The President of South Africa has decided, once again, to marry. The number is up to 5 this time with recent news saying he's engaged to his sixth. The man moves fast, and works fast too… he is now up to 18 children and with a new wife I think we can expect more.

Here's what South African bloggers say…

Glasspearl.co.za questions the acceptability of the entire affair and comments on Zuma's previous misdemeanours:

As we are all aware of now, President Jacob Zuma married his fifth wife last week.

I’ve been reading an article in the You magazine of 14 January which claims that 74% of South Africans found the practice of polygamy unacceptable.

The article also states the majority of those disapproving of the custom are women of the same culture.

Here’s what I don’t understand…

If an adult woman wants to marry a man who is already married and the wife/s agree, what is the problem?

We all have choices and although it would NEVER be my choice, I can accept that another woman might choose differently.

Where I grew up on the Cape Flats, we knew of two different Muslim families where the dad had two wives. They were all kept apart and didn’t live together.

A few years ago a Muslim friend’s husband asked her whether he could take another wife. She said no, but he went ahead anyway.

She moved out and divorced him.

Jacob Zuma’s newest wife is 37 years old and is a financial manager at a Durban cellphone company. She likely has the means to take care of herself and chose this life of polygamy.

Now if he married an underage girl handed over against her will, it’s a whole other story.

But as long as the adult woman has a say in the matter, it’r none of my business.

I have much more of a problem when a man like Zuma have all those women and still has sex with a woman who did not consent.

Pessimist Incarnate simply posts a picture and a caption…

Terrorbyte gives us a breakdown of what went down at the Zuma Wedding…

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has married his fifth wife (Technically third) , in a spectacular Zulu ceremony attended by his other wives.

Some 2,000 guests saw the 67-year-old marry Thobeka Madiba, 36. The ceremony had been postponed from last year because of his political commitments.

Under Zulu tradition, Mr Zuma’s two current wives had to approve the wedding and attend the ceremony. This ceremony is the last traditional event before a wedding and is done after ilobolo (dowry) has been paid to the bride’s family.

Monday’s ceremony was Mr Zuma’s fifth wedding – he married his first wife Sizakele Khumalo-Zuma in 1973 and Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma two years ago.

He is also divorced from Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Mr Zuma’s home in Nkandla, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, was a hive of activity in the run-up to the ceremony.

Large tents were erected to accommodate guests, some of whom arrived in a number of buses on Monday.

Several cows, sheep and goats were slaughtered for the wedding feast.

Locals including Mr Zuma were dressed in traditional Zulu attire – mostly made from animal skin.

And hundreds of people were there to witness the traditional wedding, which though initially dubbed a private affair, was later opened to the villagers. They mingled with businesspeople, politicians and celebrities dressed in the latest fashions.

Zuma and his bride were resplendent in traditional garb. He wore his Zulu attire, while the newbride looked bright in her equally impressive outfit.

Madiba wore colourful Zulu traditional attire of black (isidwaba) with a red hat and danced for a few minutes before the groom, his family and community members.

While his bride performed the Xhosa dance, Zuma sat quietly and smiled. Later he also performed a traditional dance.

He was accompanied by warriors while Madiba came surrounded by maidens from abaThembu clan. The clan was led by Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla, who is an inkosi.

Earlier the couple were declared husband and wife after an elder had asked Madiba if she would join the Zuma family. She agreed, and was pronounced Zuma’s wife, joining Sizakele Khumalo, the first wife he married in 1973, and Nompumelelo Ntuli, who became his wife in 2007.

The couple and their guests were treated to a feast of traditional entertainment amid tight security. For three hours, Xhosa and Zulu traditional dancers entertained those gathered. Celebrations were scheduled to continue late into the night….

Zuma was previously married to former home affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, whom he divorced in 1998, and Kate Mantsho-Zuma, who committed suicide in 2000.

… some very interesting insight there into the political and social construct of the Zuma clan.

My Rosebank sobers us up with an HIV point of view…

We live in a country with the world's highest HIV deaths. Let's state it even more simply: South Africa is the country with the world's largest number of people dying from a sexually transmitted disease. Thereare approximately 950 AIDS-realted deaths each day in South Africa [as opposed to 50 murders a day]. In TV advertising people are asked to stick to one partner. One of the ways AIDS is transmitted is by having multiple partners. Polygamy is institutionalised multiple partnering. Nice going Mr. President.

as well as these random clippings from News24.com which give some context and further insight…

Durban - The leader of the Christian Democratic Party has described President Jacob Zuma's traditional wedding on Monday as a “giant step back into the dark ages”.

Zuma's wedding “to a woman he is reported to have already fathered three children with, and the alarming return to ancestral worship is a giant step back into the dark ages,” said CDP leader Reverend Theunis Botha.

It was the same ancestral traditions that had plagued Africa in the past and that had kept it [Africa] in superstition and poverty, and not colonialism as some people believed, he claimed.

Zuma is the father of 18 children.

He is also engaged to Gloria Bongi Ngema from Durban. Her family presented umbondo (gifts) to the Zuma family at the end of December.

Umbondo is the last Zulu traditional ceremony before the wedding. It was done after ilobolo had been paid.

It was not known when Zuma would tie the knot with Ngema.

However, apart from all the criticism, someone finally gave the man a congratulations… SA Rocks gives us this…

Not bad Mr Prez. I must say you have scruples. Not only can you run a country but you can manage 5 wives and families, I am impressed. Good job.
I’ll join the nation in welcoming another “first lady” to the country: Tobeka Madiba.

Source: HWT Image Library
So all in all, congrats to President Zuma.

Terrorbyte further enlightens us with this tidbit about the actual wedding night of President Zuma…

A huge bed has been delivered to President Jacob Zuma’s compound at Nkandla, in northern KwaZulu-Natal ahead of his wedding to his fifth wife.

Jenty gives her view of the President's recent actions, it speaks for itself…

I read an article in the Saturday Star yesterday about Jacob Zuma’s many wives. I don’t know what rock I’ve been living under, because I knew that he had more than one wife, but as sure as heck didn’t know he had that many!! I found this article in the Mercury tonight that explains them all, and I see that there’s an article in the Sunday Times today about the same topic too!

And not only does he have 4 wives currently (he divorced one, and one committed suicide)… but he has 18 children from them and other woman. The youngest of which is 7 months old!!

I also didn’t realise that the wife that he married last year was 34 at the time… that’s almost the same age as me. And the mother of the 7mth old is about the same age (according to another article I found).

Now, I get that polygamy is quite acceptable in Zulu culture, and in fact that’s not what bothers me about this whole thing. As far as I’m concerned he can have 10 wives, I don’t really care. But dude… he’s not exactly a spring chicken at 67… what’s the deal with marrying more young wives… he’s apparently going to marry the other woman who he’s had children with. Maybe he’s only marrying them so that they’re legal and can be supported by the government?

But that’s besides my point… he’s old… why does he feel the need to have so many young wives… some of them are about 30 years younger than him… and what’s the deal with him wanting to procreate at his age! Isn’t 18 kids enough?! After all, the taxpayers are going to have to support them all!

From now on, I’m going to look at him in a new light… and it’s not a flattering one… he’s a dirty old man in my eyes.

And to end off with a confusing rendition about the inspiration President Zuma has instilled in one particular blogger, Kolobe gives us his rant about how his “polygamist dreams have been dashed!”

Ok so everyone is aware that I secretly admirer Jacob Zuma in his quest as a polygamists, in the African culture the first wife must permit the husband to marry other wives otherwise the it would be illegal marriages, so how can I convince my monogamous wife to agree to polygamy I still wonder, in fact those that are aware of the Zuma debacle is that the second Nompumelelo and third wive Thobeka are not in peace with each other, but all the wives are blessed to have Ma khumalo the eldest of the wives for support, in fact the second wife is angry and bitter of the third wive, this of course was evident on the latter’s day of the weeding when Nompumelelo was absent, it was only makhumalo who gave her blessings as the first wife. Traditionally before lobola negotiations takes place the uncles would consult the first wives for her blessing.

Believe me Zuma had a reason to take other wives and using the weakness in the first wife Ma khumalo, he managed to convince her to agree to polygamy, And the one obvious reason that comes to mind is the fact that Getrude khumalo the first wife seems to be having a problem conceiving and obviously raising children for Jacob Zuma, to date they don’t have any children. Perhaps this is the reason that Msholozi used against her and hence she can agree to this kind of marital arrangements.

Good, having studied the Zuma scenario, I had then decided to create a point of weakness so that I can have a reason against Mrs Kolobe to twist her hands in agreeing to my requests, I thought out a good plan and from Monday it was my implementation date, on Monday after work I took her by surprise when she walked from work by acting like a bull , she found me naked already and we had good sex, while she was trying to clean the house I demanded attention and off we went for another shagging session, as if that was not enough I requested another session around 11 in evening and obviously feeling tired she refused. Good the plan was coming as planned.

On Tuesday I was late at work obviously of back pains and all, shame man the Comrade seems to be losing his mojo I guess, Tuesday I repeated the same, and when she pulled the am tired plug out, then I knew it was my opportunity to attack, I jumped out of bed and switched on the lights and demanded a meeting immediately, fine she said and there we where,
You remember in 2002 when we you could not do your house chores we found a nanny for us? Then she looked at me and said yes ,so now it seems that you cannot cope with my sexual demands cause your work is exhausting you, don’t you think that it is better if we get an assistant to assist you in my demands, goodness me, there she was furious and tempers flying all nasty stuff and quoting the bible and all, it was nasty.

Fine I pulled the verses about Abram and Sarah looking that other chick that Abram shagged to produce that dude Ishmael, yaa but I was told if I wanted that I should go out of the house and find another place, in short I cannot become a polygamist, but at least I tried.

and here's some Twitter feedback on the topic which even hints at the term being coined ‘Doing a Zuma'… meaning ofcourse, polygamy.

@DevillaCruelle While Zuma is courting wife-to-be no. 6, Obama is sending 12000 troups to render aid in Haiti. Priorities, priorities….

@MonsieurPolk @mathoto_m Somebody is trying to get married! let me talk to my wife about doing a Zuma. Home cooking & great movies whats not to love?

@PrinsesLV This is where our tax money goes: Zuma's wife wearing a LOUIS VUITTON headscarf…… Ek meen rerig! http://tweetphoto.com/8643407

@Sliloza RT @DJFreshSA: RT @euphonik: Mr. President Jacob Zuma you are truly on to something! Why cheat on your wife when you can just take another?

The President's polygamist tendencies raises important questions for South Africa… the relevance of traditional culture in a modern era, the permissibility of polygamy by law and what this would mean for traditional vs. modern interpretations of culture in South African society… and probably a lot more. At least its educational.

Their guilt
is not so very different from ours:
— who has not joyed in the arbitrary exercise of
power
or grasped for himself what might have been
another’s
and who has not used superior force in the
moment when he could,
(and who of us has not been tempted to these
things?) —
so, in their guilt,
the bared ferocity of teeth,
chest-thumping challenge and defiance,
the deafening clamour of their prayers
to a deity made in the image of their prejudice
which drowns the voice of conscience,
is mirrored our predicament
but on a social, massive, organised scale
which magnifies enormously
as the private deshabille of love
becomes obscene in orgies.
©Dennis Brutus

“Their Behavior” is one of the many poems that Dennis Brutus wrote on Blood River Day in 1965, in reference to the Blood River Massacre on the banks of Ncome River on 16 December 1838, in what is in present day, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

The News of the death of Dennis Brutus came as a rude shock to many, not just in South Africa but to the world at large who knew him for his poetry and activism against the Apartheid Government of South Africa in the 1960s and his fight for social justice throughout his life.

Brutus succumbed to prostate cancer at his home in Cape Town, South Africa on the 26th of December 2009. He died at the age of 85.

Born in Born in Harare, Zimbabwe (then Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia) to South African parents in 1924, Brutus was of African, French and Italian ancestry.

Brutus is reknown for having started the South African Sports Association (SASA) as the founding secretary motivated by the unfairness of selections for athletic teams. The Association began by lobbying all-white sports organizations to change voluntarily, but made no progress.

In 1962, Brutus helped form a new group to challenge South Africa’s official Olympic Committee. The organization, the South African Non-Racial Olympic Committee, of which he was president, persuaded Olympic committees from other countries to vote to suspend South Africa from the 1964 and 1968 Olympics.
Brutus was in prison serving an 18 month sentence when news of the country's suspension from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, for which he had campaigned, broke. His Cell was next to Nelson Mandela’s at Robben Island.

It is while in prison that Brutus wrote his first collection of political poems titled Sirens, Knuckles and Boots. This collection was later awarded the Mbari Poetry Prize which is presented to an exceptional black poet every year. Brutus turned the offer down because of its racial exclusivity.

Until the time of his death, Brutus had published over 12 poetry books.

He returned to South Africa after having worked as a Professor Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh and was based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal where he often contributed to the annual Poetry Festival Poetry Africa hosted by the University.

He died supporting activism against neo-liberal policies in contemporary South Africa including struggles against the management of that University.

News of his death and tributes have appeared on various mainstream news websites as well as from bloggers throughout the African Continent.

The New York Times had the headline, Dennis Brutus, South African Poet, Dies at 85 on 27th Dec, 09

Black Looks a Nigerian blogger gave a tribute by quoting Dennis Brutus’ call to action

We are in serious difficulty all over the planet. We are going to say to the world: There’s too much of profit, too much of greed, too much of suffering by the poor… The people of the planet must be in action.” …Dennis Brutus

Annie commented on the news by saying

Hi Sokari, I haven’t been on BL in such a long time, I almost didn’t recognize it. Congratulations on all your amazing work. I sent you a message on facebook. Let’s email and reconnect.
RIP Dennis Brutus. An important generation is passing on and I am not entirely sure who is stepping up and into their shoes.

KasieKulture, a South African Blogger wrote an Ode to a beloved, as his tribute in the poem,

the road to Havana
if only the travel agent told me
my heart will be tainted on the way to valhalla
my soul will be hijacked @ the gates of gehenna
that sinning will be standard as i make for pearly's
i'll feel nothing when i hurt people closest to me
innocent hearts lacerated for my failure to commit
i'm sorry sistas my one heart was torn into two
i had love for coitus but i fucked with banknotes
love letters that were written never mailed to me
still stacked in your bedroom with my physical address
i'm here baby still around my knuckles bruised in a bout
my spirit defiled my conscience shiver sending echoes of guilt
Read the rest of the poem here

oficinadesociologia, a blogger from Mozambique wrote this on their blog

Morreu Dennis Brutus

Sou um rebelde e a liberdade é a minha causa - Dennis Brutus (1924-2009), activista anti-apartheid, um dos maiores activistas e poetas africanos, falecido de cancro na próstata na sua residência na África do Sul. Foi uma vez detido em Moçambique na era colonial. Obrigado ao Ricardo, meu correspondente em Paris, por me ter recordado o desenlace. Paz à sua alma.

The Cricket South Africa (CSA) sent their condolences to the family and colleagues of Dennis Brutus through the South African blog, Terrobyte.za

Other tributes and news of Brutus’ death were featured on Poéfrika in Lesotho, Khanya and Empty Sky both in South Africa, Bagucci in Nigeria and Myself, KenyanPoet in Kenya.

Rasta People 100 has put a photo slide tribute on Youtube, with Lucky Dube's song on Apartheid.

MediaGrr19, shares a video from a news clip that featured Brutus' 2005 interview on Democracy Now

As Poets worldwide moan his death and wonder who will be fit to fill the shoes that Brutus has left, I leave you with a comment by Rethabile of Poéfrika

I think, as Barack Obama said, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” We need to step into such shoes today, or else…

Twitter users across the globe are unifying for the cause, and although “re-tweets” are popular, a great number of people are using Twitter to share their own personal thoughts about Gaza, one year after the attacks which left 1,417 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.  Rime Allaf, a Syrian Twitterer, explains what it means to her:

Rime Allaf shares her thoughts on Gaza

Nadine Moawad, the organizer of the campaign, is teaching Twitter in Beirut to help bring force to the campaign:

Nadine Moawad will teach Twitter campaigning locally

Joelle Hatem is amongst those who took the Twitter crash course.  A brand new Twitter user, she writes:

New Twitter user Joelle Hatem joins the campaign

Twitter users are using the hashtag for spreading information as well as for sharing personal reflections of the one year commemoration of the attacks. Sayed Dhansay, in South Africa, reflects:

Twitter user "sayedm" reflects on the memory of the attacks on Gaza

And in Brazil, Twitter user Jus_C shares his thoughts on the siege on Gaza:

The campaign will take place on Sunday from 3pm to 7pm GMT, during Twitter's most trafficked time of day. To follow the tweets, visit the #Gaza hashtag.

The conference in Copenhagen received broad media coverage, with reports both on the negotiations and on the many demonstrations, conferences, and other events which accompanied the summit. Yet, despite this flurry of international media attention, the African blogosphere has been relatively calm.

Congolese blogger Alex Engwete gave day-by-day analysis of the summit, predicting from the start that results would be unimpressive:

Nothing is going to happen in Copenhagen. I don't know where the designers had their heads but even their ill-conceived logo encapsulates visually the story: an untanglable entanglement of strands of contradictory interests. Maybe they thought the logo would mean, “We're all together in this predicament.” But I don't read it that way at all…

From Nigeria, StandTall-The Activist wrote about her fears for a future where climate change has become a reality:

I fear increase in conflict over land, over water, over natural resources as a result of human made global warming. I fear the survival of the future generation. I fear the survival of plants and animals as they are currently getting affected on a larger scale. I fear the effect of overpopulation on climate change.

Comments on her blog were more critical of the climate change agenda:

Much as I empathize with the do-gooders in Copenhagen, I cannot help but wonder at the extraordinary ability of we humans to deceive ourselves….
The so-called developed countries got where they are by destroying the earth and now they want to stop others from doing what they did.

Who are we deceiving?

Another reader agreed:

I see [“going green”] as a western idea to stop other countries/continents from attaining a great height. They are afraid that the developing continents might take over from them.

South African blogger Mike Taberner also wrote on the connection between climate change and economic growth:

What the global economy needs is growth, what the planet needs is a conscious effort to reduce the emissions…. We should not loose sight of the fact that the we still have the ultimate power to deliver results. Democracy means that we can elect our leaders and we can effect change through leadership change. I would urge you to begin to evaluate your current and future leaders on their climate policies. If the voter base moves in this direction then we will see the politicians move this way too.

Omar Basawad at Safari Notes took a different view, writing on the futility of looking to global leadership to solve the problem of climate change:

With the fiasco at Copenhagen, we now know that world leaders can not do much when it comes to Climate Change and other like problems that face humanity. Most world leaders are politicians who are more swayed by votes and economics than by doing what is right for humanity. The more powerful the leaders, the more they seem to be more interested in votes and economic profits.

Referencing an editorial published by 56 newspapers around the globe, Nick Wadhams wrote on the disconnect between world leaders and their citizens:

I don't see what would compel world leaders to base their actions on an editorial, even one that appeared in 56 newspapers. World leaders urge us to take action on things all the time, and we ignore them. We urge world leaders to take action on things, and they ignore us too. This thing has as much of a chance of changing the minds of world leaders as do the thousands of protesters who will smash windows and do silly things to “raise awareness” outside the summit hall.

Kenya Christian attributed the failure of the climate change agenda to the capitalist system:

Here you have rich nations who are supposed to be leading the way for the rest of the world, being the worst polluters on the planet.

…Climate Change just demonstrates the weaknesses in this so-called “best of bad systems” called capitalism; it can truly be a sick system. As in, humans are willing to take their planet to hell just to make a profit; it’s mind-boggling how short-sighted our species can be.

Cavenmasuku, blogging from Gweru, Zimbabwe, saw a silver lining in the outcome of the summit. In a post entitled, “The positive achievement of Copenhagen”, he wrote:

There is no longer any question that climate change is central to the political thinking of every country on the planet…

The vast campaigns run around the world in the run-up to Copenhagen…. have made addressing climate change widely understood and discussed from the pubs of rural England to the bars of Beijing.

Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is South Africa's former Minister of Health who died last week. Manto's death and Hudson plane crash comparison is probably not the best since the landing of the plane in the river was first reported by eye witnesses. However, she argues that the role Twitter played in distributing news of her death is significant. Sarah's post highlights a new trend in South African communication and media space brought by new media tools.

Sarah argues that what Twitter revealed what usually happens behind closed doors in newsrooms: rumours of a big story, frantic efforts to check sources, conflicting reports.

Conflicting reports: Was she or wasn't she?:

I happened to log on at about 2.30 in the afternoon, to see the following tweet from Toby Shapshak, the editor of Stuff magazine: “just heard that Manto has died”.
Wow. Credible source, I thought, since he’s an employee of Avusa and presumably hangs around the newsroom at The Times from time to time. I immediately directed a question at him: how did he know? Then I went onto Facebook and made the announcement in a status update, as one does these days. Then to the news sites to search for the story. Nothing. I asked Nic Dawes, the editor the Mail & Guardian, whether he knew anything. (That’s the amazing thing about Twitter: you have direct access to so many journalists and other public figures in one forum.) “Trying to find out about Manto before saying anything rash,” he tweeted. “She was said to be stable yesterday.”
Then a journalist at Sapa reported that no, Manto was alive; her doctor had said so. Lots of confusion in the Twittersphere. Was she or wasn’t she? Or was this some strange case of Schrodinger’s Former Minister of Health?
It was The Times that scored the scoop, with a brief report noting that sources close to Tshabala-Msimang’s family reported that she had died. A few minutes later Dawes confirmed it on Twitter: “ANC confirms the death of Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.”

Another angle that Sarah looks at is how Twitter facilitates discussion in South Africa:

This story has so many dimensions. I don’t have the space or the time to address all of them in full, but one must surely comment on the role of Twitter in spreading the news and facilitating discussion. Ah, discussion. As Dawes observed of the participants some two hours after we had received the news: “You’re waging culture war. Ding dong the witch is dead — white. RIP — african.”
Some of the responses (all of them by white men — it was hard not to notice this) to Tshabalala-Msimang’s death were quite brutal. “I’m really sad, but you can’t tell because my sackcloth is at the drycleaner,” noted one tweet. “RIP Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. And in other news, Johnnie Walker sales plummet 34%” quipped another.
Ivo Vegter was especially vicious: “Joyful tidings for those on the liver transplant waiting list: maybe your government won’t murder you after all.”
One discussion in particular, between a well-known figure in the communications industry (who happens to be white) and the creative director of an ad agency (who happens to be black), got quite nasty, with suggestions of libellous and inaccurate re-tweeting. The comedian Loyiso Gola implored people to get some perspective. “People are overreacting … let us all take a step back,” he argued. “Think what day it is today.”

While many bloggers have written about Twitter and the death of Manto focusing on Gareth Cliff who made a controversial remark about her death, Sarah has focused on the potential of Twitter to transform the way South Africans communicate.

Gareth Cliff is the South African radio personality who, after learning about Manto's death, tweeted:

“Manto is dead,” he declared to his 23 686 followers. “Good. A selfish and wicked bungler of the lowest order. Rotten attitude and rancid livers — all 3 of them … ”.

You can follow Global Voices author Muhammad Karim's post about the controversy surrounding Gareth's comment.

When Sarah watches her Twitter feed, what she sees is “…a nation in intense conversation with itself, 140 words at a time.”:

But what really stands out about the news of Manto’s death is the potential of Twitter to transform the way we communicate in this country. It will not replace traditional media, because news of this nature can only be considered credible once traditional media have confirmed it (and indeed, Twitter could help to drive readers hungry for information to news sites). Twitter is not entirely user-friendly, and all too often the discussions it hosts are wrist-slittingly banal. But it’s the only forum of its kind we have: where South Africans of influence are able to debate and discuss, and ordinary citizens may also participate. Today, I was very aware as I watch my Twitter feed, of a nation in intense conversation with itself, 140 words at a time.

But did Twitter add depth and diversity to the discussion? Some of her readers are not as optimistic about Twitter as she is.

Herman Wasserman asks, ” Did it add depth and diversity to the discussion or amplify the vitriol coming from the usual suspects?”:

Interesting observations. But I’m still wondering exactly what and how Twitter adds to these debates other than speeding up dissemination of information and rumour. Did it add depth and diversity to the discussion or amplify the vitriol coming from the usual suspects? Will the 140 chars encourage restraint or do the opposite (Gareth Cliff a case in point)? And as you correctly pointed out (on Twitter!) yesterday, people will still wait for the traditional media to pronounce with the voice of authority on matters like Manto’s death.
As for ‘ordinary citizens’ having access to new media technologies, in a country like SA, a bit more realism is needed I would think.
I’m all for Twitter’s potential to create networks etc, but there is also to romanticize it at the expense of alternative public spheres elsewhere. How did tabloids report on her death, for instance? Community radio? ‘Sidewalk radio’? Or how does Twitter interact and overlap with these other media platforms (including blogs like this one)? Its strength may lie in these intersections and amplifications rather than as an isolated platform for venting.

Sarah responds:

@Herman: You make valid points. Twitter is a useful addition to other media rather than a replacement. Nonetheless, what marks it out as different is a) the fact that those participating in the debate are from a variety of media sources (how often do you get 5FM DJs and newspaper editors in the same forum?). This is rare in SA, where other fora are hosted by a particular media owner. Also, participants do reflect a fairly broad variety of backgrounds. Importantly, Twitter is very easy to use on a cellphone, which gives it huge potential in a country where access to PCs is limited.

Ivo Vegter argues that Twitter is more like casual conversation and less like publishing:

However, there are two issues here. One is that Twitter is more like casual conversation, and less like publishing. Even journalists tend to say things on Twitter that they probably wouldn’t publish. All the more so for the majority of users, who don’t make that distinction at all. The comments you hear on Twitter are no different from comments you would have heard in the pub or at the taxi rank.

She was known as Dr. Beetroot because of promoting the benefits of beetroot, garlic, lemons, and African potatoes in the fight against AIDS.

It is for these reasons that she never ceased to be a favourite topic in the mainstream media and indeed the blogosphere. Even Global Voices Online has seen her name in its headlines, twice.

Her death has sparked comments in the blogosphere but the responses on Twitter to her death have garnered more attention.

Some Twitter Responses To Manto's Death

@charliehuman: don't think ‘cultural tradition' comes into speaking about Manto at all. It's not like there's a cultural monopoly on respect for the dead - Link

@aidencholes: Fact about SA's response to Manto's death: it's the whites who are happy she is dead - Link

@hayibo: More than 300,000 unable to forgive Manto - because they are already dead after being refused ARV's. http://tinyurl.com/y9eq8m2

@ne3tz: Who gives a shit about manto?Now ppl want to respect her cos she's dead? reminds me of when MJ was alive n ppl hated him, then respected him - Link

Blog posts around Manto's Death
Stuff posted a picture in a tribute to the health minister with no adjoining explanation so it could mean anything you want it to…

Democratic Capitalist has this to say on Manto…:

Its amazing how when somebody dies all of her supporters suddenly can think of all the good things she did for society. The reality is that her policies around HIV / AIDs cost hundreds of thousands of lives and have been one of the largest post-apartheid social injustices perpetuated on South Africans.

She is not a hero and should not be treated as one. She was out of her depth from the time she was appointed health minister and her refusal to acknowledge her short-comings meant that many other people suffered.

For those jumping out to defend her, just clarify whether you are doing it as a way of taking advantage of some easy PR or whether you truly believed she offered a lot.

Its interesting to note that according to a poll on News24 - 93% of recipients believe she will be remembered for her failure to tackle HIV in South Africa.

Betty Noire has a lot to say not so much on Manto but on her replacement in the Health Ministry:

One would have thought that it is impossible to achieve a more insane appointment than Manto Tshabalala-Msimang in the national health portfolio. Turns out, not.

What is Aaron Motsoaledi thinking? And WHERE does he find the time to produce draft regulations LEGISLATING THE AMOUNT OF CAFFEINE IN DECAFFEINATED COFFEE? Proposed legislation would, apparently, make it mandatory for ground decaf coffee to contain “not less than 0.12 percent caffeine”.

…WHY?

This question rang in my head, like a crazy bell, the moment I heard Jenny CW mention it on 702 at lunch time. And then I read the story in the Star when I stopped at Vida for a take-away between Atlas Studios and Interbrand Sampson. And then I googled it when I got home tonight. And nobody, NOBODY has provided an answer. Is this an international standard? Does Illy’s water-method decaf actually contain that much caffeine anyway? You would THINK that any journalist worth their salt (WE ARE SO DEVOID, IT WOULD SEEM) would ask WHY?

WHY? WHY? (It’s on the front page of the biggest daily broadsheet in the country. You would hope that the story would get more attention than a 5 minute edit by a junior sub.)

How can this possibly be important in a country where the doctors are either on strike or filling in work application forms for Canada, where the public hospitals are a disgrace, where no working strategy for dealing with HIV and Aids have been put in place and where the concept of primary health care is, well, like… prenatal.

AND WHY?

An adjoining story which garnered far more attention was Radio Presenter Gareth Cliff's response to her death and the subsequent fallout. Upon hearing about Manto's death, Gareth wrote on his Twitter page:

Manto is dead. Good. A selfish and wicked bungler of the lowest order. Rotten attitude and rancid livers — all 3 of them …

Radio Review covers off Gareth Cliff's Twitter postings…:

I see Gareth Cliff from 5FM is taking some flak in the Twitterverse (big whoop) and the media about some comments he made about former health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
A couple of his “Tweets” included:
“That woman – Manto – and her policies on AIDS sent many thousands of people to their graves early. She added no value to SA”
“Why do people think the dead deserve respect? They’re dead. Even the law is unequivocal: dead people have no rights”
“Manto is dead. Good. A selfish and wicked bungler of the lowest order. Rotten attitude and rancid livers – all 3 of them… “
Personally I think he is just saying what other people were thinking. I find it amazing that everybody is suddenly jumping to Mantos defence when they were happy to kick her when she was making stupid policies…

Other Twitter posts around the same subject (there are, ofcourse, many more)…

@GarethCliff: Relieved about Manto. I was worried she'd finish all our Phuza before 2010 - Link

@steenbras: Not really @garethcliff's greatest fan, but nothing wrong with what he said about Manto. Wholeheartedly agree. - Link

@bregre: i agree with gareth cliff, screw manto, dead or alive. What kimd of cretin ups herself on the donor list, then dies, and then everyone actl - Link

@tsa_london: “Manto is dead. Good, ” tweeted shock-jock Gareth Cliff. Should he be fired? http://bit.ly/6O3bkb - Link

@6000: @garethcliff on his Manto tweet http://bit.ly/7FO5w7 < - misses the point. You don't HAVE to vocalise every feeling, control yourself! - Link

From Democratic Capitalist…

It has been interesting today to watch the media fall-out today from the death of former health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

Of course without fail, the ANC Youth League has jumped on the band-wagon and hammered radio presenter Gareth Cliff for his “tweets” which many described as thoughtless / careless / inappropriate.

Appropriateness of the tweet? Who knows who cares?

And Gareth Cliff's own rebuttal on his blog in his post “Much Ado About Manto!”

I am astounded by the emotional overreaction of a group of people over my comments about the death of Former Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

My opinion of her in life was not a particularly favourable one and I am sure she might have thought the same of me - but this is of no import. Now that she is dead, it would appear I am required to put up the pretence that I am sad for it. I'm afraid I can't be quite so pious.

To her family: Losing a mother, grandmother or relative is a horrible experience. You have my sympathy - on a human level - but you can take heart from all the notables paying their respects. I doubt mine would matter.

Minister Tshabalala-Msimang presided over the most disastrous policy decisions in South African medical history. While Minister she resolutely refused to accept the wide scientific consensus on the links between HIV and AIDS and brooked not a stitch of opposition to her refusal to provide anti-retroviral medication to, among others, pregnant women suffering from AIDS. Her tendency to accept the theories of widely discredited quacks like Matthias Raath and the unquestioning support of her boss, Thabo Mbeki, further distanced her from the people she was appointed to help.

An Open Letter to Gareth Cliff from Tumi:

Dear Gareth Rhydal Cliff,

I don’t follow you on twitter, I don’t listen to your radio show, I have never tried to watch your talk show and I can’t ignore you on Idols, I try. I am not a fair man, but if I were, I would say you make valid layman critiques of people’s talents or lack thereof. I would say you are a successful and loveable South African personality worth all the attention and endorsements you get. But I am not saying that. Oh no, I am saying you are an idiot.

The death of South Africa’s former Health Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has brought the worst out of you. I heard/read of her death through a tweet of yours retweeted by someone I follow.

Should Gareth Cliff be Fired?, wonders South Africa's YouTube celebrity Khaya Dlanga:

We have long tolerated Gareth Cliff, earlier this year when Mike Tyson’s four-year-old daughter died, he wrote on twitter that he couldn’t believe that people were mourning the death of a member of the Tyson household. Of course we will not dishonour his death by saying the things he said about others when his time comes.

A gentleman by the name Clive Simkins then defended Gareth and said to me, “Truth must always triumph over ‘compassion’ or we live a lie”. Truth and compassion are not contradictory virtues. One can be truthful and compassionate at the same time. Just as one can be truthful and still be merciful towards Manto, no matter how angry one is at the policy she had to push. Mercy means ceasing to hate. What is the point of hating a dead person? What makes us human and makes us better than who we are is forgiving the unforgivable. This is why so many hold Nelson Mandela in such high regard. As La Rochefoucauld once said, “We forgive so long as we love”. Much anger I sense, anger leads to the dark side Gareth, I’m sure Master Yoda would have said that to you.

Recent speculation said that Gareth Cliff got suspended for his comments, however this was rejected by Gareth himself…

@GarethCliff: Nobody has been suspended. Again, unless you hear it from me, it's bulls*%t. G - Link

Overall, the main element which stands out from this event is the power of Twitter and Social Media and its effect on mainstream media and politics. There are many examples worldwide of similar effects and politicians and celebrities would be wise to heed the warning and think before they tweet.