Faculty of Humanities (ETDs)

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A comparative study of how four selected newspapers framed the coverage of the death of mthokozisi ntumba
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) MAGOMANI, AMUKELANI; Balliah, Dinesh
For years, traditional media such as newspapers have played a pivotal role in circulating news and information for public consumption. South Africa has recently experienced an increase in news on police brutality cases against protesters on various platforms covered by the newspapers. This study analyses the framing of media coverage by Daily Maverick, Daily Sun, Mail & Guardian, and Sowetan newspapers of the pre-and post-trial of the law enforcement officers charged with the killing of Mthokozisi Ntumba. This case was centred on forceful actions by police officials to disperse a crowd during a student protest. Although Ntumba was not amongst the protesting crowds, he was shot and killed by police officers. The study aims to discover the ways in which Ntumba’s case was reported by the four selected newspapers. The nature, aim, objectives and contextual significance of this study dictates that a qualitative research approach be used. The study was underpinned by the framing theory. Qualitative data was collected using the content analysis method, with purposive sampling used to select all textual units that contributed towards answering the study’s research questions. A sample of 83 articles was selected on the basis that the articles reported the news of the killing of Ntumba and the follow up court trial of the police officers. Qualitative framing analysis was used to study the media coverage of the killing of a bystander and police brutality in South Africa. From the study’s findings, it was revealed that different frames were used by the four selected newspapers in the coverage of Ntumba’s case. The frames used by the selected newspapers highlighted the extent to which the issue of police brutalityin the country has led to the death of people and other underlying issues that exist due to police brutality during protests.
Blindsided, othered, losing, coping: Experiences of syndemics among Nigerian-born migrant women in Johannesburg, South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-07) Oyenubi, Adetola; de Gruchy, Thea; Vearey, Jo
Background and rationale - Migrants in South Africa frequently face complex challenges that negatively affect their mental and physical health. Current literature has mostly focused on identifying these health conditions with little attention paid to the socioeconomic factors that exacerbate the overall well-being of these migrants. To fill this gap, this study explores the health experiences of migrant women in Johannesburg through the lenses of social determinants of health, othering, and coping strategies. Method - The syndemic framework serves as the foundation for this qualitative study, which examines migrant women's lived experiences and how they interpret their health in the context of the stressors they experience in the city. Data from twenty-one Nigerian-born migrant women were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings - Participants' lived experiences represent syndemic suffering, which Mendenhall describes as experiences of poor health that are due to non-biological factors. These complexities include being blindsided by high expectations of a better life in Johannesburg versus sentiments of disappointment with reality, as well as the pressures of being othered in a new society. All of this has resulted in participants losing their health owing to an array of mental health issues and chronic diseases they suffer from. In the midst of their hardships, these women have discovered ways to cope through social support, religion, mobile technology, and self-care. Conclusion - This study contributes to the literature and praxis on social determinants of migrant health, othering, and the syndemic frameworks by providing insight through the findings of this study. By identifying and exploring syndemics among migrant communities in urban Johannesburg, we can explore how syndemic suffering for migrant women shares commonalities with, but also diverges from, that experienced by South African women.
Challenges faced by court interpreters while interpreting for children in South African courts
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Chikele, Heather Mikateko; Maliko, Natasha Parkins; Dladla, Celimpilo P.
The study investigated the challenges faced by court interpreters in South Africa when working with child witnesses within the legal system. The objectives of the study included investigating interpreter challenges, identifying their role in safeguarding children’s well-being and rights, and evaluating the effectiveness of interpreter training. The country’s linguistic diversity, characterized by 12 official languages and distinct cultural distinctions, adds layers of complexity for interpreters (Powell, et al., 2017). The problems encountered during the process includes linguistic barriers, encompassing the clear conveyance of child testimonies, interpretation of child-friendly legal terminology, and ensuring the child’s understanding of legal proceedings. The study recognized the involved interplay of language, culture and age, which highlights the need for interpreters to address the emotional state, comprehension level, and communication capacities of child witnesses. To tackle these challenges, the study highlighted the crucial requirement for specialized training and support for court interpreters handling cases involving children in South African courts (Moeketsi & Wallmach, 2005). This involved cultivating a sophisticated understanding of child psychology, cultural sensitivity, and legal terminology to effectively bridge communication gaps (Jianqing, 2008). By doing so, the study contended that South Africa could strengthen its commitment to safeguarding children’s rights and welfare within the legal system, ultimately ensuring equitable access to justice for all residents. The study utilized a quantitative research methodology, utilising a structured questionnaire distributed through Google Forms. The questionnaire was designed to gather insights from court interpreters about their experiences and challenges. The questions were crafted to elicit detailed responses on topics such as the impact of the child’s age on interpretation, linguistic and cultural challenges, and training and qualifications of court interpreters. The research focused on obtaining valuable information directly from court interpreters through the survey instrument, so as to understand their perspectives in a more streamlined manner (Cheung, 2014).
Controlled Existence in Zimbabwe and Beyond: Exploring Survivability in Shadows (2012) by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma and The Border Jumper (2019) by Christopher Mlalazi
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-02) Makoni, Brightman; Nyanda, Josiah
This study considers existence and survivability as the particulars of transnational migration. Through critical engagement with Novuyo Rosa Tshuma’s Shadows (2012) and Christopher Mlalazi’s The Border Jumper (2019), the research explores migrant lives in the context of transborder migration between Zimbabwe and South Africa. The chosen literary texts are analysed through the prism of typified migrant characters’ lives in Zimbabwe, South Africa and on the margins of both and on the borderlines, between societies and countries. Insights are drawn from the theory of intersectionality entwined with concepts of oppression, identity and habitus. The unified theoretical framework is applied on migrant characters’ trend of existing and surviving and how the trends expose power dynamics that play out in one’s mother country and beyond borders as a consequence of identity fluidity, place, space and time.
Decriminalising Sex Work: The Politics of Policy-Making in South Africa 1994 - 2019
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-04-19) Gathercole, Corey Sarana Spengler; Dube, Siphiwe I.
Sex Work in South Africa This thesis explores feminist viewpoints regarding sex work, delving into the intricate web of gender, race, and class within the unique historical context of South Africa (SA). Its central mission guiding the research was to identify, investigate, and shed light on the factors that had impeded the commitment and execution of sex work decriminalisation by the African National Congress (ANC) government. With a specific focus on the prevailing legislative framework in SA, which criminalised the sex industry, the thesis scrutinises the rationale behind this approach and assessed its suitability within the SA context. Additionally, it underscores the adverse repercussions of sex industry criminalisation on sex workers while questioning its effectiveness in achieving its intended goal of eradicating the sex work sector. Through a feminist lens, this research journey unraveled several root causes of the stagnation in SA's sex worker policy reforms. It explored the intricate dynamics of policy change, unveiling the stumbling blocks that hindered progress in the realm of sex worker policy. Given SA's distinctive historical landscape, characterised by a complex history of apartheid and racial inequality, the thesis argued that comprehending sex work in SA necessitated an examination of its inextricable connection to the country's socio-economic conditions. Moreover, the thesis conducts a comparative analysis of legislative frameworks in other countries where different approaches to sex work regulation had been adopted. Foucault's theory on the regulation of the body provides an invaluable framework for understanding the power dynamics at play within the context of sex work. It illuminates how the criminalisation of sex work was intertwined with exerting control over the female body, aligning with Foucauldian principles. The thesis investigates how these power dynamics sought to render those involved in sex work submissive, echoing traditional perspectives on body commodification. Drawing upon the history of SA and its tumultuous past, including the legacies of apartheid and the enduring effects of racial discrimination, this thesis contended that sex work in SA cannot be fully understood without considering its historical and socio-economic dimensions. It delves into the nuances of sex work policies in various countries, exploring models such as full decriminalisation, partial decriminalisation, and legalisation through both a feminist and Foucauldian lens. By examining these diverse approaches and their outcomes, the thesis provides valuable insights into the complex landscape of sex work regulation. As a comprehensive contribution to the study of existing legislative paradigms, this thesis addresses the pivotal question: "Why has the decriminalisation of sex work stalled in SA?" This inquiry gave insights into the complexities of policy change, the root causes of policy delays, and potential avenues for reforming sex work policy, all while considering the broader global context of sex work legislation and the implications of feminist and Foucauldian perspectives.
Diasporic Landscape: A Geosemiotic Analysis of Greekness in Johannesburg
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-03) Vratsanos, Alyssa Vida Castrillon; Baro, Gilles
After a number of waves of immigration of Greeks from Greece, Cyprus, and the established Greek diaspora in Egypt, South Africa is home to a sizable Greek community – concentrated in Johannesburg – that has established its own cultural identity in the country and left indelible traces of Greekness in the semiotic landscape of the city. In this dissertation, I explore the discursive, multimodal processes employed to inscribe Greekness – the quality of being of Greek heritage – in the city of Johannesburg. The overarching aim of this study was to analyse how members of the Greek diaspora in Johannesburg negotiate and perform their Greek identity and how Greekness is inscribed in various spaces in the city. In particular, it aimed to answer the following research questions: (i) How are certain spaces in the city of Johannesburg materially constructed as Greek spaces?; (ii) How is Greekness semiotically constructed?; and (iii) How is this constructed Greekness experienced by social actors, in the context of a European diasporic community in Johannesburg, a city in the Global South?. Empirically, this linguistic/semiotic landscape study made use of multimodal data, in the form of ethnographic field notes, photographs of signs, interviews, and newspaper articles, which were analysed within Scollon and Scollon’s (2003) geosemiotics framework. Previous works by McDuling (2014) and McDuling and Barnes (2012) have examined the Greek diaspora in Johannesburg from a sociolinguistic perspective, with a focus on language shift and maintenance. This study differs significantly in approach, shifting the focus from language use to an analysis of the signs used to assert and inscribe Greekness in Johannesburg, thereby drawing this subject matter into a linguistic landscape study of the diaspora In the empirical chapters of the dissertation, I used geosemiotics as a methodological toolkit to analyse several themes that arose from my data. First, I analysed the role food plays in inscribing Greekness in Johannesburg through an analysis of the Greek foodscapes in the city, such as Greek restaurants and supermarkets, as well as the food-centric elements used in other Greek spaces to communicate Greekness. I then introduced the concept of syncretism as a term that can be applied in a semiotic sense, to describe the ways in which signs and symbols from various, sometimes incompatible, aspects of Greek history and identity are deliberately displayed side-by-side in a space and operate in aggregate to communicate homogeneous and ‘authentic’ Greekness. Finally, I took a ‘semiotic approach’ (Van Leeuwen, 2001) to authenticity and analysed how authenticity in the Greek diaspora is semiotically constructed both visually and aurally in Greek spaces in Johannesburg. This study argues that the Greek diaspora in Johannesburg seeks to construct spaces in the city as recognisably and undeniably Greek, deliberately distinguishing themselves from the rest of the city, including other South Africans and other diasporas, by using a constellation of multimodal and multisensorial signs to convey a sense of homogeneous Greekness. The types of signs that are used to inscribe Greekness are all linked to the desirability – and by extension superiority – of Greek culture, heritage, and history. Thus, the ways in which Greekness is inscribed by the diaspora in Johannesburg rely on a process of self-exoticism (cf. Iwabuchi, 1994).
Digital Diplomacy as A Tool for Peaceful Secession: The Use of Twitter in Somaliland’s Campaign for International Recognition
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Rubidge, Laura; Benjamin, Larry
The last two decades have witnessed major disruptions to the traditional diplomatic practice as a result of technological breakthroughs. New advantages and challenges have emerged beyond the auspice of traditional diplomacy. Although there is a plethora of research emerging on digital diplomacy theory and practice, gaining momentum since the Covid-19 pandemic, it remains an under researched area of inquiry. This research report is interested in the use of Twitter by the Somaliland government, as a de facto state, as a foreign policy tool. This report employs Damien Spry and Kerrilee Lockyer’s (2022) triangulation methodology to conduct an applied evaluation of Somaliland’s use of Twitter in its foreign policy. As such, the report firstly examines Somaliland’s foreign policy strategy using document analysis, secondly, analyses overarching trends considering metadata and lastly, zooms in to the microdata to analyse small, outlier cases. The overall aim of this research report is to evaluate Somaliland’s use of Twitter in its foreign policy activities, extracting unique advantages of digital diplomacy over traditional diplomacy in addition to contributing to the emerging literature on digital diplomacy.
Encountering apartheid publics: an essay film on Hendrik Verwoerd as public symbol 1958-1966 and implications for counter-publics today.
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-11-10) Effendi, Karima; Louw, Lieza; Kenny, Bridget
The policies of separate development under Verwoerd created the material conditions for apartheid and capitalism to thrive, but it's the hypothesis of this project that the pomp and ceremony, the suit, his speeches and performative statecraft, created the affective conditions for his thinking to make its way from the past into our present-time. This is a discursive inquiry that draws on political theory, psychoanalysis, feminist theory and essayistic film theory to explore how the slipperiness of apartheid discourse makes it impossible to counter it on its own terms. Verwoerd symbolised a pernicious ‘covering over’ of irreconcilable ambiguities in apartheid discourse that was used to construct and stabilise whiteness against ‘other’ constitutive subject formations. The second part of the creative project is an essay film, Verwoerd’s Smile, that uses an ‘apartheid’ and colonial archive to attempt to show up its own discriminatory logic. The film’s failure in doing this has a productive value that is instructive for understanding how the cloak of invisibility that shrouds whiteness from being seen doing its work, also protects it from being dismantled. Understanding this has implications for radical projects concerned with undoing apartheid.
Exploration of the Impact of Police Brutality during demonstrations on Public Trust: A case study of the Malawi Police Service in Malawi, 2010-2020
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-12) Chavula, Faith; Pakade, Nomancotsho; Duca, Federica
Police brutality during demonstrations has been a concern all around the world. Over the last decade, Malawi has recorded tens of violent demonstrations which have been associated with police brutality which has negatively affected an already declining public trust in the Malawi Police Service (MPS). This study employed a qualitative research design to investigate how police brutality during demonstrations has negatively affected public trust in the MPS. This study used semi-structured interviews and document analysis to collect data. This research study sampled twenty (20) respondents namely, citizens who had participated in demonstrations in the past decade, MPS officers, and members of Community Social Organisations (CSO’s) who had been organising different demonstrations in Malawi over the past decade. The major findings of this study are that there has been a political influence in the MPS which has led to the adoption of partisanship in the MPS. This has influenced police brutality especially during anti-government demonstrations. The study also found that the MPS have adopted a militarisation approach also known as an “us vs them” posture, where the police see the public as enemies and respond with excessive force during demonstrations. Due to this militarisation approach and police partisanship, there has been an impaired relationship between the citizens and the police which has resulted in a shift of public trust from the MPS to CSOs. Strategies and recommendations have also been explored to begin to address public trust in the MPS.
Exploring the Personal, Relational and Communal Role of Religion in Diepsloot
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-05-08) Thornton, Brenton Stephen; Graham, Tanya
South Africa has a populace that perpetuates diversity in every demographic group. Although there are peaceful aspects to this diversity, there are also conflicts that have been shown historically and contemporaneously. Township communities in South Africa have experienced a particular development over time, due to aspects such as racial discrimination from Apartheid. Religion within this context was explored due to its diverse and consistent presence within South African township communities. Diepsloot is a township with particularly high levels of psychosocial struggles. To understand if religion adversely affects or alleviates these issues, this study examined the role and function of religion in this community. Religious experiences, roles, and the meaning of religion as a meaning making system were explored using a hermeneutic, phenomenological approach in the marginalised township community of Diepsloot. The specific analysis employed was Interpretative Qualitative Analysis (IPA). Data were collected using qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 12 participants. The core theoretical areas of this study that were discussed was attachment theory and social identity theory in the context of religion; while ecological systems theory was also applied but used as a contextual tool to understand and organise the themes for each structural, ecological level of the social environment of Diepsloot. Qualitative findings suggested that there were four main themes of this study; The Personal Relationship with Religion and God, Internal and Interpersonal Religious Conflict, Discrimination Based on Different Beliefs, and Diepsloot Factors Contributing to the Disconnected Community. Within these results and discussion of this paper, religion was shown as a factor that significantly impacts the perceptions, feelings, and behaviours towards the self on a personal level, and others on an interpersonal and communal level. Religion therefore has a significant part to play in social settings, and it is recommended that more studies exploring the phenomenon of religion be explored qualitatively to contribute further to the subjective understanding of the psychology of research within such contexts.
How are the relationships between South African universities and development understood?
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Molebatsi, Palesa Malehlohonolo
Many development scholars argue that universities can and should address societal problems of poverty, inequality and unemployment. There is international literature that argues, in particular, two things: firstly, that certain economies thrive because they are knowledge driven; and secondly, that universities play a central role in preparing workers for the labour market. That same literature also goes on to argue that under-developed countries should emulate these economies, because this is a good way of achieving development. Thus, an increasing number of researchers and policy-makers in South Africa are interested in how universities do today, and can in the future, contribute to development. Empirical studies have been conducted analysing the relationship between South African universities and development. Yet, the evidence that exists, while useful, remains superficial. Specifically, it gives partial or incomplete analyses of the dynamics underlying the relationships between universities in South Africa, and development. The purpose of this study is to build an understanding of those dynamics. I develop an extended analytic framework with three ideal types (The Abstract University, the Entrepreneurial University and the Developmental University) and analyse two data sets, with the main finding that South African universities do not make significant entrepreneurial or developmental contributions to development. Simultaneously, they are expected to perform more welfare activities as part of their functions. I argue that a Welfare ideal-type university is emerging in South Africa which seems to undermine the essential core of the university: the development and acquisition of knowledge. A floundering can be observed with respect to the purpose, the norms and the form of the university in South Africa, with the result that the role of universities is increasingly loosely defined. This analysis illuminates a specific aspect of the relationship between universities and development in South Africa, namely that it is a two-way one: different approaches to development nationally and within universities lead to changes in the nature of the university, which in turn affects development. In the case of South Africa, where emphasis is placed on welfare activities, the question arises whether universities will continue to be universities in the future
Interactional Dynamics During Residential Robbery: Victims’ Accounts and Reflections
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Quinn, Caroline Lesley; Eagle, Gillian
Several studies highlight the importance of documenting interactional elements of violent crime. While a range of studies focus on perpetrators’ accounts of what transpired during the commission of robberies and other forms of violent crime, there has been a notable oversight in establishing victims’ narratives surrounding such events. This study had a broad over arching focus on establishing what appeared to either escalate or deescalate violence during a residential robbery from the survivors/victims’ perspective. In addition to this focus, it was further aimed to establish the cognitive appraisals that victims/ survivors reported as salient during the incident, as well as their reported motivations for behaviours they exhibited. Moreover, the study aimed to highlight any socio-demographic features that the victims perceived to be significant in their interaction with perpetrators. An exploratory approach to the research study was undertaken whereby semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight adult South African participants. The data was processed and presented by means of a thematic analysis and contextualized from a primarily realist paradigm. Five superordinate themes were identified across participants’ accounts, including: (1) Comprehending the Nature of the Interpersonal Interaction, (2) Negotiation of Dominance and Submission, (3) Cognitive Processing and Evaluation during the Event, (4) Awareness of Demographic and Socio-Cultural Aspects of the Interchange, and (5) Advice & Post Hoc Observations. These main themes were elaborated through subthemes that aimed to capture nuances across participants’ narratives. The findings suggested that although positioned in a subjugated role participants attempted to moderate or affect the interaction between themselves and the perpetrators. This was mainly achieved by verbally and behaviorally demonstrating compliance in order to mitigate further risk. In addition, participants described more complex ways of responding to perpetrators which appeared to be based on idiosyncratic evaluations of their particular situation. Participants were aware of limited agency but appear to have negotiated some means of retaining or displaying agency within situational constraints. Across all eight participants’ accounts, it was evident that participants acted in accordance with an assessment of their situation and responded in a manner that was perceived to result in ensuring the greatest likelihood of survival. References to race, gender, age and socioeconomic status did not feature as strongly in participants’ accounts as anticipated.
Justice as Recognition in the Ecological Community
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-06) Francis, Romain; Hamilton, Lawrence
This thesis postulates that an alternate mode of recognition is required to develop an authentic conception of justice that reconciles the subaltern’s desire for dignity with affording greater love, care, and respect for nature. Extant redistributive and recognitive justice frames within traditional western political theory and philosophy are strictly anthropocentric and restrict nature to a purely utilitarian function in the satisfaction of human needs. This maintains a moral hierarchy between humans and nature that perpetuates ecological injustice. Using decoloniality as both a method and critical analytical framework, this thesis develops and employs the coloniality of nature to illustrate that the continued destruction, exploitation, and disrespect for nature is fundamentally tied to the misrecognition of subaltern people. Misrecognition is a product of a deep-seated sociogenic problem of coloniality introduced during European colonisation, which consolidated the superior status of a hegemonic western subjectivity. Other experiences, knowledges, practices, and ways of articulating human-nature relations were rendered as non-scientific and superstitious and devoid of any value. The misrecognition of subaltern people denied humanity an opportunity to learn from other viewpoints and integrate them into an inclusive idea of justice where no single subjectivity assumes a dominant status. Centered on a decolonial love predicated on Fanon’s idea of “building the world of the You”, not the I, Us or We, this thesis draws on the principles of transculturalism and border thinking to promulgate a practical idea of justice as recognition in the context of an ecological community, that is more inclusive of other living and non-living entities. It advances a dialogical mode of recognition that attempts to achieve the following objectives: i) promote critical introspection amongst the subaltern to understand how their experience of (mis)recognition is connected to the destruction of nature, and how their attitudes towards nature were altered by the introduction of western modernity, capitalism and colonisation, ii) enable those social groups that are on the top of the ontological hierarchy to understand their role in such processes and how to address them, and iii) to demonstrate that increasing humanity’s love, care, and respect for nature is not possible without first addressing misrecognition between people.
Love, Care, and Cure: Economies of Affect in a Zimbabwean Transnational Pentecostal Church
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-09) Thonje, Admire; Katsaura, Obvious
This thesis attends to affective relations as they manifest in local and transnational settings. The thesis’s empirical site is a Zimbabwe-founded Pentecostal church which is pseudonymised as Speak in Tongues (SIT). SIT has since grown to establish presence in South Africa, among a host of other countries. The research deployed a multi-sited ethnography whose spatial connections included Johannesburg, Pretoria, and the church headquarters in Gweru (Zimbabwe). Relying on purposively selected South African branches and their membership, ties among and ties between members and non-members are explored to reveal the formation of affective community, affective solidarity, and affective curatorship. These three affective relationalities emerge, solidify and in some instances disintegrate. In tracing the ties, the thesis highlights the productivity of affect. I argue that affective ties form and circulate in what I deem to be a relational economy of affect. For a start, affective community in this thesis emerges as the product of deliberate efforts by the leadership as well as discursive tools which shape the ways in which church relationalities members relate among themselves, as well as between members and their leaders. This is, however, not a straightforward endeavour because members negotiate and resist some of the efforts and discourses. As a result of the varied intensities of affective ties, notions of affective community tend to yield micro-communities even within the church as a group. The result are different sensibilities of affective solidarity. Affective solidarity’s variability is evident in how love is negotiated in the church as well as how members attend celebrations of love in weddings. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, some members require the intervention of fellow members and leaders to extend a form of affective pastoral care which is identified as ‘affective curatorship’. Affective curatorship is extended to members as an extension of the church’s care work. It is also extended to non-members as part of social outreach which ostensibly doubles as some form of proselytizing. In exploring these dimensions, the study engages the literature on affective relations (Pedwell, 2014; Röttger-Rössler & Slaby, 2018; von Scheve, 2018) via Sara Ahmed’s ‘affect economies’ to reveal the production of affective ties in social encounters that occur in the everyday. Contrary to scholarship which posits affect as a neutral and passive force which only appears in moments of encounter, the study spotlights the active production of affective ties in social contact. In the process, it reveals a vibrant life — an affective economy where affects and emotions are produced, circulated and sustained both in and outside of the church — around the selected Pentecostal church. The vibrant life lies beyond sensationalised miracles that hog the public limelight. In addition, the study shows through affective ties that the distinction between sacred and profane is very shaky. Affective ties bind believers and non-believers as they share social spaces as well as materials.
The motive of a South African male muti murder offender: a case study
(2018) Thenga, Khalirendwe
Traditional healers in South Africa are easily accessible to individuals who require their services. Traditionally, traditional healers would help their clients either by giving them advice or by giving them muti made from plants and/ or animal body parts. However, some traditional healers have adopted the practice of using human body parts in muti. Traditional healers who practice muti murder believe that different human body parts have different “powers”. The traditional healer who practices muti murder will often appoint someone to carry out the murder thus they are not directly involved in the murder. There are various motives for committing murder and the current study utilised a single case study design to investigate the motives of Black South African males who commit muti murder. Due to the sensitivity of the topic, the researcher was able to recruit one participant. The participant was interviewed by the researcher in Northern Sotho. The researcher recorded and transcribed the interview. The researcher utilised thematic analysis to analyse the data. The current study identified two motives for committing muti murder, “cultural beliefs” and “financial gain”. Future studies should recruit more participants and delve into the motive, financial gain.
Nationalism Without a State: A Comparative Analysis of Revolutionary Nationalism Among Stateless Nations
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mayet, Humairaa; Zähringer, Natalie
A political philosophy employed by nationalist groups and parties, revolutionary nationalism, is used to resist the established order and achieve political goals. It is especially prevalent when power is held by a group or party which attempts to oppress and stifle certain identities and nationalities while enabling others. Revolutionary nationalism has been practiced by the people of Palestine and Western Sahara, both when they resisted against their European colonisers, Britain and Spain, and today, as they resist against their occupiers, Israel and Morocco. Forms of resistance practices include popular and organised resistance, as well as violent and nonviolent resistance. Similarities and differences emerge when analysing how each of these occupied populations attempted to resist through means of revolutionary nationalism and these can be examined and compared. Revolutionary nationalism often goes hand-in-hand with the expression of the right to self-determination, the highest form of which is statehood. The aim of this research report is to discern whether or not the practices of revolutionary nationalism give rise to self-determination, even though it has been proven that, in the post-Cold War era, they do not give rise to statehood.
Shifts, Changes and Continuities in Heritage Commemoration and Memorialisation of the 21 March 1960 Sharpeville Massacre: 1960-2010
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Ngoaketsi, Joseph Mairomola; Lekgoathi, S.P
The Sharpeville Massacre was a key turning point in modern South African history. The massacre ended the non-violent civil rights-style political activism and flickered three decades of armed confrontation with the colonial apartheid regime. Most importantly, it became the catalyst for the declaration of apartheid as a crime against humanity by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 1966. However, most of the studies on the massacre focus mainly on documenting the events of that day, and very little has been written about the historical re-presentations of the shooting beyond this. This study, therefore, aims to fill the lacuna in the re-presentation and observance of this event. It does so by not only complementing the existing literature but also looking at an area that has been grossly neglected, namely the diverse ways in which the killing has been observed over a period of five decades, starting from the 1960s to 2010. The study employs discourse analysis as well as critical and in-depth analyses of published secondary, historical and archival sources, including newspaper reports and commentaries on the 21 March Sharpeville Day commemorations. These sources are complemented by a large spread, and wide range of biographical sources, unstructured interviews, testimonials, informal discussions, and conversations with key local heritage activist respondents. The focus group consists of members of the Khulumani Support Group at the Sharpeville branch. The findings and conclusions of this study derive from observations of the anniversary commemorations of the massacre by ethnographic participants. The study utilises several theoretical frameworks, while the Life Narrative Interpretative theory of oral history lays the basis for this research venture. As the findings of this thesis bear out, the application of this theory converges oral history and collective memory studies. Other theories used in this study include Maurice Halbwachs’ theory of collective memory, which is located in nostalgia, individual testimony, oral history, tradition, myth, style, language, art, popular culture, and physical landscape. Émile Durkheim’s performance or ritual theory postulates that the past is represented and relived through rituals, and the relationship between the past and the present takes the form of a dramatic (re)presentation. The study observes that cultural rites conducted during memorialisation processes and annual observances of the Sharpeville massacre are marked by human arrangements of performances or viii ritual remembrances. The transitional justice theoretical discourse is applied in the study’s analysis of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission - a socio-political initiative devoted to fact-finding, reconciliation and memory culture. It concludes that memorialisation processes and rituals are communal reflexes for survivors of the Sharpeville Massacre and families of the victims. Contrary to assertions by notable Sharpeville Massacre historians, this day was not observed between 1964 and 1984, despite an international commemorative tradition that developed beginning from 1966. The study observes that during the 1960s, the Human Rights Society, an affiliate of the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS), commemorated Sharpeville Day even at the height of state repression. It demonstrates that it was the Black Consciousness Movement family of organisations that popularised the commemoration of Sharpeville Day, calling it Heroes Day during the 1970s. The observance of this day took the form of church services, cemetery visitations and political rallies. The study notes that with the formation of the Congress Movement-aligned civic structure in the form of the United Democratic Front, Sharpeville Day was used as a platform to openly defy the apartheid government and undermine its institutions. The 1990s was a period of political transition in South Africa, and the study analyses commemorations of the Sharpeville Massacre during this decade. In the context of the unbanning of liberation movements, observances of this day took place in a more politically tolerable landscape. During the first half of this decade, commemorations of Sharpeville Massacre revealed the deep-seated political and ideological differences between the African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress former liberation movements turned political parties in the early 1990s after their unbanning. The study observes that this day was used during this period to garner support for the upcoming elections in 1994. Following the establishment of the Government of National Unity, the hegemonic impulses of the African National Congress overrode long-held traditions of how Sharpeville Day was observed. The study highlights that from the year 1995, 21 March started to be observed as an official public holiday, later transforming into Human Rights Day, instead of being a solemn commemoration, as was the case before the democratic dispensation. The study further observes that during this decade, court-like restorative justice bodies, such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, created a theatrical environment for victims of gross human rights violations. The ritualistic oral testimonies of those who appeared constituted a ix memorialisation process. Lastly, the study reveals that post-1994, Sharpeville commemorations possess distinct characteristics at the core of which are distortions of history, the watering down of other narratives and contributions, selective amnesia and the silencing of other voices on the part of the governing party. There are further contestations, grand narratives, commemorations, counter commemorations and counter-narratives regarding the memory of Sharpeville by both the African National Congress and the Pan Africanist Congress. In terms of material culture, the study highlights how this tangible feature of Sharpeville’s memory is characterised by official memorials and counter-memorials.
Social media as a sphere of violent discourse in times of civil unrest: A case study of the 2021 looting in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-03-15) Malaka, Chaboke Prince; Govenden, Prinola
Social media has been used by activists in contemporary civil upheavals.The content created by these activists is believed to predict offline protest behaviour. There was previously no corelation drawn between social media usage and real-world behaviour, however, recently protesters’worldwide use of social media platforms provide an unparalleled opportunity to witness how social media usage can have real-world behavioural ties (Mina, 2019). This study's main objective was to investigate the extent to which social media, specifically X (formerly Twitter), was used as a forum for violent discourse during times of civil unrest. In particular, it examines the looting that occurred in South Africa in 2021 July under the hashtags,#LootingSA and #FreeZuma, that started in KwaZulu-Natal province on 8 July 2021 and spread to the Gauteng province. It is well recognised that social media sites enable users to communicate, share knowledge, and produce digital content. Social media has also served as an activist platorm during times of civil disturbance (Lim, 2012). This study adds to the current literature by elucidating howpeople’s engagement in X (formerly Twitter) as a social media platform was used to createa discourses of violence during the 2021 looting. Protest Participation Theory (PPT) and Galtung’s Theory of Violence (GTV) media theories have been used to drive this study and has further supported the findings from a theorectical standpoint. . The study used a qualitative approach and employed a thematic analysis technique to analyse data. The units of analysis, violent tweets, revealed a substantial presence of aggressive language, calls for violence, threats, and incitements to harm during the civil unrest period. Interestingly, a significant portion of these tweets did not explicitly endorse violence but circulated content related to violent acts e.g Tweets containing voilent content. In contrast, non-violent tweets predominantly centered around the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma with sentiments expressing disapproval, critique, or support for the arrest of the former president. The study acknowledged instances where X (formerly Twitter) was used for personal agendas and entertainment indicating a diverse range of discussions on social media related to violence. The non-violent tweets highlighted both opposition and support for Jacob Zuma's arrest with a smaller percentage categorised as "not related" and not taking a clear stance on the overarching topic. The research primarily focused on measuring the prevalence of looting activities rather than delving into the detailed aspects of the "how" question.
Societal security and the deterrence of migrants as a means to consolidate the European Union (EU)
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-05) Maimela, Pearl Moahlodi; Landau, Loren B.
Europe's reunification has faced challenges over the past decade. Terrorist attacks in London, Paris, and Berlin; nationalist groups and anti-immigrant rhetoric in many European nations; Brexit; pro-independence movements in Scotland and Catalonia; efforts to reunite Cyprus; and, most importantly, new waves of immigration and the refugee crisis have challenged Europe's identity. European identity and membership have dominated all these scenarios. As its member states grew closer, the European Union facilitated economic, political, and social "Europeanisation," creating a “EU citizen identity" that distinguished Europeans migrating within the region from those from other regions. The study examined whether framing migration as a threat to societal security preserves and consolidates European identity or combats and consolidates fragmentation caused by rising nationalist rhetoric. The study defined European identity as community-formed through interactions, transactions, and generational changes. The study used social psychology and social identity theory, which suggests that group membership, shapes a person's self-image. Qualitative literature review and historical accounts focused on migration post-2015.
South Africa's State Capture Architecture: A critique of 'State Capture' and Development in 21st Century Post Apartheid South Africa, using the Estina Vrede Dairy Farm Project as a case study
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-07) Mfikili, Khanya Lulibo; Brown, Julian
State Capture can be described as corruption on a macro-level, reaching unheard and unseen of levels involving the state, state organs and private business. It has been described as the erosion of democratic processes and a 'coup d'etat'1 of some sorts of the state and its functions-functions affected are mainly empowerment, development, fiscal responsibility and transparency-turning the state 'into a shadow state'. The recent uncovering of "state capture" at different levels of government in South Africa required an analysis of the relationship between 'state capture' and development in South Africa. In this paper, this will be achieved by looking at the Free State Estina Dairy Farm Project (EVDF Project) as a unit of analysis. Four research questions around this dairy farm project will be explored, to ultimately answer the overall question: What is the relationship between development and 'state capture' in 21st Century Post-Apartheid South Africa? An extensive literature review will be done in Chapter Two looking at the history of agricultural projects, illegal financial flows (IFFs) and state capture in South Africa, in the African region and internationally. This research is qualitative in nature, utilizing a case study method. Information used was publically available sources of information, with the testimonies and evidence in the Zonda Commission Reports forming a bulk of the data analyzed. The findings and policy implications in the last chapter informed possible future studies, centered on my research. One possible future study would be a look at the role of IFFs in rural development in (South) Africa.

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