Year in review: Stories that moved South Africans in 2022

With yet another year coming to a close, let’s be clear and direct; 2022 has been a very turbulent and eventful year across the world, whether it’s politics, sports, crime, or even popular celebrities hitting the headlines for one reason or the other.

From the death of Queen Elizabeth II to the “almost” resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa, it has kept us all on our toes, but we have also shared some pretty interesting insights on other categories within the country.

So, before looking ahead to 2023, let’s take a moment to reflect on 2022 and some of The Citizen’s stories that rocked SA for me and by me.

-Violence against foreign nationals in SA shows Africa needs lesson on black history

Following a trip to the Kruger National Park where I witnessed the return of land to Chief Tongogara’s descendants, also known as the Bakgalaka tribe, which in return hit home.

SANParks officially handed over the sacred Mount Tshikumbu which is located on the northern section of the park, where Bakgalaka moved from the south of Zimbabwe, in the Masvingo area, to the area between the Olifants and Letaba Rivers in 1658 and its surrounding areas.

Apart from the tears it brought my family, I was surprised by the positive feedback it received from people on social media and elderly people from Ga-Rankuwa, north of Pretoria, and other areas who were happy that such stories that resonate with them were finally told.

ALSO READ: Video and Pics: Sacred mountain in the Kruger Park gets handed back to the Bakgalaka

-Street beggars ‘rent kids’ for just R100 a day.

What started as just a conversation in the taxi, ended up as my first investigative piece and the reason why I chose journalism as a career.

This quickly became one of my best, favourite and tongue-wagging stories, which was also republished by other news sites.

Although it highlighted an extreme side of poverty, it also highlighted what has been a debate for the longest time that young South Africans do not want to work, but in hindsight do not want to be robbed.

RELATED READ: Sympathy for rent: Syndicate distributing ‘street kids’ for just R100 a day

Political plot twists

With political plot twists keeping us on the edge of our seats this year, I’m glad one of my human interest stories still found a way to make our hearts race and force us to have tough conversations as a country.

Activist Eman Safadi promotes women’s rights in Israel’s conservative communities. But not everything was terrible, as a guest in Israel of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies, I met a young lady who inspired me to not only chase headlines but to also write for change.

During her presentation she mentioned something that stayed with me till this day; “As a journalist I wanted to do transformative journalism, a form of journalism that will not only shake those in power but one that will bring change to those who need it the most.”

And from then on that became my definition of journalism, to always leave the situation turned around before moving onto the next, and while that will not change in a day, it should definitely bring some form of change to people’s lives.

If there’s one thing we’ve all felt this year it’s the cost of everything going up, and while I did not agree with what the experts in my story said, they are called experts for a reason.

With that being said this has to be at the bottom of my list and not only because I came under heavy attack on Twitter but rather because it lacked a voice of public servants who bear the brunt and maybe even put pressure on the bad guys.

So in looking back over a tumultuous 2022 and forward to 2023, all that remains for me to do is to wish everyone a peaceful and happy new year.

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