High ranking SAPS officers to appear before the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry into policing

Public hearings of the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry into allegations of police inefficiency and a breakdown in relations between the community and the police restarted on 17 March with a number of high ranking SAPS officers in attendance.

Adam Armstrong

News | 18 March 2014

Mthethwa attends politically coloured crime summit in Khayelitsha

Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa was in Khayelitsha on Friday 14 March for a Crime Summit arranged by the Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF).

Adam Armstrong

News | 17 March 2014

Attitudes to pets have changed significantly in recent years in Khayelitsha

Started by a community member 17 years ago, Mdzananda Animal Clinic in Khayelitsha now treats up to 1,000 animals a month.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 17 March 2014

Struggling Zimbabwean author writes about the challenges of living and dying on the Cape Flats

39-year-old Zimbabwean Milton Jaure, also known as Rasmijah, is struggling to get financial support to publish his book of short stories and produce a documentary focusing on the challenges foreigners face when their loved ones die in South Africa.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 17 March 2014

Religious leaders ask their congregations to do more than pray for an end to gang violence on the Cape Flats

On 14 March, Imam Rashied Omar, chairperson of the Western Cape Religious Leaders Forum (WCRLF), hosted Manenberg community leaders at the Claremont Main Road mosque, where he officiates.

Yazeed Kamaldien

News | 17 March 2014

Bitter background to stalled pay talks

Unless bridges are built between competing sides, legacies of bitterness, hatred and fear, often distorted by prejudice and myth, can persist for decades, even generations. And when there are are fairly recent incidents, especially those involving bloodshed and human loss, feelings, particularly among those who identify as victims, are all the more acute.

Terry Bell

News | 17 March 2014

World Cup: still a few hiccups away for Brazil

Brazil is facing major challenges. Violent public protests, an aggressive police crackdown, and infrastructure failures show a nation at times limping towards the 2014 FIFA World Cup 12 June kick-off in Sao Paulo.

Yazeed Kamaldien

Opinion | 17 March 2014

Rugby: Blue Jets of Khayelitsha play MIT Rangers from Manenberg at Khayelitsha Stadium

With the Western Cape Club rugby season only a few weeks away, some teams are using the time to test their skills. Blue Jets of Khayelitsha hosted the MIT Rangers from Manenberg at Khayelitsha Stadium.

Siyabonga Kalipa

News | 17 March 2014

Gugulethu chess rising

Once the playing begins, all that's to be heard is the clanging of pieces and the thumping of clocks signalling that it's "your move". Today, chess took centre stage at the Gugulethu Sports Centre.

Nathan Geffen

News | 15 March 2014

Rape ““ not just a township problem

During the Khayelitsha Commission, community witnesses, academics and police officers related stories of appalling violence, particularly sexual violence. The picture painted is in danger of creating the impression that Khayelitsha is bad, that something is wrong with the community, that it is unsalvageable.

Adam Armstrong

Opinion | 14 March 2014

They came for Malema

At a rally in Mfuleni on Thursday 13 March, residents booed local leaders of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). They said they had been promised EFF leader Julius Malema would address them.

Pharie Sefali

News | 14 March 2014

Government slams HRC water report - and lawyer slams government

On Tuesday 11 March, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) officially launched their 2014 report on water and sanitation. But the Department of Water Affairs has called the report “outdated, baseless and misleading”.

Martha Sithole and Jacques van Heerden

News | 14 March 2014

Landmark eviction judgment in Cape High Court

The Prevention of Illegal Eviction From and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (PIE) was meant to be a clear break with the many pieces of legislation the apartheid regime used to legalise the forced removal of black people from their land.

Zenande Booi

News | 14 March 2014

Manenberg gets bullet-proof schools

Gang violence in Manenberg is not decreasing, despite efforts from schools, government departments, and community organisations.

Fergus Turner

News | 12 March 2014

Immigrants apparently unaware of new laws as government tightens up on permits

Immigrants in Cape Town might lose their livelihoods if the new regulations to the 2011 Immigration Amendment Act published in the Government Gazette on 14 February 2014 comes into effect.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 12 March 2014

Former gang member calls for the army to pacify the Cape Flats “civil war”

Former gang member Mervin Lewis says what is happening in Mitchells Plain, Manenberg, Nyanga, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu is not a gang fight, but a low intensity civil war.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 12 March 2014