Earlier this year, 175 first-year Journalism students at Rhodes were asked to make personal digital stories – short first-person narratives that document meaningful life experiences, ideas, or feelings through the use of multimedia elements. To mark Women’s Month, we asked two of these students to share their stories with Makhanda. The first is a moving tribute by Chulumanco Kuhlane to the grandmother who raised him – his “knight in shining armour”, his “goddess in human form”. The story traces her battle with dementia but celebrates her ongoing loving presence in family life. The second is by Mihle Mdashe, who wanted to…
Author: Rod Amner
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By STEVEN LANG Close to a hundred people dressed in black converged on Church Square on Tuesday evening for a candlelight vigil to honour the memory of Nosicelo Mtebeni. The Fort Hare law student was brutally murdered and butchered in Quigney, East London, last Thursday. Most of those at the vigil were either students or staff of the Eastcape Midlands College (EMC). Reverend Lithemba Busakwe, the student liaison officer of the EMC, coordinated the vigil with support from both taxi organisations in Makhanda, UNCEDO and BATA. Part of the reason the taxi organisations were chosen to participate is that they…
By ARDEN MASEKO and ROBYN JOHNSON Monday. The first day over-18s are allowed to vaccinate on Rhodes University campus – and the response is overwhelming as Rhodents make the trek up to the Gavin Relly Postgrad Village site. The waiting room is vibrating with anticipatory nerves and excitement, but it is quiet. Every two minutes, a nurse calls out “Next!” and the line shifts. Each person sits in their own world but is seemingly content to be here. With every next person vaccinated, the energy builds. Tiffany Pillay, a lecturer in the Botany Department, sits near the front of the line…
By KARABO DIKOBE Charlotte Maxeke studied under Pan-Africanist WEB Du Bois at Wilberforce University in Ohio, USA. In 1903, she became the first South African woman to graduate with a university degree. Rhodes University Registrar Professor Adéle Moodly paid tribute to Maxeke as a “mother of black freedom” during her third annual public lecture on 17 August 2021, attended virtually by her family, friends, colleagues from various universities and the Rhodes University community. Maxeke set a precedent for women in academia, but the plight of women of colour in tertiary education remains 118 years later, Moodly said. She said women have…
By CHRIS TOTOBELA Extension 7-based outfit and reigning Makana LFA U18 champions Sophia Young Stars are hard at work preparing for their trip to Gqebera. This comes after a thrilling cup final encounter against Young Killers in the local U18 tournament which was held in May in a packed JD Dlepu stadium. Luthango “Ronaldo” Mankayi scored a brilliant goal with only 15 minutes to go and earned his team the right to represent Makhanda in the provincial showpiece. This Eastern Cape Engen under 18s tournament was supposed to take place in June but had to be postponed due to Covid-19.…
South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout programme, outlined by the Ministry of Health, had three phases, starting with the most vulnerable population. Phase one included all the frontline healthcare workers. They received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Phase 2 vaccinated people over 60 years old and those in congregate settings. The third and final phase, now under way, covers the remaining South African population. The programme got off to a shaky start in February 2021. It encountered several setbacks, such as supply, logistics, and governance issues, but it has gained momentum recently. Despite this uptake, many South Africans are still hesitant to take the vaccine. The…
By Dr Nyx McLean, Grocott’s Mal engagement editor One thing we want to try and have more of at Grocott’s Mail is conversations with the community. We want to hear different viewpoints and understand where people are coming from. Too easily, conversations are polarised – resulting in ‘us’ vs ‘them’, which leads to us othering each other until we reach a point of no engagement. We’ve seen this in the responses to the COVID vaccine, and more recently, we’ve seen it this week in the current standoff between Rhodes University management and the National Union of Public Service and Allied…
By ROD AMNER I was in the Makhanda Circle of Unity Education Cluster meeting on Zoom with Makhandan educational leaders on Wednesday when someone suggested setting up school vaccinations sites for 18+ learners. The head of Community Engagement at Rhodes Di Hornby immediately WhatsApped the Makana Department of Health manager Mohamed Docrat… and before the meeting had ended, Docrat had already responded and several schools were signed up for next week. Apparently, this is how things get done in Makhanda. Citizens gather. They connect, they deliberate and, most importantly, they act. The Makhanda Circle of Unity (MCU) was formed in…
SHEPI MATI remembers Marikana, 16 August 2012 I had left the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Bellville Campus early that day. As I drove down Forest Drive in Pinelands, listening to SAfm, I could not believe my ears. A staccato of machine-gun fire rattled me out of my comfort. And, grabbing me by my ears, threw me into the middle of a gut-wrenching experience I will never forget. I had to pull over. I went through an emotional roller coaster in quick succession — shock, disbelief, and then anger. How could a democratic government, elected through a popular mandate, turn…
By VUKOSI MALULEKE When it comes to vaccinations, Makana is the leading sub-district in a leading district in what is definitely the leading province in the country. The Makana sub-district has recorded the highest number of doses administered (25 609) in the Sarah Baartman District, according to Mohamed Docrat, head of the Department of Health in Makana. The wider Sarah Baartman District has vaccinated 84 429 individuals and is leading the Eastern Cape in vaccination the registration of some age groups: Over 34% of the district 98 817 35-49 year-olds have registered – the highest percentage by district in the…