QUOTES

‘The commission notes that the number of hate speech utterances made on Twitter and other social media platforms continue to increase, which is of great concern to us. The commission is currently assessing the case. The outcome of the assessment will determine the commission's next step.’

– SA Human Rights commission spokesperson Wisani Baloyi after the South African Communist Party (SACP) pledged to lay criminal charges against activist Nicole Barlow, who posted an inflamatory tweet about former party leader Chris Hani. Barlow who was reacting to Mining Minister Gwede Mantashe attending an event in Boksburg on Saturday tweeted: “We missed an opportunity to do a Chris Hani on him.” Boksburg was the Johannesburg suburb where Hani was shot dead.

‘We must punish the traitors. We must repeal the finance Bill.’

– Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga, who has called for nationwide civil disobedience in an effort to reverse recent tax increases

‘The pandemic fund was established to address critical gaps in pandemic preparedness, especially in lower-income countries. We still do not have all of the financing tools we need to tackle the next pandemic and there are already worrying signs that the cycle of panic and neglect is repeating. The Covid-19 pandemic has been a demonstration of the intimate links between global health and the global economy. It has reminded us that when one is damaged, both suffer.’

– WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who thanked President Cyril Ramaphosa for South Africa’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the New Global Financing Pact Summit in Paris, Ramaphosa criticised developed countries for using their buying power to stockpile Covid-19 vaccines in 2020, thereby leaving African countries with little.

‘Today I stand before you. Today, as your king and as a member of the government, I make this apology myself. And I feel the weight of the words in my heart and my soul,’ said the king,

– Dutch King Willem-Alexander on Saturday apologised for the Netherlands’ historical involvement in slavery and the effects it still has today.

‘Minister Pandor, South Africa's voice is heard in the world. When the country of Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu speaks out against injustices, the world listens.’

– German Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock, in a diplomatic visit to South Africa, who told her South African counterpart Naledi Pandor that Russia is trampling on the world's peaceful existence with its brutal war crimes in Ukraine