Cyril Ramaphosa was at the European parliament in Strasbourg last week extolling the virtues of democracy, liberty, respect for human rights and freedoms and the rule of law. It was an eloquent speech but unfortunately he was preaching to the converted.
“SA, Africa and the EU,” he said, “are bound by shared values of democracy and respect for human rights.” Not quite. Pity he didn’t tell that to Lindiwe Sisulu, his minister of international relations and co-operation. Better still he should preach the good news to his fellow African leaders.
Last week Angela Quintal, a South African citizen working for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and her Kenyan colleague Muthoki Mumo, were in Dar es Salaam when unfriendly visitors arrived unexpectedly at their hotel. Initially they were told the group were immigration officials but they turned out to be the feared security personnel who’ve become a law unto themselves since John Magufuli became president.