Fiat Lux
August 4 2016 South Africans went to the ballot box this past week to elect local councilors in what was described as a hotly contested election presenting the ruling African National Congress (ANC) with its stiffest challenge since the end of Apartheid. Indeed, early trends in the tallying of the votes indicated that the ruling party was struggling in places like Gauteng as the Democratic Alliance (DA) looked like a…
Pardon me if I’ve already told you this one, but it’s a favourite of mine from a film I watched as a young man. It was based on Rudyard Kipling’s “The Man Who Would Be King”, and starred Sean Connery and Michael Caine. Two young English adventurers arrive at the gate of some Western Asian town, probably occupied by the Pashtun. This is an area forever in thrall to the…...
July 10 2016 Don’t you worry, sir, I will of course write about Muhammad Ali, the Greatest, who left us this past week. He is the man who made us of a certain generation feel like we had a big brother who would “whup” the Big Ugly Bear that dared bully us, whoever that was. And did we love the “Chump” or did we love him. He beat all the…...
March 2 2017 Chirau Ali Mwakwere “Zipapa” is a former Kenyan minister and ambassador who is so funny he could make the Sphinx laugh. He can also belt out a song at a moment’s notice, in Kiswahili, English or Lingala. He speaks impeccable Kiswahili, and claims the language originated from Kwale, his home county where he is contesting the gubernatorial seat in the upcoming elections. All the foregoing, however, is…...