[Sunday World] Does a 2am eviction uphold human rights and forge belongingness?

Professor Mosibudi Mangena’s September 21, 2025 column in the Sunday World titled, “Declaring ‘South Africa belongs to all who live in it” is stupid and counterproductive” refers. The column raises important questions about nation building and post-apartheid belongingness that are worth debating. I will return to these issues in a moment.

Unfortunately, the good prof spoils the column with misleading statements about the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). He claims that the SAHRC came down like “a ton of bricks” on Premier Panyaza Lesufi after the premier, in Mangena’s version “declared war on the proliferation of mekhukhu (shacks) in the province, many of which are inhabited by a significant number of undocumented migrants.”

For the digital version of the article, visit: https://sundayworld.co.za/news/opinion/does-a-2am-eviction-uphold-human-rights-and-forge-belongingness/