Publications
Partners
Despite a lot of good news this year, there have been many incidents that dampened the shine of 2015. But it’s not all bad – here’s what’s happened this year – just in case you forgot.
• At the State of the Nation Address (SONA) chaos erupted again at Parliament when a jamming device disrupted the network, cutting off all cellphone reception and angering journalists who were reporting during the start of the proceedings. Then, the EFF’s Secretary General, Godrich Gardee, interrupted the President’s speech by asking when he is going to pay back the money for Nkandla.
That’s when security officials removed the EFF by force, while the ANC MPs and Jacob Zuma looked on. Soon after the removal of the EFF, other parties protested the violence, which resulted in the DA and Agang leaving the chamber. Throughout this brawl, the national broadcaster SABC censored and cut off the live feed from the chambers, so viewers could not witness the chaos.
• Comedy Central announced after the retirement of Jon Stewart that South African comedian Trevor Noah would be next in line to take over The Daily Show.
Noah received a lot of criticism and backlash over old tweets and having no knowledge of American politics, however he started his first show in September and seems to be doing a pretty great job.
• The Cape Fire that lasted over a week and spread from Muizenberg to Tokai. A total of 500 people were evacuated from their homes and the operation had about 2000 people and 26 aircrafts helping to finally extinguish the fire nine days later.
• The #RhodesMustFall protest movement from students of the University of Cape Town (UCT) for the removal of the statue of Cecil John Rhodes gained massive headlines in March. UCT students campaigned for the removal of the statue, as Rhodes was seen as a symbol of racism and white supremacy. The statue was vandalised and was subsequently removed on the 9th of April.
Image: Gallo
• The world’s biggest sport federation, FIFA, was involved in a corruption scandal, which had five officials pleading guilty with 17 accused. According to Sport24, the officials were suspected of allegedly accepting bribery in exchange for media and marketing rights for competitions in the United States and Central America.
SA Sports Minister, Fikile Mbalula denied bribing the officials although admitted that SA paid $10 million legitimately to promote Caribbean football in 2008, however the US prosecutors are investigating if this was a bribe for South Africa getting the bid to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The investigation is still ongoing.
• The United States of America took a brilliant step by legalising same-sex marriage in all 50 states on 26th of June.
Image: Getty
• Billionaire and business tycoon Donald Trump announced in June that he will run for the 2016 presidential election. The Republican candidate has since been making headlines for all the wrong reasons, despite being a front-runner.
• Caitlyn Jenner took an inspirational leap by publically announcing her transition to the world in July after appearing on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. Caitlyn’s brave transition received a mixed, but mainly positive reaction from the general public and media. Jenner was named Glamour’s Women of the Year and received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs.
Image: Getty
• The killing of Cecil the Lion drew international media attention and sparked outrage for animal and big-game hunting. Cecil, who was Zimbabwe’s most photographed lion and was a major attraction for tourists visiting the Hwange National Park, was shot by American big-game hunter, Walter Palmer. The 15-year-old lion was skinned and had his head removed, however, since Palmer had a permit, he was not convicted of any crime.
• University students in South Africa protested against the increase of 10% on university fees for 2016. This initiated the #FeesMustFall movement, which had thousands of students across the country marching and protesting for the government to decrease tuition fees and provide free education for all.
Universities all over the country were closed for weeks, which delayed examinations. In October, Zuma announced that there will be zero increase, however many say that they will still fight for free education.
Image supplied by Imraan Christian
• In November, terrorist group ISIS launched an attack on Paris, which led to more than a hundred deaths. ISIS targeted Paris mainly due to the French government’s attack on them in Syria and Iraq, and aiding the US in the war against the Islamic group. This was the one of many terrorist attacks and killings orchestrated by them this year.
• Singer songwriter Adele came back from a four-year break and serenaded the world with her smash hit single, Hello. Her new album, 25 has sold over 5.98 million copies in its first four weeks of sales beating Taylor Swift’s 1989 album, which sold 5.7 million.
• Oscar Pistorius’s sentence of culpable homicide was overturned when he was found guilty of the murder of his late girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in December.
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which comes 10 years after the last movie in the franchise, broke box office records after reaching $1 billion in 12 days, which is now the fastest grossing film of all-time.
• Jacob Zuma embarrassed the nation by announcing three finance ministers in one week. On 9 December, Zuma removed Nhlanhla Nene and appointed David van Rooyen, a former MP and mayor as finance minister. The rand then sank to an all-time low at R16 for $1. Four days later, Zuma replaced van Rooyen with former finance minister Pravin Gordhan.
What was your most memorable event of 2015? Email us and let us know.
