Dozens protest in Malaysia against Trump nominee for US envoy
Adams, a naturalised U.S. citizen originally from Australia, has cultivated a brash social media persona, using a macho, 'alpha male' branding to weigh in on cultural issues and appeal to an audience of mainly young men.
But it is his posts harshly criticising Islam and showing support for Israel's military campaign in Gaza that has angered Muslims in Malaysia, triggering a rare protest against a foreign diplomatic appointment in the Southeast Asian country.
The outcry comes at a critical time for Malaysia, which has until August 1 to reach a trade deal with Washington to avoid a steep 25% tariff imposed on its exports to the United States.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told reporters on Friday it was too early in the process to decide on Adams' appointment but his government would give the matter due consideration.
'At the same time, we will seek to protect the good relations between Malaysia and the United States,' Anwar said, according to a recording of his remarks provided by his office to Reuters.
Demonstrators led by youth leaders from Anwar's ruling coalition submitted a memorandum of protest to the U.S. embassy in Kuala Lumpur asking for Trump to reconsider his nomination of Adams.
The memorandum cited 'divisive rhetoric' used by Adams, and characterised his postings as insensitive towards Malaysia's multi-cultural society.
Malaysia, which has a majority of mostly Muslim ethnic Malays alongside significant ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indian minorities, has long been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause.
'An ambassador's task is to be the bridge between two countries and we don't want that person to be someone who destroys that bridge instead,' said Muhammad Izuan Ahmad Kasim, a member of Anwar's People's Justice Party.
The embassy and Adams' office did not respond to requests for comment.
The protestors also called on Malaysia's government to exercise its right under international norms to reject Adams' proposed appointment.
Under the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, host countries have discretion to accept or reject ambassadorial appointments without having to provide a reason.
Government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said on Tuesday the cabinet had not yet received any formal notice of Adams' appointment to Malaysia.
Adams' nomination has not yet been approved, but he is widely expected to be confirmed by the Republican-held U.S. Senate.
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IOL News
3 hours ago
- IOL News
South African Lens: Pakistan's Divorce Laws Leave Women in Financial Limbo
As it stands, Pakistan follows a model where property remains separate unless jointly titled—regardless of a woman's unpaid contributions to the household or her support for her husband's career. This issue has been spotlighted in Pakistan's courts. Image: Supplied In many societies, divorce is not just a personal rupture but a financial reckoning — especially for women. This is starkly true in Pakistan, where the legal system fails to recognise a woman's right to marital property, often leaving divorced wives with little more than the clothes on their backs. For South Africans watching global gender justice trends, Pakistan's legal landscape raises urgent questions about how tradition, law and social norms can entrench inequality in the private sphere. Despite Islam's emphasis on justice and the protection of the vulnerable, Pakistani women who exit a marriage often do so without any claim to assets acquired during the relationship. This is because Pakistan does not currently have legislation that guarantees women a share in property accumulated while married. As it stands, the country follows a model where property remains separate unless jointly titled, regardless of a woman's unpaid contributions to the household or her support for her husband's career. This issue has been spotlighted in Pakistan's courts. The Lahore High Court recently instructed the federal government to consult on a proposed amendment to the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance of 1961. The amendment, initially brought forward by Senator Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, introduces terms such as 'matrimonial asset' and seeks to give women fairer recognition of their contributions. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The court's intervention may become a turning point, as public discourse grows around the injustice of women leaving long marriages with nothing, despite having raised children, run households and sacrificed careers. To understand the impact, it helps to look beyond Pakistan's borders. Countries such as Turkey, Malaysia and Morocco — Muslim-majority states like Pakistan—have adopted laws that balance Islamic principles with modern family realities. In Turkey, marital assets are presumed to be jointly owned unless otherwise agreed. Malaysia takes both financial and non-financial contributions into account when dividing property. Morocco's Family Code permits couples to decide beforehand how to share property, with the law recognising joint management during the marriage. These countries demonstrate that religious values and women's rights need not be in conflict. Legal frameworks can uphold the dignity and equality of both spouses, particularly when marriages dissolve. Currently, Pakistan's system mirrors what legal scholars call a pure separate property regime. Under this model, property belongs only to the person who earned or acquired it. There is no assumption that marriage creates an economic partnership, and courts generally require strict proof of ownership. This often disadvantages women who have worked in the home or made indirect contributions, as they lack titles or formal income records. South Africa, by contrast, provides multiple options when couples marry, including community of property, which assumes equal ownership of assets acquired during the marriage. This legal approach acknowledges that both spouses contribute to the financial foundation of the household, even if in different ways. South African courts, when dividing property, also take into account each partner's needs, contributions and the duration of the marriage. It is a system far more aligned with the complex social reality of marriage than Pakistan's outdated laws. The cost of inaction in Pakistan is high. Women who divorce often lose access to shelter and income. Even where they have invested years in managing the home or caring for children, the law offers no recourse. Many end up dependent on their families or feel pressured into remarriage for economic survival. This perpetuates gendered cycles of poverty and limits women's agency. Pakistan has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which requires states to ensure equality in marriage and family relations, including property rights. CEDAW's guidance calls for equal access to marital assets. Other Muslim-majority countries have made strides toward compliance. Tunisia and Iran, for instance, have introduced property-sharing rules that acknowledge both partners' roles in a marriage. Pakistan, however, remains out of step. Legal reform is not only a technical matter. It is about recognising that women are equal partners in family life, deserving of financial security when that partnership ends. Amending the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance to define and protect matrimonial property would help courts provide more consistent, fair outcomes. It would also signal that Pakistan is serious about its commitments to gender equality, both to its citizens and the global community. For South Africans, watching this debate unfold is a chance to reflect on how far we have come and how far others still need to go. In a world where women's rights are constantly under pressure, the battle for fairness within the family is as important as any public policy reform. Pakistan stands at a fork in the road. One path leads to continued injustice and economic hardship for women. The other leads to fairness, dignity and the recognition of women's work — paid or unpaid—as valuable and deserving of protection. The choice, now, is in the hands of lawmakers.
IOL News
10 hours ago
- IOL News
The Dolphin Unit: A Legacy of Resistance in Apartheid South Africa
(From left) The Dolphin Unit's Iqbal Shaikh, Mohamed Ismail, Aboobaker Ismail and ANC veteran Mac Maharaj at the TRC hearings on May 7, 1998. Image: Supplied For over three decades, the remarkable story of Umkhonto we Sizwe's Special Operations Unit has remained largely untold. Formed under the direct command of ANC president Oliver Tambo and senior ANC and SACP leader Joe Slovo, this elite unit executed some of the most daring and high-profile attacks against the apartheid state in the 1980s. In this groundbreaking book by ANC and SACP activist Yunus Carrim, the history of Special Ops is brought to life through the voices of its surviving participants. This is an account of the Dolphin Unit that conducted some of MK's most successful military operations Neighbours and friends With 35 operations between 1982 and 1988 and a role in the ANC's Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK's) ordnance division from then until 1993, the Dolphin Unit was one of the longest-surviving and most successful MK units. Initially made up of Iqbal Shaikh and Mohamed Ismail, it became a one-person unit of Shaikh from 1985. Born in 1958, Shaikh was raised in Vrededorp, Johannesburg. He came from 'a typical apolitical trading family. When all the clan gathered at Granny's kitchen table, political conversations were avoided. If a topic had political undertones, the elders would shrug it off, citing how important the family business was and almost always referring to the atrocities that could befall us if the blacks took over. The Durban 1949 race riots inevitably came up, followed by the Uganda story, where Amin expelled the Indians. 'At Grandpa's two busy dress shops, where we kids came daily to meet our parents after school, we knew to greet any white customer as Goeie môre, Baas or Meisie and never to take offence at the Ja, coolie reply.' Shaikh's stepfather had a dairy delivery business. 'When I reached the gate of the houses, the incessant barking of dogs, followed by the little white kids 'Ma, die melkkoelie is hier [Mother, the milk-coolie is here]. 'We often complained to Papa about why we should address these dirty, bare-footed, little white kids with respect, whilst they called us 'coolie'. Papa would urge us to ignore them and remind us how important white customers were.' From fifteen onwards, Shaik got involved in fights, joined a gang, truanted, left school at sixteen, and found an administrative job. Vrededorp had a tradition of Congress activities. Underground ANC activist Ahmed Timol's death in detention impacted Shaikh. And when the 1976 Soweto uprising erupted, Shaikh was upset at the brutality of white policemen. He moved to Durban to live with an aunt and go back to school. At the M L Sultan Technical College, he was propelled into a student leader position. It was around the food and other conditions at the residences. Later, the sectarian and class divisions among and between Muslim, Hindi-speaking and Tamil-speaking Hindu students. His interventions helped to encourage more contact between students across the divides. When the 1980 student boycott fizzled out, Shaikh felt that the Natal Indian Congress and the parents' moderation contributed to this. Disappointed, he quit college. He returned to Johannesburg and linked up with 'Chacha' – Mohamed Ismail. Shaikh's family lived near his family. They used to play 'cowboys and crooks, hide and seek, and more'. Born in 1953, Chacha 'could see the injustice, police brutality, whites beating up black people walking in the street, and nothing happened. Mozambique became independent, and the political climate was changing. It was necessary as a Muslim and self-styled socialist to become politically active against apartheid.' Through Prema Naidoo and others, he became politically active in the Transvaal Indian Congress. Former ANC Member of Parliament Yunus Carrim narrates the untold stories of the ANC's MK Special Operations Unit. Image: Supplied Joining MK's Special Ops Shaikh threw himself into civic and political struggles in Lenasia. There was constant tension between the Black Consciousness (BC) and Congress activists. The militancy of BC activists suited Shaikh's temperament and brand of politics. But he finally opted for the 'Congressites', influenced by the politics in the Naidoo household. He increasingly felt that 'this mass politics is not for me. I want to go to the next level. It was convenient to be in mass politics and not the armed struggle because that was a harder option.' So, he approached Chacha to link him to the ANC. Chacha's brother, Aboobaker Ismail, had joined MK and would at times meet their parents in Swaziland. In September 1981, Chacha took Shaikh with them. In a hotel room, Ismail (MK: Rashid) ran a tap, switched on the television and asked them to sit away from the window. This was their first lesson in underground activity. They were trained then and on subsequent trips on urban guerrilla warfare, including the use of limpet mines and pistols. MK operatives created a hidden compartment in a Peugeot for them to transport weapons in. On their first attempt, as Shaikh and Chacha got to the border, it was 'very tense, we had sweaty palms, but you had to keep your composure. There was silence at the border, each with his thoughts. When we were barely three minutes over the border into South Africa, we erupted spontaneously into emotional yelling and handshakes. Perhaps the best high five in all my life!' They would bury the weapons in dead letter boxes (DLBs), mainly in Lenasia. 'It was backbreaking work. We weren't used to manual work. The gardeners did that. Now we had to dig up hard ground in the dark of the Highveld winter. It's work fraught with difficulties, sometimes more dangerous than hitting the target.' The Dolphin Unit Called the Dolphin Unit, they started with low-level targets in December 1982, and with experience, took on bigger targets. These included police and army offices, railway lines, electricity pylons, government buildings, the Ciskei consulate, big businesses that fired workers, a fuel depot and more*. On 10 October 1983, President PW Botha was to address a Kruger Day gathering in the Warmbaths civic centre. The unit decided to hit the civic centre and a fuel depot about a kilometre away. 'The night before the operation, on their dry run, an aggressive white man blocked a café entrance and shouted at Chacha, 'Koelie, wat doen jy hier [Coolie, what are you doing here]?' 'We passively passed by and bought our snacks for the road home. Walking back. I told Chacha you should have replied, 'Baas, ek doen niks vanaand, maar ek kom weer môre [Boss, I'm not doing anything tonight, but I'll be back tomorrow].' We laughed and returned home.' The fuel depot was damaged at about 02:20, but the limpet at the civic centre was discovered and defused. Shaikh said, 'The regime claimed that highly trained terrorists [laughter] were involved and planned to annihilate the cream of society.' In late 1986, Shaikh and Chacha went to East Germany for training. On landing, the pilot announced their names and asked them to disembark. 'What's this about? I was scared there might be [apartheid] security branch guys among the passengers.' An East German government official came onto the plane and took them away in a Mercedes, followed by a military vehicle. 'It's everything we've seen in the movies. We were very surprised …' They were trained for three months. Shaikh observed 'all the little contradictions we'd heard about in Soviet-style communism. It was demoralising.' He later said that their 'special advantage was our mobility as Indians. We were less visible as MK operatives and less detectable than our African cadres.' In crossing the South African border, 'we would weaponise our ethnicity. We used apartheid racial profiling to our advantage. By neat business attire, briefcase with brochures, bank notes, samples of a commodity, politeness at all times, and half a dozen samoosas ready on hand, nobody suspected. This was no passport to freedom, but it helped.' While helping out in the family takeaway business, it was easy for Shaikh to reconnoitre targets in the city centre. 'I often wore a toppie and kurta to disguise what I was doing. I was almost rubbing shoulders in the passageways with people linked to my targets, who would never think that I could be in MK.' He could plant limpet bombs inside buildings during work hours to go off at night, when there was nobody around. In communicating with Rashid over the phone, they would use coded words in Gujarati. Being part of a gang as a teenager and a streetfighter, as well as his instinct for challenging authority, contributed to Shaikh's success as a guerrilla. His temperament also drew him to the armed struggle. His impatience with mass struggles, the endless speech-making of leaders, the trade-offs and the failure to get more results more quickly all steered him into the armed struggle. His faith in the armed struggle drove him to be results-driven. He certainly had an adventurous, daring spirit. Shaikh's long association with Rashid and Chacha as neighbours and a shared cultural background made for a level of trust. 'Igs [Shaikh] had that X-factor,' says Farouk Farista, who worked with him in ordnance 'To have the ability to do what he did and survive takes a remarkable human being. And he did it on his own, which requires an incredible amount of tenacity. 'He thought through every single thing with incredible detail. He never took blind chances. He knew how to play it, and he was very smart about not exposing himself and not blowing his trumpet and taking credit.' Shaikh doesn't have a sense of entitlement. After 1994, he retreated from politics. He didn't seek a post in the state. I never felt owed. I didn't want anything because I did the bombings. I had no qualifications. I'm just an ordinary Fietas guy who got into the situation. * The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Epstein and the collapse of the empire
A protester sits with a sign outside Manhattan Federal Court. The Donald's reign will soon disintegrate, brought down by a Schrodinger cat called Jeffrey Epstein, which is both dead and alive at the same time. Image: Mike Segar / Reuters JEFFREY Epstein is a particularly unique individual. In his rudely interrupted yet controversial life, he has been associated with so many impactful episodes of our contemporary history that have conspiratorially, if not fortuitously, led to the occupancy of the White House by the most divisive political figure, Donald J Trump. And there is no convenient starting point. In 1975, Epstein was looking furtively at His Excellency, Al Hadji, Big Dada Idi Amin Oumee, the Conqueror of all Beasts on Land and in the Seas, at a press briefing at the United Nations (UN) saying things about the illegality of Israel's creation in 1948, the wholesale murder of Palestinians and a two-state solution. It must have been Jeffrey in the shadows of the pictures or persons who subsequently gave him and his friends the instruction to promote Zionism in France, the United States and everywhere else besides. To the question of whether or not Epstein can collapse the most violent empire in the 21st century, Epstein himself has not disagreed. He is busy spending his money in the British Virgin Islands, or so it seems. A whole $800 million has been spent from his bank account by last Friday since he was declared dead. He spends a lot of dough for a dead man, or at least for a guy who is said to have committed suicide in prison, where cameras seldom work. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ He and his Italian friends, at least those he gratuitously introduced to Trump, were selling atomic munitions to Libya. But Hillary Clinton, the war-mongering lady, angered by a beret-wearing intern having sex with her husband in the Oval Office, had to murder Gaddafi, no matter who was in the White House. And live on technicolour, the Lion of Sirte was violated with a sword, prompting her to declare chivalrously, that 'we came, we saw and murdered him' to her derisive laughter. Big Dada Idi Amin and Gaddafi were wondering, who was Jeffrey Epstein, and why was he doing all these things? Neither of them could rationally cohere his designs. They were already dead. But before Ronald Reagan could interject and give a full address on his knowledge of Epstein's machinations and Robert Maxwell, Ghislaine's father, in the entire Iran-Contra scandal, Trump couldn't wait to interrupt. His friend, Epstein and Flávio Briarote were busy organising Bunga Bunga parties for the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, with underaged girls who were trafficked from modelling agencies owned or facilitated by those implicated in the ring. But Epstein had no stomach for arms dealings in the former Soviet territories or Iran, nor was he competent in said respect, Mossad operatives claimed. Rather, he chose a somewhat unique intelligence facility. Sex for political blackmail. There was a lot of sex organised by this non-descript circle, so much of it resembling the 1926 Traumnouvelle translated into Stan Kubrick's last epic movie starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman titled Eyes Wide Shut. The plot was simplistic in its objective more than it was simple in its operandum. It is to organise sex orgies for the powerful and thereafter 'remind' them to do whatever it is that was required for the purpose. This was a powerful instrument at Epstein's disposal, as old as Methuselah. You know, Suzie Wong style! It is not certain that during his reign, Epstein had Afrforum and AWB in contemplation. But the method of his operation and the gruesome death of Eugene Terre Blanche, especially associated with targeting Zimbabwean male farm workers on his North West farm, are not dissimilar. As for Afriforum, which regularly jets into the US for consultations with Trump, Epstein's major associate and his allies or both, they may find that at the hands of acute historic analysts, their relationship with such characters will forever burden their conscience. And for those who need reminding, relying on the US is a terrible gamble. In 1975, Washington DC instructed the apartheid regime to attack Angola, turning them into a Ukraine-like facility against what they called Soviet expansionism into Africa. When misadventure turned deadly and became the most epic military defeat in modern African warfare, South Africa and all the young blood and treasure that was lost could not be replaced. Ask Elon Musk! Again, in 1988, in a secret meeting in Washington DC, apartheid South Africa was instructed to open a forward assault front in Cuito Cuanavale in Southern Angola. They lost at great cost to men and material. The US simply shrugged in exasperation and told them to surrender to the Cubans, in what is now known as the Washington Agreement. Namibia got its independence, and so did the South Africans a few years thereafter. Pity our home-bred neo-Nazis and other Ossewa Brandwag leaning Afrikaner far-right parties! Now they have been promised something even greater than Angola and Namibia by the same people. ANC Regime change! Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on apartheid! Is this thrice? But Epstein had a lot of secrets. Small wonder the billionaire who made him a billionaire, bothered about a girl called Virginia Giuffre. With all those peccadilloes lingering carelessly around, the free billions launched a brand called Victoria's Secret. Lord, mother of God, whatever Victoria were they hiding? Trump came into power with a secret. The empire had to go. He had powerful friends to help him out, Epstein and Netanyahu. It is possible to imagine that these two were obsessed with sex, or Monica Lewinsky for that matter. But so many things point to the contrary, however. Probably JP Morgan as a bank and Ehud Barack, former Prime Minister of Israel and former Israeli Defence Minister, or most of the billionaires who entrusted their money to Epstein, had no inclination towards the secrets of the undergarment. This may be the reason for Kash Patel, the CIA head, to declare that there is no Epstein list. Patel may be responding to a different enquiry. Sad though that hitherto, nobody had let him into the secret yet. Whitney Webb has the list. The quintessential question is which one? But in the terrifying circumlocution of the scandal and the preoccupation of the White House to arrest Barack Hussein Obama, Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, cannot find Whitney's phone numbers. Yet, Epstein, dead or cash lavishly alive, speaks with a voice of the dead. He is beyond the reach of mortals and speaks with impunity. When Jean Luc Brunel got arrested for Epstein-related crimes, he too is said to have committed suicide, much the same way the New York Post came with the scoop of Epstein pics on his deathbed. Have pity for the New York Post. If they had the scoop on Epstein's death, they are struggling to come up with the scoop on Epstein's funeral. Trump is worried, however. And President Emmanuel Macron of France knows it. For reasons which Candace Owens has shared with the world, Trump knows what Macron is worried about. Trump wants the Epstein story to go away. And Macron, for his part, wants the Candace story to go away, also. Both men are convinced that filing litigation, meritoriously or otherwise, may yield miraculous results. After meeting at the White House, Trump announced on Truth Social that he will be suing the Wall Street Journal. And Macron, in his irritation, serves legal notice against Candace Owens from the state of Delaware. But that is just the quid. The pro quo is a whole 'nother story. Both leaders may win if they were to somehow skip the pre-trial discovery obligation. Court process or not, both leaders imagine that no court will compel them to reveal facts material to the facts in issue, especially because they are world leaders. And there is a reason why. Discovery will undress both Trump and Mrs Macron. That's a lot of balls, one would imagine. Simply, it would be ugly. South Africans keep wondering, however, what Epstein told Donald Trump about them? No matter the gods, South Africans pray too, whether the real ones or the ones referring to some Palestinian fellow of immaculate conception, the sanctions are coming. Harsh. Deep. And escalatory. First, President Cyril Ramaphosa and his top six in the people's liberation movement may be targeted. So would be Julius Sello Malema. They would be barred from going anywhere, also. This would include all the places where uncle Johan Rupert would not be able to negotiate their entry without them being arrested. The only hope is that Jacob G Zuma would not be included on this targeted sanctions list, especially if Israel's proxy, Morocco, would seek his absolution from the Donald on his behalf. The Nigerian senators, for their part, are wondering in silence. They were probably right all along that there are hundreds of offshore accounts hosting laundered proceeds from MTN operations in Nigeria. Eric Holder, former US Attorney General under President Barack Obama, convinced them otherwise. So did Muhammadu Buhari. May His Soul Rest in Peace. Epstein knows about all that laundered money in all those offshore accounts, but so does the CIA. The sooner such money moves and the accounts are closed, the better! The South African story keeps unfolding. The Donald's reign will soon disintegrate, brought down by a Schrodinger cat called Jeffrey Epstein, which is both dead and alive at the same time. The South African neo nazis and their leaders in the GNU will meet their ultimate US betrayal. The only victors who will savour the taste of triumph will be the South African people. * Ambassador Bheki Gila is a Barrister-at-Law. ** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, Independent Media, or IOL. Get the real story on the go: Follow the Sunday Independent on WhatsApp.
