Rumours: an extract from Mongane Wally Serote’s latest novel

Prolific and acclaimed South African poet and writer Mongane Wally Serote, one of only two African writers (the other being Leopold Sedar Senghor) to be honoured with the Golden Wreath Award for a lifetime achievement in poetry, focuses his attention on 21st century South Africa in his latest novel, Rumours.

Mongane Wally Serote

News | 12 March 2014

Cry the beloved Congo

Mpho Mabhena writes about her distressing experience of the plight of women in the Congo.

Mpho Mabhena

Opinion | 12 March 2014

Connecting youth through music

Kinky Disco brought together youth from in and around Cape Town and hosted a one-of-a-kind electronic dance music party in Langa Township.

Zethu Gqola

News | 11 March 2014

My grandchild can’t read or write

A pensioner who only had two years of schooling taught himself to read and write, while his grandson, who has reached grade 9, can’t read.

Selby Nomnganga

News | 11 March 2014

Passengers claim that Golden Arrow buses are not safe

One night in February on her way home from work, Bulelwa Thoza was stabbed and robbed inside a Golden Arrow bus by an unidentified gang member.

Pharie Sefali

News | 11 March 2014

Are sugar daddies bad for your health?

“Sugar daddies destroy lives” say billboard adverts in Kwazulu-Natal in big bold black and red letters. The same message is echoed in radio adverts played across the country.

Nathan Geffen

Opinion | 11 March 2014

Protest at Cape Town Pride

Not everyone in Cape Town celebrated Gay Pride in the same spirit.

Pharie Sefali

News | 10 March 2014

Kwaito duo Ruffest keep innovating

Starting off in 2004 as Kasi Vibes, kwaito duo Sello Mangwana (29) and Andile “Max” Stemela (31) reinvented themselves as Ruffest in 2007. It was the beginning of the rise of two musicians from Nyanga.

Dumisane Dabadini

News | 10 March 2014

Marikana: a wake-up call

Four days after the bloodletting that has become known as the Marikana massacre, my Inside Labour column supported the call for a comprehensive and independent inquiry. And it noted, reflecting a widespread view within the labour movement: “The Lonmin tragedy is a wake-up call that South Africa will ignore at its peril.” Now, 19 months later and with the strike on the platinum belt having gone on for nearly two months, that warning seems even more appropriate. Below is an updated commentary that first appeared on the first anniversary of Marikana.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 10 March 2014

The Khoi blues: Interview with Colin Meyer

“I am not a Coloured, I am Khoi,” says Colin Meyer. “The apartheid era imposed the identity of being Coloured on us, but that is an invention.”

Fergus Turner

News | 7 March 2014

“Boxing saved my life”: Interview with the owner of the African Youth Boxing Club

“Boxing saved my life… without boxing I would be dead”. Thembani Gqeku was telling me about his childhood and his experiences as a young professional boxer. Gqeku started boxing in East London in 1978, when he was nine years old. He had fought 18 professional fights, with five losses and a draw.

Adam Armstrong

News | 6 March 2014

And the Oscar goes to….

News | 5 March 2014

Teaching kids in Khayelitsha how to fence - for sport

A few years back you wouldn’t be seen as an ignorant person in Khayelitsha if you didn’t know what fencing is. But that is slowly changing, with the introduction of this unusual sport in the township.

Siyabonga Kalipa

News | 5 March 2014

Alleged discrimination against foreign children in the Techno Girl programme

A Zimbabwean woman, Sandra Chinyanga, is unhappy because her daughter was dropped from the Techno Girl Programme after three years of consistent participation. Now she has been told that her daughter should never have been allowed to join the programme, because she is an immigrant.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 5 March 2014

Categories of Persons: Rethinking Ourselves and Others

This slim volume, containing nine essays, is at once ambitious and humble. In their introduction, editors Megan Jones and Jacob Dlamini explain that they tried to capture a variety of deeply personal lived experiences.

Joshua Maserow

News | 5 March 2014

Jam That Session gives a boost for Cape musicians

Jam That Session is an initiative that boosts the arts in Cape Town and provides an unconventional environment for musicians to connect with their fans and fellow artists.

Dumisani Dabadini

News | 5 March 2014