I know Dali Mpofu shouldn’t have told Pravin Gordhan and adv Michelle le Roux to “shut up” at the Zondo Commission this week. I know legal pundits are right to condemn it. But I must admit I’m glad he did it, if only because it was a welcome reminder that there are still a few corners of this country where propriety is expected.

Mpofu’s tantrum, and the response to it, provided a startling contrast to the crudity and brutality of so much of our public life. In a place where the news is an endless loop of bloody, grinding awfulness, it was an absurd relief to read that the gentlest of playground taunts was being seen as something of a scandal...