Pierre de Vos
@pierredevos.bsky.social
Claude Leon Foundation Chair in Constitutional Governance at UCT and author of the Blog, Constitutionally Speaking. I am not a journalist. Hopeful that everyone on this app will read before commenting.
Pinned
Pierre de Vos
@pierredevos.bsky.social
· Jan 31
An article I co-authored with Nomfundo Ramalekana on Rafoneke v Minister of Justice (arguably the worst judgement ever handed down by the Constitutional Court) has just been published. It's open access and can be accessed here: journals.co.za/doi/epdf/10....
Public Statement: The Selection Committee for the South African Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, 2026. “The termination of the project proposed for the South African Pavilion constitutes an abuse of executive authority.” artthrob.co.za/2026/01/08/p...
artthrob.co.za
January 13, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Public Statement: The Selection Committee for the South African Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, 2026. “The termination of the project proposed for the South African Pavilion constitutes an abuse of executive authority.” artthrob.co.za/2026/01/08/p...
Reposted by Pierre de Vos
No comment necessary: "I cannot be party to silencing writers so, with a heavy heart, I am resigning from my role as the director of the AWW.... Friends and colleagues in the arts, beware of the future. They are coming for you." Louise Adler www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I cannot be party to silencing writers, which is why I am resigning as director of Adelaide Writers’ Week | Louise Adler
Cancelling the Australian Palestinian author Randa Abdel-Fattah weakens freedom of speech and is the harbinger of a less free nation
www.theguardian.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:58 AM
No comment necessary: "I cannot be party to silencing writers so, with a heavy heart, I am resigning from my role as the director of the AWW.... Friends and colleagues in the arts, beware of the future. They are coming for you." Louise Adler www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
‘Act of family vengeance’: French defamation case highlights perils of writing autofiction. Complaint against Cécile Desprairies over Nazi collusion novel alleges that ‘resentment permeates the entire work’ www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
‘Act of family vengeance’: French defamation case highlights perils of writing autofiction
Complaint against Cécile Desprairies over Nazi collusion novel alleges that ‘resentment permeates the entire work’
www.theguardian.com
January 12, 2026 at 10:35 AM
‘Act of family vengeance’: French defamation case highlights perils of writing autofiction. Complaint against Cécile Desprairies over Nazi collusion novel alleges that ‘resentment permeates the entire work’ www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Patients wait four hours for an ambulance in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Rural hospitals’ allocated ambulances park 130 to 150km away.
groundup.org.za/article/ambu...
groundup.org.za/article/ambu...
Patients wait four hours for an ambulance in rural KwaZulu-Natal
Rural hospitals’ allocated ambulances park 130 to 150km away
groundup.org.za
January 12, 2026 at 8:32 AM
Patients wait four hours for an ambulance in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Rural hospitals’ allocated ambulances park 130 to 150km away.
groundup.org.za/article/ambu...
groundup.org.za/article/ambu...
Gayton McKenzie pulls the plug on SA’s Venice Biennale submission because it alludes to Gaza genocide www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...
Gayton McKenzie pulls the plug on SA’s Venice Biennale submission because it alludes to Gaza genocide
Gayton McKenzie, South Africa's Arts Minister, cancelled a Venice Biennale artwork addressing Gaza's violence, invoking censorship concerns and risking the nation's participation. The decision sparked...
www.dailymaverick.co.za
January 12, 2026 at 3:08 AM
Gayton McKenzie pulls the plug on SA’s Venice Biennale submission because it alludes to Gaza genocide www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...
Reposted by Pierre de Vos
‘Suddenly the inner thoughts of power are projected onto the screen in everyone’s hand – all the drivelling banalities, the selfishness, the contempt for others, the lack of interest in anything the world has to offer except personal gain.’
T.J. Clark on Trump.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
T.J. Clark on Trump.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
T.J. Clark · The Job
What would politics be like in an age where one empire continued to hold sway over the ‘international community’, as...
www.lrb.co.uk
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 PM
‘Suddenly the inner thoughts of power are projected onto the screen in everyone’s hand – all the drivelling banalities, the selfishness, the contempt for others, the lack of interest in anything the world has to offer except personal gain.’
T.J. Clark on Trump.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
T.J. Clark on Trump.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Under a barrage of lies about Afrikaners, here’s the truth about proud and resilient South Africans. Amid dis- and malinformation, the majority of South Africa’s beautiful people have decided to improve and build and reimagine our broken country together. www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/...
Under a barrage of lies about Afrikaners, here’s the truth about proud and resilient South Africans | Daily Maverick
Amid dis- and malinformation, the majority of South Africa’s beautiful people have decided to improve and build and reimagine our broken country together.
www.dailymaverick.co.za
December 12, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Under a barrage of lies about Afrikaners, here’s the truth about proud and resilient South Africans. Amid dis- and malinformation, the majority of South Africa’s beautiful people have decided to improve and build and reimagine our broken country together. www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/...
🔒MK Party councillor among key suspects named in R161 million UIF fraud scandal www.news24.com/southafrica/...
MK Party councillor among key suspects named in R161 million UIF fraud scandal | News24
An uMkhonto weSizwe Party councillor in KwaZulu-Natal has emerged as one of the central figures in a sophisticated syndicate accused of stealing approximately R161 million from the Unemployment Insura...
www.news24.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:30 PM
🔒MK Party councillor among key suspects named in R161 million UIF fraud scandal www.news24.com/southafrica/...
All of the deadly US strikes on alleged drug boats are murders. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
All of the suspected drug boat killings are murders | Kenneth Roth
There is no rule of law if the president can deem anyone an enemy combatant and order them summarily shot
www.theguardian.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:14 AM
All of the deadly US strikes on alleged drug boats are murders. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Pints and powerpoints: From IMF history to astrophysics, Nairobi’s Drunken Lectures turn casual drinkers into an engaged public. africasacountry.com/2025/12/pint...
Pints and powerpoints
From IMF history to astrophysics, Nairobi’s Drunken Lectures turn casual drinkers into an engaged public.
africasacountry.com
December 10, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Pints and powerpoints: From IMF history to astrophysics, Nairobi’s Drunken Lectures turn casual drinkers into an engaged public. africasacountry.com/2025/12/pint...
Calibri is very ugly though. And Times Roman is rather dull…..
At State Dept., a Typeface Falls Victim in the War Against Woke. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...
At State Dept., a Typeface Falls Victim in the War Against Woke. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...
At State Dept., a Typeface Falls Victim in the War Against Woke
www.nytimes.com
December 10, 2025 at 5:30 AM
Calibri is very ugly though. And Times Roman is rather dull…..
At State Dept., a Typeface Falls Victim in the War Against Woke. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...
At State Dept., a Typeface Falls Victim in the War Against Woke. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...
The Man Reweaving South Africa’s Story. Laduma Ngxokolo, the designer behind MaXhosa Africa, is on a mission to embrace his country’s history and traditions, rather than hide from them. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/s...
The Man Reweaving South Africa’s Story
www.nytimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 6:46 PM
The Man Reweaving South Africa’s Story. Laduma Ngxokolo, the designer behind MaXhosa Africa, is on a mission to embrace his country’s history and traditions, rather than hide from them. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/s...
🔒Paul Mashatile refused to answer questions about his relationship with alleged fraudster Louis Liebenberg, who gifted his wife a diamond. www.news24.com/politics/dod...
Dodging Paul sidesteps questions about Louis Liebenberg, travels | News24
Deputy President Paul Mashatile refused to answer the DA’s questions about his relationship with alleged fraudster Louis Liebenberg, who gifted his wife a diamond, and ActionSA’s question about his tr...
www.news24.com
December 9, 2025 at 3:52 AM
🔒Paul Mashatile refused to answer questions about his relationship with alleged fraudster Louis Liebenberg, who gifted his wife a diamond. www.news24.com/politics/dod...
🔒Adriaan Basson | Chess moves are made in ANC, DA succession battles www.news24.com/opinions/col...
Adriaan Basson | Chess moves are made in ANC, DA succession battles | News24
Who is lining up to replace Ramaphosa and Steenhuisen? The hands are becoming clearer, writes Adriaan Basson.
www.news24.com
December 9, 2025 at 3:48 AM
🔒Adriaan Basson | Chess moves are made in ANC, DA succession battles www.news24.com/opinions/col...
🔒NDPP hopeful Simelane cries victim, blames Mbeki, Ginwala, Mabandla in disbarment battle www.news24.com/southafrica/...
NDPP hopeful Simelane cries victim, blames Mbeki, Ginwala, Mabandla in disbarment battle | News24
National Director of Public Prosecutions candidate Menzi Simelane has accused the Johannesburg Society of Advocates of seeking to have him disbarred – eight years after he was found not to be “fit and...
www.news24.com
December 9, 2025 at 3:44 AM
🔒NDPP hopeful Simelane cries victim, blames Mbeki, Ginwala, Mabandla in disbarment battle www.news24.com/southafrica/...
Dr Nomfundo Ramalekana & Dr Jonty Cogger: Why the DA’s proposed race-neutral Public Procurement Amendment Bill misses the point www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/...
Why the DA’s proposed race-neutral Public Procurement Amendment Bill misses the point | Daily Maverick
The DA’s Bill misreads our Constitution and our social reality, and should also be seen in the context of the transnational backlash against race-conscious measures that aim to redress the legacy of w...
www.dailymaverick.co.za
December 9, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Dr Nomfundo Ramalekana & Dr Jonty Cogger: Why the DA’s proposed race-neutral Public Procurement Amendment Bill misses the point www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/...
Joburg has 4,000 insourced guards but spends R16m a month on private security, fuelling suspicions that politically connected contractors are benefiting from repeated emergency extensions – and the City refuses to comment. www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025...
Joburg has 4,000 insourced guards but spends R16m a month on private security | Daily Maverick
The City of Johannesburg spends more than R16-million every month on private security – yet break-ins, theft and vandalism have cost the City more than R182-million in just five years. Even with more ...
www.dailymaverick.co.za
December 9, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Joburg has 4,000 insourced guards but spends R16m a month on private security, fuelling suspicions that politically connected contractors are benefiting from repeated emergency extensions – and the City refuses to comment. www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025...
Police identify three ‘persons of interest’ in killing of whistleblower Marius van der Merwe www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025...
Police identify three ‘persons of interest’ in killing of whistleblower Marius van der Merwe | Daily Maverick
Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola visited the home of slain whistleblower Marius van der Merwe on Monday. Meanwhile, Ipid has confirmed its investigation into claims Van der Merwe made at the Madlan...
www.dailymaverick.co.za
December 9, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Police identify three ‘persons of interest’ in killing of whistleblower Marius van der Merwe www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025...
The stage was washed in the sort of gold lighting that flatters no one but suggests importance; and three heads of state were positioned behind color-coded podiums that looked borrowed from a daytime game show. africasacountry.com/list/campaig...
Africa Is a Country Weekend Special, Dec 8: The cup is running dry
africasacountry.com
December 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The stage was washed in the sort of gold lighting that flatters no one but suggests importance; and three heads of state were positioned behind color-coded podiums that looked borrowed from a daytime game show. africasacountry.com/list/campaig...
Vermeule resembled an American tourist rummaging through a European intellectual antiquities store, picking out a little natural law from Aquinas, some Roman materials from a dark corner; then resold the resulting bricolage under the label ‘classical’. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Jan-Werner Müller · Caesar wept: Trolling the Libs
All post-liberals have at one point or another declared themselves anti-libertarian. Why is it, then, that once in power...
www.lrb.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Vermeule resembled an American tourist rummaging through a European intellectual antiquities store, picking out a little natural law from Aquinas, some Roman materials from a dark corner; then resold the resulting bricolage under the label ‘classical’. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Kremlin hails Trump’s national security strategy as aligned with Russia’s vision. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Kremlin hails Trump’s national security strategy as aligned with Russia’s vision
Moscow welcomes White House document critical of the EU as talks to end the Ukraine war enter a key phase
www.theguardian.com
December 8, 2025 at 5:20 AM
Kremlin hails Trump’s national security strategy as aligned with Russia’s vision. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
🔒Qaanitah Hunter: The ANC: Addicted to diagnosis, allergic to treatment. Once again, the ANC finds itself trapped in a minimalistic moral framework where avoiding criminal charges is considered enough to qualify one for major leadership responsibilities. www.news24.com/opinions/col...
Qaanitah Hunter: The ANC: Addicted to diagnosis, allergic to treatment | News24
The ANC seems almost addicted to running blood tests, stepping on the scale and undergoing MRI scans to confirm what everyone else can visibly see. It commissions its own specialists, receives the dia...
www.news24.com
December 8, 2025 at 5:11 AM
🔒Qaanitah Hunter: The ANC: Addicted to diagnosis, allergic to treatment. Once again, the ANC finds itself trapped in a minimalistic moral framework where avoiding criminal charges is considered enough to qualify one for major leadership responsibilities. www.news24.com/opinions/col...
Nhlanhla Nene's sacking 10 years on — remember, remember the ninth of December www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025...
Nhlanhla Nene's sacking 10 years on — remember, remember the ninth of December | Daily Maverick
Ten years ago, former president Jacob Zuma fired Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister, marking the end of an era. There are many lessons to be drawn from that event.
www.dailymaverick.co.za
December 8, 2025 at 5:05 AM
Nhlanhla Nene's sacking 10 years on — remember, remember the ninth of December www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025...
‘Boundless love’ — Will mercenary scandal strain the bond between Zuma and Duduzile? www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025...
‘Boundless love’ — Will mercenary scandal strain the bond between Zuma and Duduzile? | Daily Maverick
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s absence at Jacob Zuma’s Arms Deal trial marks a significant shift in their longstanding father-daughter dynamic, previously anchored in unwavering support. Her retreat coincid...
www.dailymaverick.co.za
December 8, 2025 at 5:01 AM
‘Boundless love’ — Will mercenary scandal strain the bond between Zuma and Duduzile? www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025...
Despite Said’s warning, the American media continues today to fan the flames of othering hate, applying fatalistic narratives to well-documented political struggles. This is most recognizable in the framing of the Palestinian genocide. africasacountry.com/list/campaig...
Africa Is a Country Weekend Special, Dec 2: Nigeria's clash of civilizations
africasacountry.com
December 8, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Despite Said’s warning, the American media continues today to fan the flames of othering hate, applying fatalistic narratives to well-documented political struggles. This is most recognizable in the framing of the Palestinian genocide. africasacountry.com/list/campaig...