Shacking At SHHA
Monday, February 11, 2008
To while away time, he sparingly sips Chibuku earlier purchased from Boikarabelo's shebeen, two doors down the street.
He can see his wife, Ruth, as she darts about busy preparing supper on the family stove inside the room. Bokole, who used to sit on the bed while the wife was cooking, has long thrown in the towel dodging incessant complaints from Ruth that she is unable to perform her domestic chores effectively when he is inside the room.
Instead, it has sparked a storm of accusations, denials, and unresolved questions about the influence of De Beers on the nation’s politics. Former president Mokgweetsi Masisi’s claims that the diamond giants bankrolled his removal to dodge taxes – and that the new Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) government watered down a favourable diamond deal – are explosive matters. But without evidence, they risk becoming a toxic distraction from...