Portside

My focus is on our struggles inside prison. These were struggles to improve the terrible conditions that were beyond any civilised standards. Even in the harshest conditions all the forces fighting the regimes, were united against a common enemy.

A member of the ANC's military wing, Denis Goldberg was sentenced with Mandela and spent 22 years in a whites-only prison - the only white member of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), to be arrested and sentenced for armed resistance to white-minority rule.

The ambiguity of ANC hegemony. It is very likely that the national elections to be held on May 8 will be free and fair and also, that the ANC will be returned with a majority of votes nationally, with varying results in the different provinces.

During the the famous series of battles around Cuito Canavale in Southern Angola in 1987-8, Wiseman, with his ability to monitor the South African communications, worked as a radio operator with the Cuban and Angolan forces defending the city.

People cherished many expectations for Cyril Ramaphosa's presidency. Many of these were not necessarily realistic and may have derived from a sense of relief in the departure of Jacob Zuma, rather than what may have been possible for Ramaphosa to do.

The ANC is in crisis as the “new dawn” stalls. But are other parties ready to drive the democratic project? The DA has lapsed into continued internal conflict. The EFF is not interested in debate. That, too, is unconducive to democratic life.

There are a range of developments happening simultaneously now that throw a disquieting light on any democratic and potentially broader emancipatory project in South Africa. These do not receive much attention in media coverage or political discourse

It is time for Ramaphosa to take decisive steps. He does not have sufficient time left. The early months in office set the tone. He has taken important decisions. But this administration needs to develop a strong vision and communicate it.

The race between Cyril Ramaphosa and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as to who will succeed Jacob Zuma as ANC president remains too close to call. The divisions between the candidates reflect the divisions within the revolutionary alliance that brought an end to South African apartheid.

One of the reasons why we need to recall Luthuli's life in this time of shameful and shameless greed is that he consciously emphasised what he called the "gospel of service". Even if the ANC chooses to neglect the memory and legacies of Luthuli we, the citizens of South Africa need to draw on these. Luthuli was the first non-racial leader in South Africa, the first African to have a following amongst whites.