It's been several weeks since the coup that wasn't in Lesotho, yet there's been little progress in unravelling the tense political stand-off there. This comes despite the best efforts of President Zuma and his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, who have both invested plenty of time and diplomatic capital in efforts to find a solution. SA's influence only stretches so far, apparently.

Under the slogan "Sidikewe! Vukani! Vote no!" (We've had enough! Wake up! Vote no!), more than one hundred veterans of South Africa's ruling party are calling for citizens to protest at the ballot box. Former government ministers are leading the campaign, accusing President Jacob Zuma and ANC leaders of corruption and complacency. 

When South African President Jacob Zuma stood at the microphone before a sea of mourners, the first notes of his unexpected song for liberation hero Nelson Mandela were lonely and poignant. But the magic of the answering harmony of the mourners rose under a soaring, domed black ceiling that looked something like a night sky.

Malawi became the butt of some gentle humor at Nelson Mandela's funeral Sunday, in the wake of South African President Jacob Zuma's recent gaffe implying the small African nation was backward. Zuma triggered a diplomatic spat in October during a speech when he sought to persuade South African motorists to accept a highway toll plan around Johannesburg.

South Africa has generally had strong relations with Zimbabwe, but some say a last week's hiccup over criticism of election preparations reveals the diplomatic fine line the southern African nations walk. Last week, Lindiwe Zulu, a top international advisor to South African President Jacob Zuma, voiced concern that Zimbabwe was not well-prepared for the July 31 election, saying Zuma had spoken to Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe by phone about the matter.

We all reserve a special place in our hearts for Nelson Mandela. Many salute the gallant efforts of Thabo Mbeki to use soft power in influencing Africa’s renewal through the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) and the related peer review mechanism.

President Jacob Zuma has appointed leading businesswoman Charlotte Chichi Maponya as the new chairperson of Brand SA. Maponya takes over from Anitha Soni, who has chaired the board since 2009. Supersport CEO Happy Ntshingila has, meanwhile, been appointed as deputy chairperson to the Board of Trustees of Brand SA, formerly known as the International Marketing Council.

By May, A.U. diplomats had succeeded in convincing Qaddafi to sit out any new regime in liberated Libya — a fact little known in the West — but they failed to implement the roadmap fully. Their very decent proposal was lost to South Africa’s communication failures and poor public diplomacy.