Let me start with what I know for sure. Pravin was a fighter. In the #Zuma years, this man led us to safety. Well, he tried. I remember Pravin tearing chunks out of Lynn ‘face-like-a -spanked-bum’ Brown, who was in charge of #Eskom at the time.
I remember Pravin making #AnojSingh literally hop in and out of the court room to escape the daggers of questions being tossed at him. Pravin was the man of the moment. Yet, one meeting sticks in my mind more than others. It was Ahmed Kathrada’s birthday, sadly Uncle Kathy’s last. Just writing that makes me emotional.
Pravin stood up at the celebration and told us exactly who #Zuma and his chommies were and what they were up to. This was so brave because this was while Zuma was still in power. That took courage and I wanted Pravin to be our President.
Do you remember his speech just after #Kathrada’s memorial, the memorial which Zuma refused to recognise as a national event? Gordhan told us to #JoinTheDots and to #MobiliseSA and #ZumaMustFall became a national movement and the rest is history. That was Pravin Gordhan.
Gordhan’s magic act
Later in his career, with his mandate being SOEs, things didn’t go so well. Gordhan’s magic act he performed around SAA was a weak rendition of a David Copperfield trick; this time how to make an airline disappear. He sold it, resurrected it, killed it and reinvented it at a price tag of fifty bucks.
If that wasn’t money laundering, I don’t know what is. We alI hate funny numbers and people may have other things to say about Gordhan, but for me, that was the end of laughter and soft light. Dudu #Myeni gutted SAA and Gordhan used it like a top loader washing machine. That is who Pravin Gordhan became.
Social media was brutal. The things they said about PG were appalling and largely amplified by the EFF’s statement that read: “The #EFF notes the death of Pravin Gordhan without any pretence of sorrow. His legacy is one of destruction and betrayal.”
And this train of insults continues spewing vitriol about the dead man. All class our Julius. With hindsight my nation, do you think he had a choice? I don’t; I think a good man tried to fight for right but one man isn’t enough. I think they got to him in the end. Without doubt he’s our top story this week. #RIPPravinGordhan.
#Mihlali blows up
Last week it was #TomLondon ripping through our Healthcare system; this week it’s #Mihlali who blew the lid open on restaurants that abuse their staff. #BabelRestaurant became headlines across the country as we learned that waiters had to buy their own uniforms and their own bottle openers before they would even be considered for a position.
Mihlali was willing to swallow all the strange policies and procedures so that she could work. Until breakages in the restaurant resulted in her working a double shift and still having to pay the restaurant owner a hundred rand. Enraged, she vented over TikTok. And the nation agreed. Rise #SocialMediaJustice.
Within hours the restaurant was raided by the Hawks and so began a series of investigations across several Sandton restaurants. Illegal immigrants, unpaid wages, poor working conditions and more came creeping out of the kitchens. We are all #Mihlali, enough is enough.
Let’s check in with Tom London: Today at 10am Tom’s going into surgery. Spare a prayer for our human rights defender and dear friend. He’s had all sorts going on while he’s been desperately ill and I’ve watched him continue to fight even through his illness; he’s a viking our Thomas and I promise you this, when Tom gets out and he is well, he’s going to take our leaders to school. #SocialMediaJustice.
Sodwana skipper
There’s more good news, remember that skipper that was kidnapped in Sodwana and social media started its own search and investigative operation to #BringBack #JohnMatambu? Well, this week pit bull lawyer #GerrieNel agreed to take on the case pro bono and he told the family that #Visser (the perpetrator) would never get out of prison.
This was after our own police system could not even slap this guy with the theft of a boat, let alone the murder of one of Sodwana’s legends. #SocialMediaMobJustice.
And then there was #ThaboBester. Did you watch this big baby reaching for the box of tissues? Oh, my word, he bleated for over an hour and a half about how he should have a laptop and modem. It was his human right, and he is innocent until proven guilty and he never escaped and he can’t wear his swanky clothes and he doesn’t even have a pencil.
The judge told him in the beginning that she was not going to give him a laptop and a modem, but he still droned on and on and on and on. He gave me a headache. This guy is kidding, isn’t he? He does know he’s a convicted rapist and killer, right?
He does know we went to fetch his branded butt from Tanzania, right? He does know he left a body in a cell and escaped in a TV stand and that we have that on film, right? Why is he even a story? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Why do we care? This is a diversion or another decuplet story. Switch it off.
What’s the problem with pangas at school?
Staying in the courts, serial rapist Sifiso #Mkhwanazi was sentenced to 170 years. #RosemaryNdlovu, remember her? She’s the serial life insurance killer. She’s in jail and she is up in court again for trying to kill a cop after his wife “contracted” her to arrange the hit. Witchy woman.
Then we had another lunatic, #Mboro tell us that the gun his mate was carrying in his grandkids’ school was a replica. Oh well, that’s ok then, no problem, I mean really what is our problem? A panga and a replica in a school is completely acceptable.
The judge that was meant to recuse herself refused and then granted this chop R3000 bail. He went on his way merrily to give his first sermon. Here’s the really crazy bit, the audience lapped it up. Is it a cult guys?
If we need one person fired it’s the guy who didn’t fill up the seven million litres of backup water supply at #CharlotteMaxeke hospital. Joburg water stopped supply water to the area and the entire hospital was without water for four days. All because someone didn’t open a tap. What’s his or her name? Come on. Let’s get us some #SocialMediaJustice.
Horror stories
Then there was the #BelaBill; the change to South African education that the DA are very edgy about, although I’m still not sure why this is a bad bill. From what I understand children will have to start school in #GradeR and truancy will be punishable by law. Home schooling will be monitored more closely (don’t be ridiculous we can’t even open a tap) and local languages get preference as a second language. I don’t see anything bad here, please educate me?
There were other horror stories: an 11-year-old was stabbed sixty-six times because the father was angry at the child’s mother. It’s true, I read the news, so you don’t have to. #Simelane (the chick that the President has in his sights about VBS) jetted off to BRICS this week.
We read how former city of Cape Town housing member Malusi Booi was granted R250 000 bail in a case where a billion rand disappeared for a housing tender. A billion? Really? That’s not even fraud anymore is it? It’s a disappearing trick. And how many people died because they slept in the cold or lost their lives on the streets? Rise #SocialMediaJustice, let’s take this cowboy off his high horse.
Fell off his high horse
On the subject of high horses, remember #MatthewLani, the fake doctor? Well, he is homeless now. That story made me a little sad. Often difficult to watch the wheel turn, hey? Staying with cash strapped, South Africans jumped when they were told they could take some of their pension money early in the new #TwoPotSystem.
Of course, most South Africans dived at the opportunity only to find that half the institutions had never paid their pension money across in the first place. Surely that is more than fraud? How many people will starve after working tirelessly their entire lives for the state? Where are you #SocialMediaJustice.
I think I’ve covered most of SA except perhaps the gnarly weather we are enduring and the national strike that is set for October 7th. I suppose I should mention that #Duduzane is thinking of joining his dad. Eyes roll really far back into my head.
There’s one story that has caused so much pain this week. #Lebanon. Those that know me, know my father was Lebanese. So when I heard that Israel planted explosives in a shipment of pagers destined for Hezbollah I was perturbed. Then I watched parts of peoples bodies blown off; a man’s face split in two trying to hold his head together; innocents becoming collateral damage.
Entertainment about dismemberment
So yet again, we are reminded that kids really don’t matter to #Netanyahu’s regime. Two children were killed in the first attack and then the next attack happened twenty-four hours later, and this time walkie talkies, mobile phones, alarm clocks and solar panels became weapons of destruction. This was in Lebanon, not in Gaza, not in the West Bank, not Israel. An entirely different country.
I took to social media because I wanted information about friends I have in Lebanon, but instead I found the most revolting thing I have seen since I’ve worked in media. A journalist had put up several posts celebrating and making fun of the situation.
Clearly, he’s a proud Zionist and I didn’t expect any sympathy from him, but the last thing I expected was entertainment about dismemberment. A celebration of destruction. Blood lust at its worst. The glorification about mutilation. He called it “very cool”, amongst other horrible statements.
Listen up, switch the narrative. Imagine the Syrians had put an explosive in the American soldiers walkie talkies. Would he think that was cool? What if the Russians had put it in the Ukranian’s mobile phones? Still cool? I think he’d probably call it a terrorist attack. Or something along those lines. What if the Lebs did it to the IDF? Would he still think it was cool?
I’m with Edward Snowden when he says: “What Israel has just done is, via any method, reckless. They blew up countless numbers of people who were driving (meaning cars out of control), shopping (your children are in the stroller standing behind him in the checkout line), et cetera. Indistinguishable from terrorism.”
It’s not funny and it’s not cool. The journalist lost his job at a reputable news outlet. I doubt he cares. We do though. This was a ridiculous move, what does Bibi think will happen next? There is going to be a retaliation and many will die. How on earth can it be cool? What lies between bloodlust and jokes?
PDiddy’s parties
Right let’s wrap this up because we all have a weekend to get to. Across the seas, Weinstein pleads not guilty. #PDiddy was arrested for racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. The charges are tied to Diddy’s parties which are termed #FreakOffs, where coerced sex acts that he orchestrated were recorded.
He’s going to drop files that’s for sure and prepare for disappointment because there are only a handful of celebrities that were not on the VIP list.
What else? Oh, #Trump had another assassination attempt; do you believe it? I’m not sure I’m buying it. This weekend he’s off to Ohio to see about those pets on the menu and stir things up. Kanye or Ye skipped court because, you know, it doesn’t apply to him.
We watched the #Emmys with a great deal of scepticism, how is this still a thing? We saw that South Africa’s parly sessions aren’t too bad as the Brazilian parliament turned into a brawl with chairs being cracked over people’s heads. The weather is as bad overseas as it is here as #TyphoonYagi created havoc. That’s means I’m not going diving.
How inconsiderate is this weather? I haven’t been in the water for three weeks and all this land based stuff is driving me crazy so if you see me being tossed into the waves you know I couldn’t take it anymore and I’ve gone diving.
I’m Tonya Khoury and thank you for scratching the surface with me and Acumen Media.
