serial killers and his recordings sat gathering dust until recently, when top true-crime podcaster Nicole Engelbrecht found his research online. The two connected and now they bring their love of story-telling to this highly readable book.

In Killer Stories, Hodgskiss combines his interviews with the tenets of narrative psychology to take the reader into the minds of the killers and shares how his own journey as a psychologist and human being contributed to his deeper understanding of them. The book intertwines the killers’ versions of the truth and the true-crime stories behind them, re-telling their killing sprees in gripping detail.

Journey with the authors as they lay out how the stories these men told themselves about their lives contributed to where they ended up – and how those stories aren’t that different from those we all tell ourselves.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Brin Hodgskiss was born and raised in Johannesburg and has worked with the SA and UK police on investigations tackling everything from burglary and terrorism to murder and rape. He has published in international journals, as well as presented academically, and on TV and radio, on the topic of serial murder. He works in England’s National Health Service and is a freelance consultant in the psychology of storytelling.

Nicole Engelbrecht is the creator and host of one of SA’s biggest podcasts, True Crime South Africa, and is the author of Samurai Sword Murder: The Morne Harmse Story and Sizzlers: The Hate Crime That Tore Sea Point Apart.

'Killer Stories: Conversations With South African Serial Murderers' is published by Jonathan Ball Publishers

An engineer and perennial scholar on power sector reforms in developing countries has just published his debut book, which aims to present the most comprehensive narration of load shedding in South Africa to date. Dr Isaac Malgas’ Power Struggle - Why Rolling Blackouts Continue is a significant and ambitious work of research and commentary, presenting an educational exploration of the issues facing the South African power sector. It delves into the general causes of insufficient generation capacity in developing countries, focussing specifically on power sectors in Africa.

At a key moment in South Africa’s power sector’s history, the book focuses on the domestic electricity situation where there have been prolonged periods of insufficient generation capacity, frequently leading to rolling blackouts. It also compiles, from the public record, the sheer scale of mismanagement and corruption exacerbating the problem. The book applies to South Africa as well as other developing countries with power sectors in reform and is an essential read for professionals active in the country’s energy sector. Its contribution is wide ranging, addressing energy reform, the policy environment, foreign investment, institutional factors, as well as the imperative to decarbonise, including renewables and the need for a just energy transition. As a result, the book is expected to impact the power sector significantly—locally and in the rest of Africa.

It educates on various aspects of management and governance of state-owned electricity utilities, integrating independent power producers into reforming power sectors, and power sector planning. It presents an important reference for stakeholder institutions and energy sector professionals. Malgas, who has worked at Eskom for over 30 years, engages readers scholastically on key elements that affect the sustainability of the South African power sector. He intends to foster active participation amongst energy sector stakeholders as they grapple with—and resolve—many of the problems that have contributed to insufficient generation capacity.

The book provides general experiential insights from the African continent, as well as more detailed insights from South Africa. It makes a substantial educational contribution to understanding the phenomenon of insufficient electricity generation in South Africa, and elsewhere on the continent.

The book is available in paperback format via Takealot, and as an e-book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and a range of other online outlets. It will be available in other local stores soon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Isaac Malgas is a seasoned scholar of power sector reforms in developing nations, focusing on the continent of Africa. He has worked at the South African national power utility, Eskom, in various roles for over thirty years. The author holds a doctoral degree in Energy Studies from the University of Cape Town (UCT), specialising in Power Sector Reform. Amongst other publications, Dr Malgas has authored and co-authored several academic papers and journal articles on energy policy, independent power producers, and hybrid markets in Africa.

Countries he has studied extensively include Ghana, Tunisia, Morocco, and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. He has also peer reviewed academic journal papers in the domain of power sector reforms. Dr Malgas has served as an industrial supervisor for post-graduate students at various academic institutions and an ad hoc external examiner of master’s and doctoral dissertations.

When Love Kills is the tale of hip hop star, AKA. whose life unraveled when he embarked on a relationship with 21 year-old Anele Tembe. When she "fell" to her death from the 10th storey of the Pepper Club in April, 2021, after a long night of heated arguing, details would emerge that they'd been caught up in a whirlwind of toxic obsession, alleged substance abuse and violence. Less than 2 years later AKA was assassinated in what looked like a hit to avenge her death. This is their tragic story.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melinda Ferguson is the bestselling author of Smacked, Hooked and Crashed. She is also an award-winning journalist and petrolhead. Melinda became a publisher in 2013, and has subsequently published a maverick list of bestsellers, including the Alan Paton-awarded Rape: A South African Nightmare by Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola. In 2020, she joined forces with NB Publishers under her imprint Melinda Ferguson Books.

'When Love Kills: The tragic tale of AKA & Anele' is published by Melinda Ferguson Books, an imprint of NB Publishers

High Times is the true story of Michael Medjuck, whose taste for weed, women and the good life led him from late-1960s Johannesburg to notoriety as one of the biggest hash and weed smugglers in North America.

From his base in Vancouver, Michael built up a smuggling network that supplied dealers in scores of cities across Canada and the United States. The proceeds of smuggling afforded this former King David High School pupil a lifestyle of hedonistic excess – the finest wines, the most glamorous hookers, the best weed in the world.

In 1991, Michael was nabbed by US federal agents while smuggling an enormous shipload of Afghani hash into the West Coast of Canada. Put on trial as the scheme’s mastermind, Michael was convicted and sentenced to 24 years behind bars. His US prison experiences, from dingy county lock-ups to brutal federal penitentiaries, are the stuff of legend. Eventually, a chance remark to his lawyer led to his early release and return to Canada.

After barely a year of freedom, Michael was again arrested – this time in Spain for an ill-judged cocaine-smuggling venture – and sentenced to another prison term of nine years.

This is Michael’s extraordinary story, as told to fellow South Africans Roy Isacowitz, author and journalist, and the late Jeremy Gordin, award-winning journalist, editor and author.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Roy Isacowitz is an author and journalist, now retired in Tel Aviv.

Jeremy Gordin, award-winning journalist, editor and author, who tragically passed away during the writing of this book.

High Times: The Extraordinary Life of a Joburg Dope Smuggler is published by Jonathan Ball Publishers

South Africa’s progressive Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act (No. 92 of 1996), which permits abortion at the request of a pregnant person in the first trimester, was hailed as transformative in terms of reproductive health and rights. Despite this promise, many challenges persist resulting in a lack of services, especially in rural areas where distances and transport costs are a factor.

Accessing abortion services in rural areas under conditions of liberal abortion legislation is neither straightforward nor simple. As the South African example shows, the liberalisation of abortion legislation was the first step in granting pregnant persons access to abortion care. Despite this and some progress in implementation, many challenges persist resulting in a lack of services, especially in areas where distances and transport costs are a factor.

Drawing on the findings of a study conducted in three rural districts of the Eastern Cape, the authors highlight the complexities involved in understanding problematic or unwanted pregnancies and abortion legislation within these communities; the reported barriers to, and facilitators of, access to abortion services among rural populations; and preferences for types of abortion services.

A key finding is the conundrum of costs versus confidentiality: lack of confidentiality involves additional costs to access services outside the area; high costs mean that confidentiality may have to be foregone, which leads to stigma. The authors place the findings within a reparative reproductive justice framework and present a comprehensive set of recommendations.

Abortion Services and Reproductive Justice in Rural South Africa is an insightful and informative resource – the first of its kind –for scholars in health and sociology, health anthropology, health psychology, health sociology and social work, reproductive health policy makers, national planners, health facility managers and providers, and activists.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Ulandi du Plessis is Senior Researcher and Programme Manager at the Critical Studies in Sexualities and Reproduction research programme at Rhodes University, South Africa.

Catriona Ida Macleod is Distinguished Professor of Psychology and SARChI Chair of Critical Studies in Sexualities and Reproduction at Rhodes University, South Africa.

Abortion Services and Reproductive Justice in Rural South Africa is published by Wits University Press

Rhodes and his Banker is an account of the remarkable friendship between a larger-than-life historical figure and a modest, unassuming banker, both of whom were personally involved in all the major political and financial developments in Southern Africa during the closing decades of the 19th century.

The financial institution that brought diamond and gold magnate Cecil John Rhodes and Sir Lewis Michell together – the Standard Bank – was at the heart of the country’s rapid transformation from an agricultural backwater to an industrial powerhouse thanks to the discovery of diamonds and gold. The book chronicles the activities and growth of the bank under the remarkable stewardship of Michell and recounts his role as the trusted confidant of Rhodes.

Michell published the first biography of Rhodes to be written after his death and offers many intriguing insights into the character and motives of one of the most controversial and self-driven of British imperialists. He also did everything he could to fulfil Rhodes’s ambition for a united South Africa and played a key role in setting up the world-famous Rhodes Scholarship programme.

Intertwining dual narratives of Rhodes as rapacious entrepreneur with the Standard Bank under Michell tiptoeing in his wake to become the biggest bank in Africa, Steyn recounts how colonialism and capitalism took root in South Africa and Rhodesia.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Richard Steyn is the author of several bestselling books, including Jan Smuts: Unafraid of Greatness (2015) and Louis Botha: A Man Apart (2018). He practised as a lawyer before switching to journalism. Steyn edited the Natal Witness in Pietermaritzburg from 1975–1990, was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 1985 – 1986 and editor-in-chief of The Star from 1990–1995. He served as Standard Bank’s Director of Corporate Affairs from 1996–2001 before returning to writing.

'Rhodes and his Banker: Empire, Wealth and the Coming of Union' is published by Jonathan Ball Publisher

In this riveting memoir Marion Sparg traces not only her experience in MK – often as the only woman in training camps in Angola – and her friendship with Chris Hani, Joe Slovo and Thabo Mbeki, but also her secret return to South Africa, the three police-station bombs, her sudden arrest and her years of imprisonment. Guilty and Proud is the gripping tale of a woman who defied stereotypes and, at great personal cost, stood up for her beliefs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marion Sparg was one of the few white women to join uMkhonto weSizwe, the armed wing of the ANC. A Sunday Times journalist, she was prompted into action after 32 ANC members and 19 civilians were killed by the South African Defence Force in an attack on Maseru, Lesotho. She would spend the years between 1981 and 1986 in exile where she received training in guerrilla warfare and worked in ANC communication and on the Voice of Women journal. She later joined Special Operations, infiltrating the country secretly. In 1986, she was given a 25-year prison sentence for High Treason, of which she served five years. She was freed in 1991. Sparg worked as publicity secretary in the ANC Border Region and then coordinator of Cyril Ramaphosa’s office at ANC HQ from 1991-1994. After the first democratic elections in 1994, she served in various capacities in the new government. In 2000, she became CEO of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), a position that she retained until her resignation in 2007, following a public spat between then Deputy President Jacob Zuma and the NPA. Since leaving the NPA, Sparg has been working in the private sector as a communications strategist. She lives in Johannesburg with her two daughters, Michelle and Joy.

'Guilty and Proud: An MK Soldier's Memoir of Exile, Prison and Freedom' is published by Tafelberg, an imprint of NB Publishers

You'll never think of flying in South Africa in the same way again.

This is an insider’s tale of the South African airline industry over the past thirty years, as told by Glenn Orsmond, and particularly the story of the dramatic collapse of Comair in 2022.

Orsmond, who was twice the CEO of Comair and the founder CEO of 1time, takes the reader on a wild ride through the ultracompetitive sector of low-cost airlines that boomed in this country after South African Airways’ stranglehold on the skies was loosened in the 1990s.

Comair – which operated both Kulula and British Airways – and 1time were at the forefront of this new wave of airlines that saw domestic flying and tourism take off. But after some incredible highs and lows, Comair crashed under Orsmond’s watch despite the company’s 75-year unblemished profit history.

The pandemic’s impact, the grounding of aeroplanes after a questionable regulator investigation and poor management decisions all contributed to its downfall.

You can expect tales of industry legends and innovation but also of competitors trying to gut each other, battles between pilots and accountants, unions and bosses at loggerheads, and warfare between shareholders and directors in boardrooms.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Glenn Orsmond was a co-founder of 1time and did three stints at Comair – twice as CEO – in an airline career spanning more than 30 years. He is not sure accountants have adventures but believes the airline industry was a more exciting choice of career than auditing.

'Crash and Burn: A CEO's crazy adventure in the South African airline industry' is published by Jonathan Ball Publishers

Established in Pietermaritzburg in 1896 and transferred to rural Balgowan in 1901, Michaelhouse has been one of South Africa’s premier senior boarding schools for boys for more than a century.

As a diocesan school, set up on the model of the great English public schools, from the start Michaelhouse aimed to shape the whole boy – academically, spiritually and on the playing field.

Stars of the Morning chronicles the history of the school, from the move to Balgowan and the indelible imprint left by the two world wars to the impact of load shedding and Covid-19. Author Gary Ralfe has a long and storied connection with Michaelhouse – as an Old Boy, grandparent, governor, chairman, trustee and benefactor. He draws on archival sources, interviews and extensive research to tell this complex and fascinating story.

While the success of a school is measured by such things as matric results, sports scores and participation in clubs and societies, the running of an institution also involves maintaining enrolment, balancing the budget and building (and maintaining) top-class facilities. Stars of the Morning weaves all these themes together with the spiritual and pastoral ethos that is the heart of Michaelhouse.

In many ways, the history of Michaelhouse mirrors the history of South Africa, as the nation moved from colonialism and apartheid to democracy and transformation. Stars of the Morning interleaves the history of the nation with the development of the school, showing how successive rectors navigated the challenges of an evolving society and political dispensation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gary Ralfe, a former head boy of Michaelhouse, is the former managing director of the De Beers Group. After a History Tripos at St John’s College, Cambridge, he joined Anglo American Corporation in October 1966. Ralfe worked for nearly 40 years for Anglo American and its sister company, De Beers. His last posting was Managing Director of the De Beers Group. Shortly after his retirement from De Beers in 2006, he was elected to the Board of Governors of Michaelhouse and in rapid succession was appointed deputy chairman and then chairman for nine years.

'Stars of the Morning: A History of Michaelhouse 1896 - 2021' is published by Jonathan Ball Publishers