Home Affairs uses “sad and bad” court ruling against refugees

The hopes of thousands of asylum seekers in the Western Cape have been dashed by Director General (DG) of Home Affairs (DHA) Mkuseli Apleni.

Brent Meersman

News | 4 February 2014

Vavi attends Commission - will submit affidavit

Zwelinzima Vavi, the suspended General Secretary of COSATU, was present at the Khayelitsha Commission today. He will submit an affidavit to the Commission.

Adam Armstrong

Brief | 3 February 2014

Can Khayelitsha be policed?

The Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry has entered its third week. Its aim is to investigate the allegations that SAPS have been inefficient in their policing of Khayelitsha and that there has been a breakdown in police-community relations.

Adam Armstrong

Opinion | 3 February 2014

When a police van hit and killed our child

This is a shortened transcript of a witness testimony given at the Khayelitsha Commission last week.

Transcript from Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry

News | 3 February 2014

The Transformative Farce of Davos

Vague ideas of transformation are all the rage these days. Take the latest bun fight in Davos, for example. The annual gathering of the grandly named World Economic Forum (WEF) that ended last weekend met under the heading: “The Reshaping of the World: Consequences for Society, Politics and Business.”

Terry Bell

Opinion | 31 January 2014

Witness alleges police accepted bribe in murder case

While testifying today at the Khayelitsha Commission, a witness stated she believes the officer investigating the murder of her son accepted a bribe to stop his investigation.

Adam Armstrong

News | 30 January 2014

Philippi school struggles to get help for disabled learners

This article has been withdrawn due to problems with it that we are unable to address. GroundUp apologises.

Pharie Sefali

News | 30 January 2014

Brave women and burnt-out cops

Funeka Soldaat told the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry how she had been raped by a group of young men because she is a lesbian. She testified that she is a survivor of "corrective rape".

Adam Armstrong

News | 29 January 2014

Charlie’s DAngels

News | 29 January 2014

The week in political activism

This week we cover Corruption Watch, the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry and protests over the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

Brent Meersman

News | 29 January 2014

Lawyer to Home Affairs: treatment of asylum seekers is irresponsible, hard-hearted, incompetent

Hundreds of asylum seekers who have been living in Cape Town for more than five years and have renewed their documents more than twelve times are now undocumented. They may lose their work. They no longer have access to health, education, and bank accounts. And they are vulnerable to arrest, detention and deportation.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 29 January 2014

Terry Bell “honoured and humbled” by support

The Congress of South African Trade Unions has condemned the suspension of Terry Bell's Inside Labour column that ran in Business Report for about 18 years.

GroundUp Staff, Terry Bell and COSATU

News | 29 January 2014

Mother and daughter: alive, productive and healthy on antiretrovirals

Nandipha Madolo, from Khayelitsha’s Litha Park, has experienced much in her life, with HIV playing a major part. She watched her brother die from meningitis due to HIV. Her HIV-positive husband abused her. Her youngest daughter contracted HIV, and Madolo found out that she too was HIV-positive. But today Madolo has a healthy daughter, a steady job, and she is a public speaker.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 29 January 2014

Why sugar does NOT kill more South Africans than HIV/AIDS

In a recent column, the editor of South Africa's Business Day newspaper, Peter Bruce, claimed that sugar kills more South Africans than HIV/AIDS has ever done. He was wrong.

Nathan Geffen (GroundUp Editor) via Africa Check

News | 29 January 2014

Pharma plot has consequences for the blind

If a secret plot by foreign pharmaceutical companies and their local subsidiaries to delay South Africa's IP policy process until after the elections succeeds, non-pharmaceutical sectors will also be affected.

Marcus Low

Opinion | 29 January 2014

Principals describe hardships of running schools in Khayelitsha

Principals of two Khayelitsha schools gave testimony at the Khayelitsha Commission yesterday. They explained how crime affected their institutions.

Adam Armstrong

News | 29 January 2014