Accused in Masiphumelele mob justice murder gets bail

Hundreds of Masiphumelele residents sang outside Simon’s Town Magistrates’ Court at the bail hearing of community activist Lubabalo Vellem.

Thembela Ntongana

News | 2 November 2015

Dispute over who represents students at UWC

On Monday, a group of about 300 protesters at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) continued their call for free education, an end to outsourcing, scrapping registration fees, clearing student debt, and the incorporation into the institution of Kovacs private residence on the UWC campus.

Ashleigh Furlong and GroundUp staff

News | 2 November 2015

Essential TB medicine: is it back in stock?

On 5 October, GroundUp reported that the pharmaceutical company Sandoz had stopped supplying an essential medicine for treating tuberculosis (TB) to South Africa.

GroundUp Staff

Brief | 2 November 2015

Bellville Home Affairs door closed to refugees

Refugees and organisations working with them in the Western Cape say they were not informed with adequate time nor consulted by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) about the closure of its Bellville office for refugee travel and applications for identity documents.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 2 November 2015

The toilet collectors

News | 2 November 2015

Masiphumelele on edge as community leader appears in court

The Masiphumelele man who is accused of murder, attempted murder, assault with attempt to do grievous bodily harm, and public violence appeared in the Simon's Town Magistrates' Court this morning for his bail application. The matter was held over to 2 November.

Ashleigh Furlong

News | 30 October 2015

Make Grahamstown a better place for all, say protesters

About 100 people gathered in front of the Grahamstown City Hall to protest against the xenophobic violence that has hit the town and surrounding townships for more than a week.

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News | 30 October 2015

Fired newspaper employee wins settlement award

Bongani Fani, the newspaper deliveryman dismissed by Independent Newspapers, has accepted an award of R34,000 (the equivalent of three-months gross pay) after a hearing at the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). It took seven months to reach the settlement for an amount slightly less than the R40,000 his lawyer had asked for.

Bernard Chiguvare

News | 30 October 2015

Do what you believe is the right thing, 1980s activist tells students

Activists are always in a minority, 1980s student leader Llewellyn MacMaster told students in Cape Town last night.

GroundUp Staff

News | 30 October 2015

Protesters at Walter Sisulu University demand reinstatement of expelled students

Police used stun grenade and spray guns to disperse a group of about 300 Walter Sisulu University (WSU) students who intended to block Oxford Road with burning tyres.

Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik

Brief | 29 October 2015

Students march to parliament

A few hundred students and workers from the University of Cape Town (UCT) marched to parliament this afternoon demanding an end to outsourcing at all universities, protesting against police brutality, and calling for free education.

Ashleigh Furlong

News | 29 October 2015

Masiphumelele parents want kids back in schools

On Wednesday, over 300 parents of children going to Masiphumelele High School and Ukhanyo Primary School attended a meeting organised by student governing bodies (SGB) of both schools and the Masiphumelele Youth Development Forum to discuss a way forward to make sure children do not miss any more schools days due to protests.

Thembela Ntongana

Brief | 29 October 2015

The great escape: Young women of the Flats in the clutches of gangs

“Every time they go murder somebody, the guns come to me, I clean it and I load it again,” says 21-year-old Shireen. “Yoh! … If you’re on drugs, you catch on to all the stuff, man. You’re not the same.”

Anne Gonschorek

Feature | 29 October 2015

Women living in terror plan march in Grahamstown

In the blistering hot conference room of the Masifunde Education and Development Project Trust, 14 women with determined calm put together a statement: 'The police have told us that we must not go ahead with our planned protest at the City Hall on Friday as they cannot guarantee our safety. We cannot and will not back down'. The Voices of the Foreigner’s Wives represent a large number of women still too afraid to leave their homes after the spate of xenophobic violence that shook Grahamstown a week ago.

Hancu Louw

News | 29 October 2015

UCT commits to “insourcing” - and other reports from the #FeesMustFall protests

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has agreed, in principle, to employ its workers directly, and charges were dropped against 23 protesters. But at Wits, students and reporters were intimidated by protesters. Here are reports of today's protest activities from Cape Town, East London and Johannesburg.

GroundUp staff

News | 28 October 2015

When are universities writing exams?

Many universities have postponed exams due to protest action. Here is an update of the situation at various institutions based on their official communications as of 16:00 on 28 October.

Ashleigh Furlong

News | 28 October 2015