Lerato

I have many roles and titles, but at the beginning I was just me... still am.

[Lester Kiewit @lesterkk]

Abdullah Ibrahim was a difficult man to interview. He spoke in parable. In metaphor. In metaphysics. You could not pin him down. I later found he was a very difficult. Period. The first time I bumped into him walking anonymously on Plein street circa 2003 he literally growled.

[Thandekile Moyo @Mamoxn]

Disclaimers:
1. This is long and self centered (typically 😅).
2. I don't get paid by X

I cannot imagine a life devoid of stories by:
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)
Ngugi Wathiongo (Kenya)
Khaled Hosseini (Afghanistan)
Claire Hajaj (Palestine et al)

And even though I've intentionally chosen to focus less on western literature,
I can't imagine a life without stories by:
Charles Dickens,
Danielle Steele,
George Orwell

Guys,
Please read as diversely as possible.
It will open your mind.
Growing up Zimbabwean libraries were packed with literature from all over the world.
I read pacesetters from Nigeria,
Followed dramas from Sweet valley High in the USA,
Followed the Hardy boys,
Nancy Drew,
And read about British summers as told by Enid Blyton.
I was born and raised in semi-rural Gwanda - Zimbabwe,
But as a child,
Just from reading and films- I had the worldview of someone who was extensively well traveled.

South African films like "Asinamali" and "Sarafina" conscientised me about the evil that was apartheid just across the border,
We would sing about Nelson Mandela,
When SA got Independence,
My friends and I were ecstatic at only 10 years old.

I'm currently reading "The Arsonist's city by Hala Alyan,
Through it I'm understanding more about life in Lebanon and Syria,
Which gives me context about the current crisis in the middle East.
Now,
When I hear Israel has bombed Beirut yet again,
I understand that at a deeper level than before I read novels written by survivors of that violence and their descendants.

Just last week I reviewed "The poisonwood bible by Barbara Kingsolver,
It's just a story about a couple and their 4 daughters,
But it's set in Congo and talks about the assassination of Patrice Lumumba,
And the hand of Belgium, France and the USA in the destabilization of Congo.
From reading it I can clearly see the third hand in the current crisis in the DRC.
And from reading it,
I now understand why we have so many Congolese immigrants in Zimbabwe,
And I empathise with them.

Please read.
In a world where traveling isn't always feasible,
Reading books set in different countries
Is the next best thing.

[Sue Nyathi @SueNyathi]

@valavoosh You are 💯 correct. That's the very reason I chose Gomora and not Gumede.

[Formula 1 @F1]

FIRST WIN IN RED ❤️

#F1 #BarcelonaGP

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

In addition to being kind and gentle, Christians must be compassionate, love selflessly, and seek the good of others, knowing that in every brother and sister who suffers it is the Lord Himself who asks and receives, who is welcomed or rejected, loved, or despised.

[Vuyiswa Ramokgopa @VuyiswaRamokgop]

My sister, this ain’t it…. And you’re better than this. No one rises by dragging others down. Just stay focussed on the work and keep at it. You’re doing a good job in parliament and your Mayor is doing well in Tshwane working with the ANC and others. Keep at it🙏🏾🙏🏾
#WeNeedNewLeaders

[Mbuyiseni Ndlozi @MbuyiseniNdlozi]

There is NO ONE who genuinely seeks to solve any problem with fellow Africans mobilises us based on tribalism or ethnic hatred:- such a person is cooking raw civil instability! They seek to ruin our country, not fix it!

We know this! We are students of HISTORY! This is how you get a country to FAIL! It is a recipe that imperialists have used for over 200 years, to render Africa completely unstable and unable to run its own affairs without violence and war! This is the only way they manage to extract all the riches found in our soil.

When will you OPEN your eyes: these are not people genuinely resolving an illegal immigration problem. These are people seeking to entrench ethnic nationalism & drive a wedge into the very unity of South Africa itself! They seek national instability!

Let me be CLEAR, as I have always been:

No one MUST ever support lawlessness. Immigration laws MUST be respected & imposed by law enforcement in our country without any fear or favour. In fact, there is no Pan-AFRICANISM in lawlessness. I have said this many times, even when we address large halls in the continent. That’s why Bushiri hates me!

What I will NEVER support is chasing black people on the streets like dogs whilst calling them garbage! No!

I will never agree that the cause of our chronic unemployment is other Africans from our continent. It’s a lie created by those who fail to run our economy, so that you don’t hold them accountable! They just collected 2 trillion in taxes: like every trillion they collected over years- it ends in corruption! TRILLIONS!

They are possibly the ones funding all these marches!

You all have forgotten every detail that comes out at Madlanga- your focus and rage is redirected away from these powerful people who ruin your lives everyday. SAPS generals exposed as the real drug lords, murderers and crooks!

Here is another painful FACT: these spaza shops we are being told to shutdown are in actual fact doing business with South Africans. Poor households generate more income by renting their back rooms and garages. It’s a MUTUAL ECONOMY! The point is to harness it through LAW and ORDER: not destroy it!

How do you march against people you opened your garage for as if you are marching against Apartheid? You were not forced to do so. It is because you correctly benefit & need more help in making it into an even more profitable investment!

Mind you, there is no white man that will ever leave Europe & rent from your township back rooms, or do business in your garage!

Incidentally, when a white man opens a business in the township, it’s called an investment, but when poor small business people from the continent do the same; it’s criminal!

This logic is driven by black self-hate: & it will lead to an even worse outcome- other black South Africans will start being told to only do business where they come from. Never to go into other provinces: or work in those provinces regardless of skills! Simply because of tribalism!

FACT: There is NO Pan-AFRICANISM in drugs and human trafficking. Whomsoever does this, African or not, MUST face the full might of the LAW!

I know you are frustrated! I know it is hard. I too have had a sister brutally murdered, stabbed to death in front of her 4 year old daughter by an undocumented Mozambican man. No one could help us bring him to justice. He simply fled!

If you ever doubt my appreciation of what that means. There it is. I told you! It was all over the news. I WILL NEVER say there should not be DOCUMENTATION of foreign nationals.

No single revolutionary leader who paid in blood for this country’s freedom will ever agree that when there is a problem amongst us, we must resort to hate and violence.

But these ones, who are mobilising today, are men of hate: they are already announcing what is next! It was always what was next! Ethnic domination! They must not succeed! https://t.co/WjmNHALyQK

[Kgethi Phakeng, PhD(Wits); Hon DSc (UBristol) @FabAcademic]

I reject the derogatory term “amakwerekwere” completely. It is a slur used to insult fellow black Africans simply for being from another country. If loving and respecting other black Africans makes me a “kwerekwere”, then I am proudly one and I will never apologise for that.
I am against illegal immigration and have said so clearly and consistently. South Africa has every right to secure its borders and enforce its laws. But I will not support xenophobic hatred or the dehumanisation of innocent people who are here legally simply because they are black Africans from other countries.
Discrimination based on nationality or skin colour is wrong. We must deal firmly with illegality not turn fellow Africans into enemies. South Africa’s problems will not be solved by attacking people who look like us.
Let’s focus on the real issues: rule of law, border control, and building a better country for all South Africans without descending into tribalism or xenophobia.
Enough with the slurs.

[Arsenal @Arsenal]

In the heart of north London ❤️‍🔥

Enjoy all of our parade celebrations with Live From N5 🏆 https://t.co/LJg5ph2nIZ

[The G @NotVanVeen]

@BrentLindeque An article was comparing to Morrison and Checkers.

Since I live in Paris I added the same items for Paris, and then a friend did so for Dublin.

What’s crazy is that London and Paris came out cheaper than Checkers.

[The Tennis Letter @TheTennisLetter]

Naomi Osaka steps on court for her first round match at Roland Garros.

She is the fashion statement, every time.

🖤👑

[IG : Loxionkulca @loxionKULcA]

"We were young black guys making a fashion label.​

People laughed at us." -Wandi Nzimande, co-founder​ 💯

One born in Soweto. One in exile in Lusaka.​ 💚

United by culture and the audacity to dream from the kasi.​

They kept going anyway.​

❤️ For Wandi. Forever.​

#LoxionKulca #style #SouthAfricanHeritage

[Lerato @mopheme]

@paulyberk ❤️

[Trevor Noah @Trevornoah]

I was bombing in Los Angeles until @KattWilliams started laughing from the balcony like he was dying laughing...

Watch the full story on my YouTube channel now!

[Lerato @mopheme]

@CityPowerJhb 7 days later…

[Andreas Peschke @AmbPeschke]

🇿🇦🫱🏾‍🫲🏻🇩🇪
Artistic excellence from Mzansi, in Germany

Famous Ballet danser Leroy Mokgatle

Berlin e a mo amogela 👏

[Brent Lindeque @BrentLindeque]

So we all know now that the “Elephant standing by a ranger for 3 days to protect him” story was fake.

Well, most of us anyway.

SAN Parks put out a statement. We wrote an article about it, as did other media houses. And the page (based in the USA) that posted the story has added a footnote to say that it “is a fictional AI-generated story created for entertainment only. All characters and events are imaginary”.

But why? Why would someone do this? Why would someone write a completely fake story… and present it as real, and then, when caught out, not delete it entirely?

Well, because Facebook pay them. And judging by the engagement on that post alone, they made around R15,000. And counting. That is why they haven’t taken it down. Because they are still making money.

You see, these pages write emotive, Disney-like stories that tug at our heartstrings… to make us feel something. To inspire us to write “ag shame” in the comments. And ultimately, so that we share it. So more people can do the same. They are fleecing us for money. With kak stories.

But I have a bigger problem with that post. Stories (like that one) take away from the real good news in our country. And even the world. And there are SO MANY incredible stories. We don’t need fake ones.

So here’s a real Elephant story. Shared by the incredible Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation (and featured on Good Things Guy).

In Addo Elephant National Park, an “angry” Ellie named “John” was tearing down everything in his path, especially the camp’s JoJo tanks and water pipes.

Almost to the point of being euthanised.

But a conservationist (also named John) believed that the Ellie just needed something. So John (the human, not the elephant) convinced his team to give the Ellie a chance. One last chance. He had a plan. He moved the Ellie to a part of the park with crystal clear streams. He believed John (the elephant, not the human) longed for fresh water.

And he was right!!! The Ellie found peace by his stream and stopped all his antics.

John went on to explain that when he was preparing to close the 28-year-long chapter at Addo, he hadn’t seen the once “troublesome” elephant for months. But just 3 days before he left, the Ellie majestically appeared at the gate of the "elephant whisperer’s" house… one last time.

Perhaps to say thank you… and goodbye.

See… we don’t need fake stories to give us all the feels. We have proper lekker feel-good stuff happening, for reals.

Ja, you can say "ag shame” now.

Okay. Love you. Bye.

[Khanya Thembane @noksy_k]

I can’t keep calm my friend graduates with her PhD in Chemical Engineering. 🤏🏽 🐐

Dr Mum: the engineer who once failed now inspires struggling students https://t.co/WvBC3iZK5p

[Zakes Mda @ZakesMda]

Please SABC News stop this “Botswanan” nonsense. There is no such thing. Botswana. Motswana. Batswana.

[Zakes Mda @ZakesMda]

You complaint is very valid. Those who capitalize T or S or P in the middle of the word (e.g. SeTswana, MoTswana, BaTswana etc or MoSotho, SeSotho, BaSotho etc or SePedi, MoPedi etc) are imposing Nguni orthographies on these languages. Setswana orthography does not allow that, as is the case with both orthographies of Sesotho of Lesotho and Sesotho of South Africa. That is not only incorrect, but in South Africa it is unconstitutional.
Section 6(i) of Chapter 1 of the South African Constitution reads: “The official languages of the Republic are Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu.” Note the orthography!
NB Orthography is the standardized system [standardized by the linguists of that language] of writing a language, encompassing rules of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, hyphenation, and word boundaries.