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Shocked: Green energy and energy export, but no affordable electricity
No full textSouth Africa\u27s encouragement of renewable electricity and the push for green hydrogen, driven by global demand, raises a critical question: Will this energy transition truly benefit local communities, or will it simply create a new form of resource exploitation
Fallism ten years on: Reflections on the impact of the Rhodes Must Fall movement
Full text linkOn 9 April 2025, I had the privilege of delivering the keynote address at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) 10th year anniversary event commemorating Rhodes Must Fall (RMF), a landmark movement in the history of the university that had an impact on higher education in South Africa and in the rest of the world. The event was hosted at UCT’s Centre for African Studies, which was a generative space for RMF students 10 years ago and one that continues to produce critical scholarship in the academy. This paper is an extended version of my keynote address enriched with added theoretical grounding as well as a commentary on some of the intellectual shifts that have emerged in higher education post RMF. The focus is on contextualising black students’ affective and embodied experiences of racialisation at UCT and how these were expressed during RMF in ways that have contributed to the resurgence of a decolonial intellectual movement
Changing political economy in Africa: China’s trade, investment and cross-border payment mechanisms in the SADC
No full textThis article explores the changing political economy of Africa through a focused analysis of China’s trade, investment, and cross-border payment mechanisms in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Over the past two decades, China has surpassed traditional Western partners such as the United States in trade volume and foreign direct investment flows − in terms of jobs and capital invested − across Africa. China has played a significant role in Africa’s development, however concerns persist about the motives driving its engagement on the continent. These concerns have sparked debates around neo-colonialism, raising the question of whether China’s involvement will ultimately hinder Africa’s progress or contribute to its sustainable development. The SADC region provides an ideal case for investigating these dynamics due to its institutional maturity, regional integration efforts, and the pivotal role played by South Africa.
In this article we examine how mechanisms like the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System and the SADC Real-Time Gross Settlement System are shaping regional financial architecture and facilitating Sino-African economic relations. The analysis further interrogates the ongoing geopolitical tensions and the introduction of digital currencies such as China’s e-CNY.
The study concludes that while China’s growing footprint offers opportunities for development and trade diversification, African states must strengthen regulatory frameworks and strategic capacity to derive mutual benefit and safeguard national interests. This article argues that regional payment systems and trade agreements under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement will be central in repositioning Africa within a multipolar global economy
When trust is lost: Moral injury in Higher Education
Full text linkTransformation, or the lack thereof, student activism, and other day-to-day processes and rules in higher education institutions may lead to situations in which staff witness or are complicit in actions that contradict their sense of right and wrong. As a result, they may experience what is often described as ‘burnout’. It may be more accurate to describe the responses in terms of violations of their moral code, or ‘moral injury’. This conceptual paper draws on the literature on moral injury from other contexts and applies it to the experiences of staff in a higher education context, in South Africa and beyond, through the author’s reflections on her own experiences. Moral injury has numerous potential effects, such as a loss of trust in self or others, feelings of guilt or shame, withdrawal, and interpersonal difficulties. Dealing with moral injury involves grappling with the conditions that create these injuries
Towards pedagogies of distrust: Higher education learning in the age of generative Artificial Intelligence
Full text linkSince the release of ChatGPT, generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools have become ubiquitous in higher education teaching-learning-assessment (TLA). This paper explores how generative AI impacts trust relationships within the TLA context between students and lecturers in relation to AI technologies. Framed by Rolfe, Freshwater and Jasper’s (2001) reflective model of what, so what, now what, we draw on practical experiences to demonstrate how an integrated model of AI literacies can enhance student engagement and foster critical interaction with generative AI, ultimately cultivating a criticality toward traditional ways of knowledge construction in the classroom. Instead of fostering unquestioning trust, we propose a pedagogy of distrust – an environment of healthy scepticism where students (and lecturers) critically interrogate both generative AI and human contributions to knowledge creation. This approach encourages reflective learning, deeper engagement, and the development of lifelong learning skills. It urges lecturers to embrace evolving roles, shifting from sole knowledge sources to facilitators who enable students to navigate complex learning environments independently
Letter from the Editor
No full textWelcome to the inaugural issue of the African Student Law Journal (ASLJ), a platform created to amplify the voices of emerging legal scholars and foster a culture of intellectual inquiry. The ASLJ was launched in November 2023 and proudly publishes its first issue in September 2025. It was established to enhance the visibility of undergraduate and master’s students by providing a space where their ideas can take shape and be heard.
From the outset, our vision has been clear. We sought to create a developmental space where students could engage with the law critically and creatively, and where every contribution would be valued for the voice it brings to the ongoing conversation. We did not want a journal that catered only to those who already write with polish and confidence. Instead, we aimed to build a platform where every student, regardless of experience, could explore ideas, test arguments, and contribute to the conversations shaping African legal scholarship
Smuts and Mandela: The men who made South Africa
Full text linkRoger Southall has written two-and-a-half good books in one. The first is a study of character, placing the two foremost South African statesmen of the 20th century in counterpoint to each other as it were. So we are shown the many unexpected similarities and resonances in their lives, as well as the great differences between the two men and their work. It is not as if there is a shortage of biographies of these two men: over 30 in the case of Smuts, and seven or eight so far in the case of Mandela. Smuts does of course have the advantage of the semi-official full two-volume treatment by a serious historian, Sir Keith Hancock, which Mandela still awaits. Southall brings the two men together in a single treatment and it is illuminating