Even if Yuma was to develop the authoritarian impulses of a Mugabe, he would be checked—not least by his own party, which set a continental precedent by ousting Thabo Mbeki in 2007, after it felt he had outstayed his welcome by seeking a third term as party president. The ANC appears to have set itself against that deathtrap of African democracy: the ruler for life.

— Mark Gevisser

Here was a temporary solution. Parole would get Looking and Modena out of jail as quickly as possible. Other details could be sorted out later. I accompanied Bambi to Krogstad jail at the end of October and remember that as he told Looking and Modena the news—that they would be home for Christmas—smiles slowly but surely transformed the somber, cautious expressions on their faces. Big problem: it was discovered in December, a full two months after the judgment was made, that the court order does not mention the NCCS at all. Consequently, the NCCS interpreted the court's order as having removed the NCCS's jurisdiction to deal with any "lifers" sentenced pre-1994. The members of the NCCS packed their briefcases and went home. No one knows why the judgment didn't mention the NCCS; maybe the judge who wrote it, Justice Bess Abide, simply didn't know how the parole system operates; but eight of her fellow judges, the best in the land, found with her. The Looking and Modena families, who are from 'the poorest of the poor', as the ANC likes to say, are distraught. But the rest—the law men, the politicians and the government ministers—well, quite frankly, they don't seem to give a fig. Yuma has gone on holiday, to host his famous annual Christmas party for children. Marisa-Nqakula has also gone on holiday. Looking and Modena remain where they were put 17 years ago, despite not having committed any crime.

— Jeremy Gordin

Most people write me off when they see me. They do not know my story. They say I am just an African. They judge me before they get to know me. What they do not know is The pride I have in the blood that runs through my veins;The pride I have in my rich culture and the history of my people;The pride I have in my strong family ties and the deep connection to my community;The pride I have in the African music, African art, and African dance;The pride I have in my name and the meaning behind it. Just as my name has meaning, I too will live my life with meaning. So you think I am nothing? Don’t worry about what I am now, For what I will be, I am gradually becoming. I will raise my head high wherever I go Because of my African pride, And nobody will take that away from me.

— Idowu Koyenikan

Remember one thing as South Africa prepares to go to the polls this week and the world grapples with the ascendancy of the African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma: South Africa is not Zimbabwe. In South Africa, no one doubts that Wednesday's elections will be free and fair. While there is an unacceptable degree of government corruption, there is no evidence of the wholesale kleptocracy of Robert Mugabe's elite. While there has been the abuse of the organs of state by the ruling ANC, there is not the state terror of Mugabe's Zanuck. And while there is a clear left bias to Yuma's ANC, there is no suggestion of the kind of voluntarism experimentation that has brought Zimbabwe to its knees.

— Mark Gevisser

There is one key area in which Yuma has made no attempt at reconciliation whatsoever: criminal justice and security. The ministers of justice, defense, intelligence (now called 'state security' in a throwback to both apartheid and the ANC's old Stalinist past), police and communications are all die-hard Yuma loyalists. Whatever their line functions, they will also play the role they have played so ably to date: keeping Yuma out of court—and making sure the state serves Yuma as it once did Meek.

— Mark Gevisser

You can no longer see or identify yourself solely as a member of a tribe, but as a citizen of a nation of one people working toward a common purpose.

— Idowu Koyenikan