Some protests are more boring than others.

Although it does look like he's yawning, a SACP member makes red-indian calls, as his friend jumps up and down during a protest march by the SACP and COSATU to ESKOM offices in Braamfontein to show their opposition to a 53 % increase in electricity charges.

A few years back when I was still new to the whole press-photography thing, I had a chat to a colleague during a protest about how much I loved these protest marches, he said that he was bored with them and that they're all the same, I was shocked, HOW could he say that, each one I had been to had excited me and I ran around taking pictures of pretty much everything I seen.

Today, I was at this SACP march and finally understood what he was saying, every protest is essentially the same, no matter the issue at hand, they march, they jump up and down , they sing the same songs from past struggles, they read out a memorandum to whoever then they leave...
So, I think its taken a while for me to get over the whole protest thing, but I'm still amped to go to them, because sooner or later someone is going to lob a rock at the cops or smash a window and all hell will break loose and the boredom will all go away fast, very fast indeed.

Hani pulled three ways

Lindiwe Hani touches her father's grave during the 15 year commemoration of the assassination of Chris Hani in Boksburg. Rather than follow the program and talk about the man who was assassinated 15 years ago. The ANC's Tokyo Sexwale, SACP's Blade Nzimande and Cosatu's Zwelenzima Vavi each took the spirit of the man and bent it in their own way to further their own political agenda during their speeches. I wonder how the family felt listening to these three take digs at each other, even though they blindly call themselves "allies". I know that I was unimpressed by their rhetoric, in fact I feel they simply displayed the cracks in this so called "alliance" as well as a blatant disrespect towards the Hani's and Martin Thembisile Hani himself.Tokyo Sexwale gestures AMANDLA! during the Commemoration of Chris Hani's assassination at the South Park cemetery in Boksburg.

Misplaced loyalties

Emotional Zimbabwean refugees pray whilst they sing and dance during a rally held by the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum in Johannesburg.

This situation in Zimbabwe has actually turned into a farce. It is blatently obvious to anyone that something is not right there, but our President, Thabo Mbeki, who usually likes sticking his nose into other countries matters, seems to think everything is alright....

Is he blind, is he stupid, is he ill-informed about the situation?
No, I dont think so... I think that he is one of a few African leaders that has a misplaced loyalty to Mugabe, as he was one of the first black liberation leaders in Africa. Zimbabwe was a role model country that fought the so-called oppressors and won. The rest of Africa still see him as that man, a man he stopped being a few years back. Maybe, they should let go of Mr Robert Mugabe, and focus on the Mad Bob that we have now.

Guilty of being black...

South African Human Rights Commission chairman, Jody Kollapen delivers the commission's findings that the Forum for Black Journalists not allowing whites to join is unconstitutional.
Today I attended the findings announcement at the HRC regarding the Forum for Black Journalists. The FBJ forced a few white journalists to leave a briefing by ANC President, Jacob Zuma recently. The commission found that act unjustified and unconstitutional, so rather than eat a bit of humble pie and admit that it is as wrong as a forum for white journalists only.
What do they do?
They say that they are being found guilty of being black and have decided to have a convention of all black organisations to discuss the matter, now- how the hell does that do anything to help black or white journalists?
It simply makes the whole matter a bit more petty.
If they had half a brain, they would simply allow white journalists to join, who knows they might actually have something worthwhile to add.
Who are the racists now?

Mandela gets a Grammy

The Soweto Gospel Choir meet with Nelson Mandela at his foundation in Johannesburg to show him their Grammy they won for best traditional world music album.Everytime I shoot Nelson Mandela, the light is brutal, there is a bunch of photographers, TV guys and a few reporters with stars in their eyes. It's always a bit of a squeeze... the ruck, as I refer to it, where everyone jossles for the best position before he comes out, but as soon as he does everything changes and the good positions become bad, so my strategy is to simply wait at the back and shoot through all the heads...

It's worked everytime so far.