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What’s next for Pistorius?

|After dismissing charges of murder, and two lesser charges involving firearms and ammunition, Pistorius was found to be negligent on the fateful night of Reeva Steenkamp’s death, resulting in a verdict of culpable homicide

sentence would be left to her sole discretion. The majority of contemporary verdicts of Culpable Homicide in South Africa have only ever received lesser prison sentences, reaching from four to eight years. These lenient sentences have largely been justified on account of mitigating circumstances. With Judge Masipa already acknowledging a host of extenuating circumstances in the case of Oscar Pistorius, it would be difficult to justify giving him the maximum prison sentence of 15 years. The Pistorius defense team would also fight every possible appeal if a harsh prison sentence was given.

by Sertan Sanderson AND DEVA LEE “A reasonable person, with a similar disability, would have foreseen that the person behind the door would be killed, and the accused failed to take action to avoid this.” — Judge Masipa With these words, Judge Thokozile Masipa delivered her culpable homicide verdict on Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius in the murder case of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The basis for the verdict built on the evidence that Pistorius had acted negligently when firing four shots at her while she was situated behind his bathroom door. According to the judge, a reasonable person would have acted in a way that would avoid the killing of the person behind the door, as she found that Pistorius had not taken those steps. The beginning of the dates for his sentencing hearings were announced for October and Pistorius was granted an extension of his current bail conditions. At the end of day one on Thursday, Judge Masipa had left the world surprised when she ruled out murder (as well as premeditated murder), announcing that there had been no demonstrable intent to kill – which provides the main prerequisite for a murder conviction. Judge Masipa addeded on day two that the prosecution had also failed to

|Zimbabwean artist Craig Wylie’s artwork, EW (hood) has been shortlisted for the prestigious Threadneedle Prize, which awards the best contemporary painting and sculpture by artists working in the UK. Read our interview with him on page 8

deliver proof of any motive. But beyond her culpable homicide verdict, Pistorius has also been found guilty of a firearms charge, which by itself can carry a prison sentence of

up to five years under South African law. With two verdicts now hanging over his head, Oscar Pistorius’ future will remain uncertain until the judge returns with a sentence.

Prison Pistorius faces up to 15 years in prison for the culpable homicide charge. There is no minimum sentence set for this verdict, and the length of the

Suspended Sentence It might also turn out that Judge Masipa cannot find it justifiable to send Pistorius to jail, forcing him to report to parole officers for years to come under a Suspended Sentence. He would have to spend years under strict parole controls, such as not being allowed to leave SA to compete in athletics championships. But by giving him a Suspended Sentence, Judge Masipa would basically leave it up to Pistorius to prove to the world that he is indeed capable of walking on the right side of the law in the future. Showing reformed behaviour is key to Suspended Sentences, which with Oscar’s track record with guns might be problematic.

Continued on page 3

| 16 - 23 September 2014 | thesouthafrican.com

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From Steve Biko to Thuli Madonsela – South Africa’s “CIA agents”

|This week the Public Protector was called a CIA agent. The ruling party’s tactic of labeling its critics foreign agents is counterproductive, has a bloody history and is damaging the country by Ayanda Kota When Steve Biko galvanized young black intellectuals into an explosive new political awareness, Mac Maharaj called him a CIA agent. In his recent biography on Biko, Xolela Mangcu recalls that in Ginsburg in the 1980s, “UDF crowds would in their hundreds go and sing in front of Steve Biko’s house: U-Steve Biko, I-CIA – alleging Steve had worked for the CIA. We would confront the crowds to defend Steve’s name, at the risk of our lives.” In the 1980s, proponents of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) were torched alive, brutally killed, and forced to flee their homes around the country. This was justified by the Congress structures with the accusation that BCM activists were CIA agents with white handlers. It has been 37 years since the death in custody of Steve Biko. Today, the ANC speaks of Biko as a hero because BCM is no longer a threat to them. The last nail in the coffin was the co-option of the AZAPO former president as a Deputy Minister of Education. BCM is now talking from the oblivion of history with no influence or power. But when real challenges to the ANC emerge from within the black community, their leaders are still said to be working for white handlers who are foreign agents. This has been said about all the social movements that have emerged to advocate health care, land and housing and for a decent income. After the Marikana Massacre, the accusation from the ruling party and SACP was that there was a third force hellbent on using workers in Marikana to undermine the ANC. Once again, a white handler was identified as the motivating force behind the struggles of black

people. The SACP is so fixated on third forces, spies, and antitransformation conspiracies, that they can’t even apply basic class analysis to understand the lives of the working class. For the ANC and SACP you are only an authentic black if you are blindly loyal to Jacob Zuma. What is even more painful is the use of this language in our ranks. Andile Mngxitama has become notorious for using such language against black activists who disagree with him. Any grassroots black activist that does not accept his authority is said to be an askari with a white handler. We have become familiar with the uncultured language of the erstwhile oppressor under apartheid. Many of us have put on his boots without shame. Recently, Thuli Madonsela was called a CIA Agent with a white handler. This remarkable woman has been under sustained attack from the ruling party. At a time when so many people are losing confidence in democracy, she is standing firmly against corruption. This language that paints any black person who thinks for

themselves as a tool of whites working for imperialism kills the debate in the black community. It intimidates people. It divides people. In the 1980s, BCM members paid the price. Our members carry the scars; many graves are there as testimony. Others have paid the price for this over the last ten years too: the Landless Peoples’ Movement, the AntiPrivatisation Forum, Treatment Action Campaign, Abahlali baseMjondolo, Unemployed People’s Movement, and the striking mineworkers of Marikana have all been labelled tools of imperialism. Leon Trotsky once wrote: “The struggle against ‘bad language’ is a condition of intellectual culture, just as the fight against filth and vermin is a condition of physical culture.” Abusive speech has become normalised by the ANC and it has become normal in the left. There are many kinds of abusive speech. We all know what happened during Zuma’s rape trial, where abusive speech took the form of sexism. And recently, again,

Charles Nqakula threatened Floyd Shivambu with violence in parliament. We have to condemn the ANC when they use abusive speech against the EFF instead of rational argument. We have to condemn the gutter politics that has done so much harm to the left. The power of Black Consciousness was significantly eroded in the 80s by the either-you’re-with-usor-you’re-vermin mentality that informs a significant proportion of the ruling party’s actions. Thuli Madonsela is now the target of this mentality, this deeply intolerant and ultimately dehumanising mentality that prevents the ruling party from learning through its mistakes. If rather than condemning and trying to undermine the power of the Public Protector the ANC took its recommendations to heart, the party might avert what seems to be its inexorable slide. We can’t keep quiet and do nothing when the ANC is at it again. We need to stand up for Thuli Madonsela. We owe it our children and their future. – GroundUp.co.za

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Masipa’s sentencing options revealed

Continued from page 1

Correctional Supervision In the wake of the end of apartheid, alternative methods of punishment were introduced to the South African legal framework, which are all clustered under the umbrella term of Correctional Supervision. These options can even be taken into consideration in Murder trials under the discretion of the presiding judge. Under these guidelines, Judge Masipa could use her discretion to come up with a more creative solution in dealing with the case against Oscar Pistorius. Taking his hardships as a double amputee into consideration (as well as his fame), Masipa could hand out house arrest and/or a community service sentence with a few years of prison time potentially built in as part of the package deal. South Africa and indeed the entire world had held its breath over the past seven months, as gruesome details relating to Steenkamp’s death were hashed out in great detail. The media attention in South Africa alone broke various records, and is sure to continue to dominate airwaves next month when the sentencing hearings begin.

| With the EFF’s growing support and PAGAD’s resurgence, it was only a question of time before one of them declared that my enemy’s enemy is my friend by Sertan Sanderson

Scotland’s first minister likens upcoming vote to 1994 SA elections | Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond caused some outrage last week by comparing the upcoming Scotland referendum to the 1994 South Africa elections by sertan sanderson

South Africa and Scotland couldn’t be any more different from each other, no matter if you compare the weather, local traditions or respective political heritage. Yet despite the many rich contrasts between the two territories, Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond took to the press last week, comparing the upcoming independence vote in Scotland with South Africa’s first democratic elections held in 1994. Salmond said that the prospect of Scots queuing up to vote in the referendum was akin to black South Africans waiting in line for days outside voting stations in 1994 at the end of apartheid laws. First minister Salmond described his experiences in Dundee while witnessing a long queue of voters registering for the referendum as “almost reminiscent of the scenes in South Africa that some of us of a certain age remember from 20 years ago [...] when people queued up to vote in the first free elections.” Several public figures in the UK took offense to the comparison, with

EFF integrates extremist organisation PAGAD

former Labour minister and staunch anti-apartheid campaigner Peter Hain saying that any comparison between the Scotland vote and South Africa’s 1994 elections was “preposterous”. “South Africa was a brutal police state, with state terror, statesponsored assassinations, torture, absolute denial of human dignity if you had the wrong colour skin. To compare it to Scots seeking independence is just insulting to the freedom struggle.” Labour MP Jim Murphy added that comparing any vote in Scotland with South Africa’s first democratic election was “crass”. “Scotland is not Soweto and a decision on whether or not we stay British has no parallels at all with the beauty of the liberation of South Africa from the evil type of racism that was apartheid,” Mr Murphy said, who had spent several of his formative years living in South Africa. BBC broadcaster Sue MacGregor, who also had grown up in South Africa, commented that voting had not been possible for the majority of South Africans before 1994 while

Scots have enjoyed full democracy under the UK, saying the two polls were “not comparable” with each other. In addition to full participation in UK politics since 1801, Scotland has been enjoying a certain level of self-governance under devolution since its parliament in Holyrood (Edinburgh) was established in 1999 following a previous referendum. These include matter of education and health services. In contrast, South Africa had been governed by the National Party from 1948 to 1994, which introduced a growing number of racial segregation and oppression laws over the years under the umbrella term “apartheid”. The so-called architect of apartheid, Hendrik Verwoerd had infamously coined this system “a policy of good neighbourliness” while increasingly isolating SA from the international community. The success of the National Party’s campaigns built on the dominance of white rule dating back all the way to European Colonisation in the mid 17th century.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the Western Cape have announced an aggressive campaign against drug cartels, integrating local extremist group PAGAD into their fold as part of a new initiative, named – rather unfortunately – UFAGAD, the United Front Against Gangsterism and Drugs. The two groups held a press conference together last week to declare their joint war on drugs, saying that they shared various mutual goals and that they were open to recruiting other factions dedicated to combatting drug crime and gangsterism into their new union as well. However, they also made sure that their invitation would fall short of incorporating EFF’s political opponents, nor was there any mention of crimes committed by PAGAD members in the past. Instead, the new bedfellows vowed they would not fear gangsters working against their endeavours while devoting their new front to exposing the crimes of drug traffickers. Islamist group PAGAD has been witnessing a resurgence lately following a long period of

silence for almost a decade, most notably surfacing at local proPalestinian protests in Cape Town and holding events to renounce drug-related activities in the Cape Flats. Recently they came under suspicion of being linked to the explosion of two pipe bombs in Cape Town, but the police failed to establish a clear connection. Pagad leader Abdus Salaam Ebrahim emphasised that PAGAD would continue to function as a social cause in its own right, stressing that the relationship between the two organisations would be continually examined. “We will remain an independent organisation. The EFF is an independent political party while Pagad remains a divine-based movement,” Ebrahim said. The new movement is planning a series of marches against drugs, reportedly starting in the coming few weeks in Langa, Cape Town. Authorities are observing the resurgence of PAGAD in Cape Town and other extremist groups across South Africa with caution, especially after video uploaded last month in which a self-identified South African man lauded the actions of the terrorist groups Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS).

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Is SA bottom of the class in maths and science? Africa Check says the WEF ranking is meaningless |A report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) has ranked the quality of South Africa’s maths and science education last out of 148 countries. But is the ranking an accurate reflection of the state of schooling in the country?

by Africa Check South Africa’s education department has reacted angrily to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report that ranked the country last out of 148 countries for the quality of its maths and science education. The WEF’s 2014 Global Information Technology Report also ranked South Africa 146th for the overall quality of its education. In response, South Africa’s Department of Basic Education issued a press release dismissing the report as “not a credible or accurate reflection of the state of education in South Africa”. Is the WEF ranking accurate? There are two key problems. Firstly, no standardised tests were conducted to assess the quality of maths and science education in the countries surveyed. Secondly, the ranking was derived from an annual “Executive Opinion Survey” carried out by the WEF. This opinion survey draws on interviews with various unidentified “business leaders”. Around 50 South African “business leaders” were asked to assess the quality of maths and science education in the country and score it from poor to excellent. Individual responses were then arbitrarily weighted according to the sector each “business leader” worked in. The weighting was based on the “estimated contributions to a country’s GDP of each of the four main economic sectors: agriculture, manufacturing industry, non-manufacturing industry, and services”. “There is valuable data in the report. For things like business confidence it is useful. But you can’t apply opinions to things like education. It is like asking business experts what they think the HIV rate is,” said Martin Gustafsson, a researcher in the economics department at Stellenbosch University. The education rankings are not, in fact, an assessment of the quality of maths and science education in South Africa or any of the other 147 countries covered. Instead they are simply a reflection of the personal opinions of a small group of unidentified “business leaders” about a topic in which they are not expert. Where is South Africa ranked? In order to accurately rank an education system you need to do a lot more than ask unnamed “business leaders” for their opinions. To compare educational

performance across a number of different countries you need a standardised test and a representative sample of students to take the test in each country. The most comprehensive and most current data on educational performance across a number of African countries was compiled by the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ). SACMEQ conducted three major education policy research projects between 1995-1998, 1998-2004 and 2005-2010. Data for the most recent research project was collected during the last quarter of 2007 from 61,396 grade six students and 8,026 grade six teachers in 2,779 schools. Students were required to answer multiple-choice questions on reading, mathematics and health. South Africa’s average student maths score placed it eighth out of the fifteen countries. Mozambique, Uganda, Lesotho, Namibia, Malawi and Zambia all scored lower than South Africa in the SACMEQ test, yet they were all ranked higher in the WEF’s report. Major problems do exist Of course this does not mean that all is well in South Africa. The performance of South Africa’s education system has been subject to severe criticism in recent years. A 2012 study published by the University of Stellenbosch found that while 71 percent of children in grade six were functionally literate, only 58.6 percent could be considered functionally numerate. The study noted that “at least a quarter of children are enrolled but have learnt so little in six years of formal full-time schooling that they have not even mastered functional literacy or numeracy”. The basic education department’s own academic assessments revealed last year that just three percent of school pupils in grade nine had achieved more than 50 percent in mathematics. Concerns have also been expressed about South Africa’s high dropout rate. For example, when the 2013 matric class started grade one in 2002, there were 1,261,827 pupils. By the time they sat their final exams, those numbers had more than halved to 562,112. Gustafsson summed it up: “The bottom line is that test-based data suggests that indeed South Africa’s quality of education requires a lot of fixing, and is well below where it should be. Yet the catchy slogan that we are ‘at the bottom of the world’ is not supported by the evidence.” Researched by Kate Wilkinson; edited by Julian Rademeyer

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Legendary struggle poet and activist Mafika Gwala dies

|It’s Heritage Month in South Africa, and each week we’ll be looking back at the roots of our rich and colourful culture. This week we pay tribute to Black Consciousness leader and writer Mafika Gwala, who died on 9 September by DEVA LEE Gwala was born in Verulam in 1946 and lived in Mpumalanga township for most of his life. He hails from a generation of struggle writers, such as Wally Serote, Njabulo S. Ndebele, Oswald Mtshali and Sipho Sepamla. Gwala was a cultural activist who was fundamental to the revival of African writing in the 1960s, contributing to famous publications such as Staffrider and The Classic, founded by Nat Nakasa. He was also the editor for The Black Review. In 2007, Gwala was given a lifetime achievement award as part of the SA Literary Awards. He aligned himself with Steve Biko’s Black Consciousness Movement, and was an antiapartheid activist. Together with Biko, Gwala founded the South African Student’s Organisation. Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa publicly gave his condolences last week. “His passing is a great loss not only to his immediate family, but to South Africa and the world at large” he said. “We find solace in his words which will never die. May his soul rest in peace.” Gwala wrote two volumes of poetry, including a famous postcolonial poem entitled “Versions of Progress”. We have included it here in full:

Versions of Progress (For Kuntu ‘Tame-as-mamba’ Moalusi) “What matters for us is not to collect facts and behaviour but to find their meaning.” – Franz Fanon Man has been to the moon Spreading umbilical concepts Of electronics and space radiation Fast-breeding robot men; Computers have given man A faded character All part of cancer identity; In ugly mirth we rejoice Over every technological success And call it progress Thus welcoming The Age of Plastic Man; Yet we still wonder about the Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas We learn of monies poured Into diving schemes to solve The mystery of the Loch Ness monster Americans also have the Dollar Quiz Over the Yeti There’s now talk of strange prehistoric Creatures in equatorial Afrika But When Zulus spoke with understanding Of the blood-sucking umdlebe tree

That bleats like a goat To lure its victims The savages were shocked Again, When my people spoke of The ivimbela, a flying snake That only moved in a tornado cloud Dictionaries translated the flying reptile To mean “whirlwind” No surprise then That baffled colonials called Langalibalele’s rainmaking powers a fake: Simply because the examples of enquiry Were losing step with evolution Am I surprised To find the world still without Enough food to feed its mouths? Still without enough shelter For its millions? Worse, when surplus food is dumped Or, destroyed, just to maintain gross profit? My old man once told me (I was almost eleven then): In order to cheat examples Precedents need not be followed Or lawyers would not have to fight cases Like other boys of my kin-group I was licensed to eat what I wished I enjoyed karawala which my mother

Prepared with flavouring care With my friends, we ate The cane rat – ivondwe We chewed wurumbu We trapped the chicken-snapping hawk For meat We fished the eel, the sea fish And the freshwater fish We chewed and swallowed the imbizas raw Nothing happened Our boyhood appetites were

breaking taboos As different cultures converged Harmoniously Whilst we learned the ABCs of Instant remedy And instant side-effects In Afrika When a snake sticks out its forked tongue It is pleading for justice It is not the tongue Of the snake That bites

“Miners Shot Down is an incredibly important film”: a review by Daniel Mackintosh

| On Thursday 11 September 2014, Richmix hosted a screening of ‘Miners Shot Down’. We were subsequently joined by director, Rehad Desai, for a short Q & A BY Daniel Mackintosh Miners Shot Down tells the story of the August 2012 Marikana Massacre, when ordinary mine workers challenged the state, mining company Lonmin PLC, the National Union of Mineworkers and the ANC government, to fight for a living wage. After six days on a wildcat strike, on the 16th of August 2012, police killed 34 miners and South Africa subsequently entered a new phase in its democratic life. Rehad Desai, the director, tells the story of how senior Lonmin executives, police, Ministers and ANC members decided that they were going to move the miners from the Marikana koppie on the

16th of August, whatever the cost. The documentary is carefully constructed, integrating remarkable video images from news broadcasters, police cameras and Lonmin security. Live footage is supplemented by inserts from the Farlam Commission of Inquiry and an array of interviews with miners and other key actors. The detail is horrifying. The official version of events is that the police acted in self-defence when miners charged them. This narrative is rubbished by the footage, which demonstrates how mine workers repeatedly tried to negotiate and acted in a peaceful, measured way. But the police knew that their action would result in deaths: a few days before 16

August they ordered 4 mortuary trucks. Miners Shot Down shows how, once the main koppie had been ‘cleared’, a group of miners was found at the ‘second koppie’. Many were be killed by police, even though they posed no threat. Once all of the shooting had stopped, miners died because police denied ambulances access to the victims for over an hour. In the Q & A, Desai told us of why he thought Marikana was an important event in democratic South Africa. It demonstrated how little empathy the ANC had with mineworkers and showed the deep connections between the state and mining companies. It also heralded the birth of new, powerful political formations like

the Economic Freedom Front and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union. These are expressions of frustration at the massive inequality in the mining sector – while Chief Executive of Lonmin, Bennetor Magara, earned R12 million (and R11 million in shares) in 2013, the miners in this sector take home about R6000 a month. Further, Desai reminded the Londoners in the audience now that they had seen the film, they too were responsible, with Lonmin Plc registered in the UK andits headquarters in the City. But, Miners Shot Down is not a dispassionate review of the facts. This is a political documentary. And that is its weakness. Desai gets slightly distracted by

his dislike of Cyril Ramaphosa. He implies that Ramaphosa, South Africa’s Deputy President, is responsible for the miners’ deaths because he sent one email to Lonmin management calling for ‘concomitant action’ to be taken in August 2012. An email suggesting that definitive action be taken to stop criminal activity is hardly evidence of being liable for murder. Miners Shot Down is an incredibly important film. It is a clear call for corporate and political accountability for the Marikana Massacre. But it falls short because it involves too much of Desai’s own politics. Still, it is highly recommended to understand contemporary South Africa.

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Nedbank South African

| The Nedbank South African Charity Golf Day took place on 12 September 2014 where over 300 golfers got to enjoy some delicious boerewors rolls – supplied by Nyama Catering – before playing 18 holes of golf at the prestigious Burhill Golf Club near Walton-Upon-Thames

by Hayley ShorT Former South African president and event patron, Mr FW De Klerk, addressed guests with an honest and balanced review of the strides made by South Africa during the first twenty years of democracy as well as its current challenges. Mr De Klerk responded to pertinent and interesting questions covering the current South African leadership, education and the valuable role that returning expats can play in improving the economy, with emphasis on entrepreneurial development. Following which, the fully ambidextrous PGA Coach, Jeremy Dale, entertained guests with his riveting golfing trick show. Former England and Saracens rugby player, Hugh Vyvyan, was master of ceremonies at the evening gala dinner with nearly 400 guests. Award-winning South African baritone, Njabulo Madlala opened the evening with a beautiful rendition of ‘Shosholoza’ and the national anthem ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika’. CEO of Nedbank, Mr Mike Brown and the Nedbank SA Charity Golf Day founder and Chairman, Mr Geoff Johnson, addressed guests before British television and radio presenter Jonathan Gould had everyone in stitches of laughter during the live auction. Even SA High Commissioner to London Obed Mlaba shared in with the chuckles and jokes. The organising committee would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to everyone who played a part in this year’s success. The event raises significant funds for its beneficiaries: FW De Klerk Foundation, Lalela Project, Afrika Tikkun, FoodBank SA, Starfish Greathearts Foundation, Thuthuka and Warwick in Africa. The event’s title sponsor Nedbank and many other sponsors including Old Mutual, SABMiller, South African Airways, GlobeFlight, SAICA (South African Institute of Chartered Accountants), ExcluServ, iTec, Saracens and American Express have all been incredibly generous with their support. If you would like to sponsor or be involved in next year’s event to be held on Friday 11 September 2015, please contact Margo by emailing helpinghand@ sagolfday.com.

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Charity Golf Day 2014

|Photos by Ronel van Zyl

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On being an ‘Angry South African Expat’ and what really makes us tick |Lets get one thing straight — there is no such thing as a South African expat. After all, we’re all in this together

|Arriving home the on day of Mandela’s death was extremely special for me. I was humbled, appreciative and proud of everything my country stands for. I was like a tourist experiencing the magic for the first time

BY Victoria Bourhill People who have chosen to live outside the country should not be lumped into one category. Even though the term applies to anyone living abroad, its much more complex than that. There are South Africans living all the over the world for reasons that vary from being racist, to

a career move, to prolonged travel. And for a long time now ‘South African expat’ has become somewhat of a curse word, a word used to describe deserters full of hate. I felt the need to bring up the issue of the South African expat because a) I am one of them and b) I’m pretty damn tired of feeling guilty about it. (And also

a recent trending article got me thinking.) The first category of South African expats are of an older generation. These individuals have many enemies. They have been living outside of South Africa for years, if not decades. They are targeted by anti-expat articles written by naysayers who write with just as much hate as their accused ex-countrymen supposedly harbor. This generation of expats left South Africa around the time of the country’s first democratic elections. In the months leading up to them, petrified white South Africans fled the country for fear of being the victims of a counter attack. (That or they were just downright racist and couldn’t deal with a black president). There is a certain (large) amount of negativity towards this group of people. You can find proof in all the long winded pieces about evil-expats written by gushingly proud South Africans. We get it – there are South Africans living abroad who talk shit about their native country, its crime stats and corruption. But if you ask me, one of the few places one might be exposed to these bad vibes and negativity

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is in the comment section of an article written by aforementioned gushingly proud South Africans who love singling out expats and their ‘stupid’ decision to leave. Being picked on for being ‘unpatriotic’ and leaving is only going to cause debate, negativity, a lot of back and forth and name calling. I do not condone bad behavior from either side. Nobody is idiotic for choosing to leave or stay. But, as with most things in life, there is a new generation. Not all expats decided to ‘run for their lives’ around 1994. What about those who left more recently. Those who stuck around long enough to see Mandela become president, watch the ’95 Rugby World Cup and maybe even long enough to enjoy the 2010 festivities… but eventually still made the decision to leave. While l don’t hold the all answers about the increasing flow of South Africans out of the country, I do have a few questions for those who love to complain about it: Did you know that people all over the world leave their native countries to pursue better opportunities? Did you know that it is not necessarily unpatriotic to leave your country to live in another one? That often, living outside the country makes us more patriotic than ever before? Especially because (and did you know this?) being removed from South Africa and its problems helps us keep a more positive outlook on it than you might have? If you meet an American living outside their country, or a Swede or a Kiwi, would you question their patriotism? Probably not. And their countrymen probably wouldn’t give two hoots about their decision to leave either. So why do South Africans get so upset at the idea of, God forbid, a South African living outside of South Africa? Remember, a lot of people who leave South Africa intend to return in the future. The experience and knowledge they gain overseas and eventually bring home is priceless and should not be underestimated or downplayed. I like to think they’d contribute massively to a better South Africa one day instead of assuming they’re making things worse. Unfortunately the dilemma continues for new generation ‘deserters’. Although we’ve

gained the right to vote abroad, we’ve somehow lost our right to an opinion on the state of the nation. American expats wouldn’t think twice about calling George Bush out on his perceived stupidity. They’d be happy to second guess their country’s gun laws in the blink of an eye. So why are South African expats at the point where they feel guilty about making judgments about home? We seem to have lost our right to speak negatively about South Africa after making a decision to leave. Apparently leaving means we’re no longer entitled to think along the same lines as people who remain to contribute: Zuma is a dick, crime sucks and growing your savings account takes decades. If someone makes the decision to leave, so be it. Instead of reacting with negativity and blaming them for their lack of positive contribution to the country, rather give them a hug because you know how hard it must be to leave and a high five for managing to do it on a South African passport. In the past four years living abroad I’ve encountered a lot of questions related to South Africa, its political and social situation. I don’t sugarcoat things. I say yes, my house is fortified and yes, my heart does race when I arrive home late at night for fear of being hijacked at my gate. I say these things because I have been asked and because they are true. NOT because my favourite past time is to talk badly about South Africa. It is also my experience that once these people have heard what I have to say they are, naturally, quite shocked. My answers are often met with more questions. And this is most likely the reason why when you meet foreigners they might bring it up in conversation with you. Not because I’ve exaggerated or gone on, but because they were shocked by what I had to say. Because a lot of the time what South Africans call their reality, is insane. In the same breath I try and encourage the people I meet to visit there one day because just like a problem child, my problem country is completely delightful and they’d be missing out if they never got to know it. This article was originally published on Vicky’s blog: http://itsthewanderlust.com/

thesouthafrican.com | 16 - 23 September 2014 |

Food

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Ribeye steaks with watercress pesto and dauphinoise potatoes | I’m fortunate to be able to pick watercress from the stream that runs through the garden at the back of the Hengist restaurant. Its fresh and it is a perfect accompaniment to steak with its peppery flavour. It’s also a superfood, rich in iron, calcium and folic acid. (Great for my wife, as we have a baby on the way!) by Petrus Madutlela I get my beef from Allen’s of Mayfair, the oldest butcher’s shop in London. The cattle are raised exclusively for Allens in the Scottish Highlands, grazing on the area’s rich pastures. Their diet is topped up with draff, a by-product of the whiskey industry that’s a great source of fibre and protein. The beef is hung for at least 21 days, to tenderise it and deepen the flavour. It’s worth a visit to Allen’s shop in Mount Street, to see the range on offer and the interesting Victorian interior. If you want to improve your butchery skills, they run courses. Ingredients 2 x rib-eye steaks salt and cracked black pepper 30g butter 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed Potato dauphinoise 400 g maris piper potatoes, peeled & thinly sliced with a sharp knife or mandoline (the potatoes should be no thicker than a £1 coin). 1 garlic clove, peeled & finely crushed 300 ml double cream 100 ml whole milk Pinch of grated nutmeg Salt and pepper 50 g ricotta (optional)

Watercress Pesto 50 g watercress (you can use the stalks) 30 g basil leaves 40 g pine kernels Juice of half a lemon 50 g finely grated parmesan 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 100 ml extra virgin olive oil Salt & pepper Method Ribeye Steaks Take these out of the fridge & unpack them before you start preparing the other ingredients, so they have time to come to room temperature. Pesto Blitz the watercress, basil, 3/4 of the pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and a little salt into a fine-textured paste in a food processor. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the parmesan and remaining whole pine nuts. Potato Dauphinoise Preheat the oven to 180C fan, 200C. Grease the inside of a gratin dish using butter. Mix the milk, cream, garlic, nutmeg & seasoning in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then turn off the heat. Gradually add the potatoes into your creamy mix in the pan, stirring

to ensure they don’t stick together. Bring the mixture back to the boil, then simmer on a low heat for around 10 minutes. The starch from the potatoes will thicken the mix. Transfer the potatoes to the buttered gratin dish, spreading them evenly in layers. Pour the cream mix over to cover them. Crumble ricotta over the top (an optional extra indulgence). Bake for 30 minutes, until the ricotta is just browning on top. Cooking your ribeye steaks Pat the steaks dry with kitchen towel and season well on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed frying pan over medium – high heat. The oil must be hot before you carefully add your steaks. Reduce heat to medium. Add the butter and garlic to the pan, and use these to baste the steaks. Cook to your liking – a medium rare 4 cm steak should take about 3 minutes on each side. Leave to rest for about 5 minutes, ideally on a rack. This allows the meat’s juices to even out, so it’s more tasty and tender. Serve with a drizzle of pesto, dauphinoise and some watercress leaves with finely sliced red onion on the side.

| 16 - 23 September 2014 | thesouthafrican.com

Arts & Entertainment

Zimbabwean Craig Wylie is selected for Threadneedle Prize |Craig Wylie, Zimbabwean born artist and past winner of The BP Portrait Award, is famous for his super-realist portraits in bright tones. He has now been selected for The Threadneedle Prize prize on the basis of a dramatically different new body of work. Fellow Zimbabwean Artist Gordon Glyn-Jones caught up with him ahead of his solo show that opens in Leipzig on 13 September to talk about the new work. The Threadneedle Exhibition Show, which seeks to showcase the best contemporary figurative artwork being made in Europe, opens in London on 24 September By Gordon Glyn-Jones What is the most difficult part of being a working artist? For me, it’s keeping things simple. With the weight of history in painting, one can get overly analytical and kill off ideas before they’ve had a chance to develop. With so much information also accessible now, it’s sometimes hard to narrow things down, which is a completely necessary thing to do or one goes mad. And the most joyous? The initial impetus to make a painting and the finding of its resolution. Seeing an old painting again and thinking that it’s OK, is also pretty good. You have returned to the figure from life in your new work. To what degree has this enriched the working experience? Immensely. The conception of the work is a lot more open, with trial and error playing a bigger role, which makes the creation of the work at once more exciting and more pressured. Although more difficult, working with people in the flesh as opposed to a digital mirage is also much more rewarding. Using photography in the deliberately machine-like way I did in the past, meant that the work was predetermined. The current paintings are again open to change in the process, even quite radically at later stages. Essentially, the new process is back to a kind of freehand; analogue in a way, with a much softer, more elusive line involved than one typically gets using photographs. Part of the return to figure painting was also about reinvigoration of the surface of the work. I wanted something a little more organic, natural, and even awkward. Your palettes have become significantly muted. Why did you feel this was necessary and what have you learned from the transition? The more muted palette is simply due to painting from life and using naturally observed colours. In the photo-based works I deliberately used more acidic, saturated colours

|Craig Wylie’s KB(blue barrel) 2013-2014

– in a way to counteract the flatness of the images. The colour made up for the lack of physicality in the source material. I suppose that’s in reverse now? I’ve certainly picked up a few more subtle variations in colour, using new colours to make cleaner, fresher variations of skin tone than I was using when last painting the figure from life. Also, I’ve developed a greater sense of what, in light of figure painting’s extensive historical baggage, may be required to actually add something to the genre (one hopes). To what degree do you feel the need to create an original take on the tradition in the light of contemporaries such as such as Lucian Freud or Jenny Saville and so on?

To a large degree. It’s essentially the reason I stopped painting from life – the work was too close to Freud. I used photography as a distancing tool, which did work in way. In the end however, the photobased works were always lacking enough of a certain un-foreseen painterly moment. I’ve now come to terms with my influences, seeing more clearly a different purpose which will allow me to push on, even if it is in close proximity. In my encounters as an artist with the majority of friends and colleagues, there seems to be a universal fear of fine art and artists. What is your take on this phenomenon? I think that is changing rapidly now. Accessibility and social

responsibility have become the watchwords for public art institutions in the last decade. More people than ever go to art shows, public and private. Some of the private, commercial galleries do foster an elite image, this being tied to creating an aura of prestige to enable and encourage higher prices for gallery artists. For artists, elitism is always a problem. No matter how democratic and accessible an artist tries to make their work, the market, by its nature, makes it exclusive at some point. People through the ages have also always been suspicious of artists I think. It takes a certain separateness and independence, which doesn’t always go down well. And artists are pretty good at fostering this impression too, sometimes purely for self-preservation. People also misunderstand art, being fearful of appearing ignorant, consequently putting up barriers, when the truth is that art is a very simple affair really, it’s just that people think there is supposed to be more to it because of all the hype surrounding it. You are shortlisted for the Threadneedle prize to be announced on 23 September.

How important are art competitions to an artist? They can be significant in boosting an artist’s public image, and there are obviously big financial rewards which can help tremendously to create vital free time for art-making. Although, in the long run, I’m not sure that they are that important to an artist’s development. What is the best days/venue for our readers to see your current work? My solo show, ‘Snare’, is open in Leipzig, Germany, from 13 September to 11 October, and the Threadneedle Prize Exhibition runs from 24 September until 11 October at the Mall Galleries in London. I also have a portrait of Dame Kelly Holmes (up) in the permanent collection of The National Portrait Gallery, London. The Threadneedle Prize Show – Opens: 25 September – 11 October 2014 (Private View: 24 September 2014) Location: Mall Galleries, The Mall (near Trafalgar Square) London SW1. www.threadneedleprize.com For more on Gordon Glyn-Jones, visit: www.gordonglyn-jones.com

thesouthafrican.com | 16 - 23 September 2014 |

Arts & Entertainment

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Zapiro, Madiba, amandla and Nkandla: 20 years of democracy celebrated in London In celebration of 20 years of democracy in South Africa this year, LSE is hosting a public exhibition titled “South Africa’s Democracy – Mandela’s Cherished Ideal”, which will be running for the month of September. The exhibition was put together by the Universities of Cape Town, Wits and Fort Hare. As part of this exhibition, the University of Cape Town Alumni Trust arranged to screen the UK premiere of a short film by Mark J. Kaplan: Madiba Remembered: UCT Looks Back. The film began with recent celebrations at the university of the man, and the legend, following his passing in December 2013. This was interspersed with historic footage of protest by students (most notoriously in 1988 when police retaliated with teargas) and the campaigns to free Mandela. A wonderful aspect was the volume of emotional personal stories crammed into the 30 minute duration of interaction and joy told by UCT Alumni including the cartoonist and political satirist Jonathan Shapiro – better known by his pen name Zapiro. Clearly demonstrated throughout the film the audience saw how Mandela brought his own warmth to every occasionas well as his ability to make whomever he was speaking with feel like the most important person in the room. His humble nature always shone through, as well as his all-inclusive attitude, and above all, love for his country. A wonderful example of this was an excerpt from a speech he delivered at the university in 2004 where he relayed a conversation he had after being released from prison with the then ANC leader Oliver Tambo. Tambo had said to Mandela that he should take his place as the leader of the ANC, to which Mandela replied, how could he explain to the people that someone who has been ‘resting on an island’ for 20 years can come out and push a tireless leader who has been working 24 hours a day aside. Laughter and applause erupted in the audience of the film as well at ourselves watching. The film was a joyous remembrance of how Mandela seemed to effortlessly cement his place in the hearts of all South Africans, and how many of us feel personally connected to him even

without meeting him. The evening was also the launch of Zapiro’s new book: Democrazy: SA’s Twenty-Year Trip – “from Amandla to Nkandla and everything in between” and we were treated to a live Q&A session with the man himself via Skype following the film. The book is a fantastic chronicle of South Africa’s developing democracy, keenly observed and humorously depicted by Zapiro, whose razor-sharp wit has not dulled during his career. Zapiro described himself as a ‘visual columnist’, spoke of finding inspiration all around him and how he knows his role as a satirist is to stay one step ahead, to ‘shoot from the hip’ and the challenge of remaining current. He touched on Mandela’s continuing presence as a character despite his death, acting as a kind of moral conscience in the minds of South Africans – similar to Mahatma Ghandi in India and Martin Luther King in the US. He mentioned the change in attitude of government from Mandela accepting his critical works as part of his job, to President Jacob Zuma suing him for defamation not once, but twice. The sentiment is wonderfully expressed by quotes on the back cover of the book. Zapiro remains unapologetic and stands by his works. Inspiring us to always question the official explanations and government views, he continues to illustrate what many of us are already thinking, and despite legal challenges his ambition remains undented – demonstrated by his continuing portrayal of Zuma with a dripping showerhead hanging over his head. The final words to Zapiro came from Paul Weinberg, photographer and curator of the exhibition, who plainly stated “don’t retire!” – a sentiment shared by many, I believe. I jumped at the chance to get my hands on a signed copy following the event. The event as a whole felt warm and celebratory. There was an unspoken sense of pride amongst the attendees and a quiet acknowledgement of what we have managed to achieve as a country under the guidance of Mandela’s example. The exhibition runs at the LSE from 1 to 26 September.

SEPTEMBER SPECIALS

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(From 1st till the 30th of September)

|In celebration of 20 years of democracy in South Africa this year, LSE hosts a public exhibition titled “South Africa’s Democracy – Mandela’s Cherished Ideal” running for the entire month of September. The ambitious exhibition was put together by the Universities of Cape Town, Wits and Fort Hare

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Travel

| 16 - 23 September 2014 | thesouthafrican.com Follow us on Twitter: @TheSAnews

Handmade lace, canal trips and chocolate waff les: you won’t get bored in Bruges

| Bruges, in Flemish Belgium, doesn’t disappoint. It was given a starring role in the hit-man movie In Bruges with Colin Farrell and Brendon Gleeson, and in real life it is a picture perfect town. Definitely not twee, just right for a weekend break

by Marianne Gray With its steep stepped gables, winding cobbled streets, glorious canals and neo-Gothic flamboyance, Bruges was a thriving, wealthy powerhouse in the Middle Ages. Nowadays it sits back and enjoys its history as a World Heritage Site. Set 50 minutes (by train) north west of Brussels with Zeebrugge as it’s port and Ostende on the North Sea as its golden-sand beach, the centre of Bruges still holds its Hanseatic port feeling. There are huge working boats on broad canals while visitors are squeezed onto tiny little boats to bob along the smaller canals curving round perfectly pruned back-door Bruges. Central Bruges is small. It’s worth taking a 50 minute city tour on a Yellow Bus (€15), picked up outside the Historium museum in the market square (Markt), to get an overall look and then treat yourself to a canal trip (€7.60) from one of the bridges. Get a combined museum ticket (€15) because there are some fabulous museums and galleries with paintings from Hieronymus Bosch to Picasso. There are so many little things to discover, like a Leonardo da Vinci statue in a church (Notre Dame) and the original Stock Exchange at the van de Bourse’s place where currencies were first discussed. Other attractions include a flea market, the 1483 Oriental Jerusalem Tower still

owned privately and traditional lace-making places. Wherever you go you’ll hear the 47 bronze bells of the 270ft Belfry peeling out songs like Roses of Picardy. (It can drive you mad!) Legend says that Brugeans survived The Plague by consuming only beer and the beer in Bruges is fantastic – raspberry, spiced, oaky, soured-red, orange-and-coriander ales to name but a few. You’d be mad not to try the latest brew, Brugse Zot (Bruges Lunatic), and De Halve Maan, the city’s one surviving brewery, opens for daily visits. It’s also a place for people who like their food. Moulesfrites (mussels and chips) is the local obsession and there’s The Frietmuseum, dedicated to chips, opened in 2008. The fish there is marvelous, especially fish soup, as well as all kinds of odd stews (the rabbit stew certainly had a certain zest to it). And, of course, waffles and chocolates, the other national obsession. Choco-Story is a museum telling how the cocoa bean seduced us from the Mayas and Aztecs through to today’s global addiction. You won’t get bored in Bruges. It’s a gorgeous little city to go to if you’d like to feel adrift from the rest of the world for 48 hours. And if you do tire of its pleasantness, hop on a train to the seaside and eat moules-frites on the promenade at Ostende where the churlish North Sea rampages.

thesouthafrican.com | 16 - 23 September 2014 |

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Business

| 16 - 23 September 2014 | thesouthafrican.com Follow us on Twitter: @TheSAnews

Rand weakens against the Dollar

| The Rand depreciated against the US Dollar on Friday for the fifth consecutive day, closing at USD-ZAR 11.02, compared with Thursday’s close of USD-ZAR 10.97, on the back of a continued risk-off bias in global financial markets by 1st contact

Ask the experts – TB Tests for UK visas

The Rand’s depreciation against the greenback occurred into a mixed performance from the Dollar against the major crosses, and weakness across the majority of the commodity and EM currencies we monitor for purposes of this report. The Dollar weakened against the Euro and the Pound, while strengthening against the Yen. The Rand depreciated against all of the major crosses, with the biggest move seen against

the Euro (0.8 percent). The Rand took up middle ground among commodity currencies, beating the CAD and AUD. The only commodity currency that did not depreciate was the NOK. In the EM currencies category, the Rand was placed fourth to last, ahead of the RUB, TRY and BRL. All but three EM currencies – namely, the INR, HUF and IDR depreciated. Turning to commodity prices, Brent by 1.0 percent, and gold and copper by 0.9 percent.

Platinum meanwhile edged up by 0.1 percent. Non-residents were meagre net buyers of local equities (ZAR 86 million) and were meaningful net sellers of local bonds (-ZAR 755 million). Brought to you by

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|My parents want to come and visit me in the UK for three months. Do they need to take a TB test before applying for their UK visitor visa? by JP breytenbach All South Africans applying for a visa for the UK for a period longer than six months must be tested for tuberculosis (TB) at a clinic approved by the UK Border Agency. As the maximum stay for all the visitor visas, including the longterm visit visas of two, five and ten years are a maximum of six months at a time, there is not a TB testing requirement. Your parents are welcome to contact our affiliate offices in Durban, Cape Town or Pretoria for

assistance with their UK visitor visas. JP Breytenbach Director of Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants Limited www.bic-immigration.com or info@bic-immigration.com

Acquiring UK visas for elderly dependants

|The consultants at BIC get frequent queries from South African clients, who are present and settled in the UK, and would like to bring an elderly parent and in some cases grandparents to live with them in the UK by JP breytenbach

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Unfortunately, the rules with regards to elderly dependants were changed in July 2012, and the ‘new’ rules are very strict, and the requirements very difficult to meet. In order to apply for the UK elderly dependent visa, the following requirements inter alia need to be met in order to bring a successful application; The elderly dependant applicant must not be in a subsisting relationship with a partner, unless that partner is also the sponsor’s parent or grandparent and is applying for the entry clearance at the same time as the applicant. The elderly dependant must as a result of age, illness or disability need long-term personal care to perform every-day tasks, such as washing and cooking. The elderly applicant must be

unable, even with the practical and financial help of the sponsor, to obtain the required level of care in the country where they are living, either because it is not available and there is no person in the country where he/she is living who can reasonably provide it or it is not affordable. The sponsor of the elderly dependant must be able to show that he/she is able to provide adequate maintenance, accommodation and care for the elderly dependant without having to rely on public funds. (Please note that the requirements above do not apply to EEA Family dependent permits. The rules for elderly dependents under EU Law are a lot more lenient than under UK law.) Whilst, the stringent requirements for these applications

are incredibly difficult to meet, we are happy to say that BIC has previously had some success in processing applications under this route. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact our offices. JP Breytenbach Director of Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants Limited www.bic-immigration.com or info@bic-immigration.com or info@bic-immigration.com

thesouthafrican.com | 16 - 23 September 2014 |

Sport

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New late summer and autumn In2Touch leagues

rugby • tennis • football • cricket • Commonwealth

|With the Summer touch seasons over we now look forward to getting the most out of the last of the summer sun By in2touch In2Touch are offering some Late Summer touch leagues at different locations around London. Many if these leagues have started already, however, we do still have space for any individuals that are keen to join in on all this fun. There are leagues in Regents Park where the teams are loving the sunshine and social aspect of getting out and playing some touch with their mates or work colleagues. The Regents Park late summer season has just passed the halfway stage with teams looking forward to the finals and putting in everything they can to get their teams to the finals. There is also a September Shootout happening at Clapham common on a Tuesday and Wednesday evenings that has two weeks left as the Shootout is a short league lasting only four weeks. The Shootout is a slightly different format to the normal touch leagues, teams now play two times 20 minute grading games against different oppositions on a night and then the finals week is played as drop-off versions of the game. A drop-off is normally when a decider of a game when at full time the teams are tied they go into a drop off. This is played with five players starting instead of the usual six and the first touchdown scored wins the game. On Sunday 14 September we saw the start of the Autumn Touch League at Clapham Common. There are Men’s, Ladies and Mixed divisions available to teams with a few divisions in the mixed league. As it was the first week if

the league it was grading games for the mixed teams to determine where they are placed for the remainder of the league. It was a gloriously sunny day and teams were loving being outdoors in the sunshine having a run around. This league will run for eight weeks with semi’s and finals in the last two weeks. Lastly In2Touch have continued to offer up our Active Touch leagues to all that enjoy this highly fast paced new indoor sport. It is played indoors with four players on the court at a time, two girls and two guys. Active Touch involves hand/eye coordination with ball skills and the ability to have spacial awareness on the court. It is a cross between netball, football, touch and many other sports with the opportunity to play in the colder months. Teams love this game and can’t wait until it opens up after the summer seasons. The Active Touch leagues take place at two different venues in London with Canary Wharf played on Mondays and Wandsworth played on Thursdays. There is still space for players to join any of these leagues in either our individual teams or we could place you in an existing team that needs a few extras for the season. If you are interested to join in on these awesome leagues please email tracy@in2touch.com or have a look on our website, www. in2touch.com/uk for any other information and hopefully we can get you involved as soon as possible.

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NEWS FOR GLOBAL SOUTH AFRICANS

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Top 10 Currie Cup Moments

|We’re about midway through the Currie Cup, when the grand old dame of South African domestic rugby surfaces again to reignite provincial rivalries. The Currie Cup has dished up some special moments in the past– especially during the isolation era. Here’s a trip down memory lane The streaker strikes In 1991, all Western Province needed to do to secure a berth in the final was beat Orange Free State in their last league match of the season. But Bryan Baenhoff wasn’t going to let that happen when WP loose forward FC Smit was on his way to the tryline for a match-winning score. Baenhoff, wearing only a pair of socks came out of nowhere to make the tackle of the decade and send WP, Free State and the Blue Bulls into a three-way playoff.

by Alasdair Fraser Griquas upset the Blue Bulls In 1970, Northern Transvaal were alarming favourites to retain their title until they lost to Griquas in the upset of the century. The final was staged in Kimberley in front of an expectant crowd. The hosts played their hearts out and a mammoth 53m penalty strike by Peet Smith in the dying stages sealed the deal in front of 40,000 jubilant fans. It was to be Griquas’ last appearance in a Currie Cup final. “Gedrop, geplace en gescore” Frik du Preez will always go down in Springbok folklore as one of the greatest. But his antics in the famous light blue of his beloved Northern Transvaalare stuff of legend. In 1968, Du Preez helped his team by scoring a try, converting it and adding a drop goal to claim the Currie Cup with a 28-13 win over WP. His exploits led to the famous phrase, “Hy het gedrop, geplace en gescore.” Morne tackles Naas One of the finest men to lead the Springboks, Morne du Plessis wasn’t adverse to controversy. The 1977 N.Tvl/WP Currie Cup semi-final, in the cauldron that is Loftus Versfeld, was one of those rare days of Morne madness. His late bone-crunching tackle on Naas Botha, raised the ire of not only referee, but the entire Loftus crowd and Du Plessis was escorted off the field by police after the final whistle. “Like kissing your sister” With Western Province searching for an elusive Currie Cup title, they were looking likely to end their

claim the 1987 Currie Cup final.

Transvaal taste victory After 22 years of trying, and some near misses, Transvaal celebrated a famous 1993 Currie Cup final win over Natal after Uli Schmidt pounced on an awful error by the long-haired Cabous van der Westhuizen to send Francois Pienaar’s men into champagnesipping ecstasy. The majority of this team, and their coach Kitch Christie, would go on to make history two years later with the Springboks at the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

The Centenary triumph It took Natal rugby exactly 100 years to finally get their hands on the famous golden trophy. What made it even more special was the fact that they achieved it at one of the most intimidating stadiums in Currie Cup history. Coming to Loftus, Natal were the underdogs and looked likely to live up to their pre-match status until Tony Watson burst through to ignite what would become a powerhouse team in the professional era.

Cheetahs win against all odds Going to Loftus and beating the Bulls is never an easy proposition but the Free State Cheetahs, under the tutelage of Rassie Erasmus, did the unthinkable while also claiming only their second Currie Cup title. In preparation for the final, Erasmus played Steve Hofmeyer’s unyielding ‘Blou Bull’ anthem throughout his training sessions until they became immune. It worked, and Meyer Bosman’s try in the dying seconds capped the end to a Cinderella season for the Cheetahs.

| A BRIEF MOMENT OF GLORY:South Africa’s right wing Cornal Hendricks runs out of a tackle by New Zealand’s fullback Israel Dagg and runs in a try during the Rugby Championship Test between New Zealand and South Africa in Wellington on September 13, 2014. The final score was 14-10 to the All Blacks. Photo by Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images

drought in the 1979 final. But Naas Botha had other ideas as he broke the hearts of the Newlands faithful with two brilliant drop goals to ensure his team would share the spoils. This led WP captain Morne du Plessis to remark that the 1515 draw was “like kissing your sister”. The Golden Era After 16 years without a Currie Cup title, WP broke their dry run in 1982 to finally annex the famous trophy. By 1986, Province were gunning for an unprecedented fifth successive title. They came up against a resurgent Transvaal

at Newlands and Goggie van Heerden scored two memorable tries to spark bedlam in the Danie Craven Stand and cement the Streeptruies’ place in Currie Cup history. Naas Botha’s final As sporting isolation tightened its vice-like grip, the Currie Cup reached its peak with Naas at the helm. In atrocious conditions, the blond match-winner produced one of his finest performances as he scored all his team’s points, which included four mesmerising drop goals to ensure a memorable win over Transvaal at Ellis Park to

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