Weekly newsletter 09 - 13 June 2014: Unanswered questions about Strand evictions and other stories

13 June 2014 | News

Featured Stories

Rica in South Africa: How big is Big Brother?

How serious is state surveillance of telephone calls in South Africa? The problem is we don't know, writes Right2Know's Murray Hunter.

Murray Hunter

Unanswered questions about Strand evictions

Ten days after several hundred people were evicted from the Nomzamo (Lwandle) informal settlement near Strand, there is still no clarity about why they were removed.

GroundUp Staff

Defence asks for discharge in Peter trial

The State has not proved \xe2\x80\x9cbeyond reasonable doubt\xe2\x80\x9d that Social Justice Coalition activist Angy Peter and her co-accused are responsible for the assault and murder of Rowan Du Preez, the defence argued in the Cape High court yesterday.

Barbara Maregele

Reports

Bail for ten Nomzamo residents

The ten people arrested during violent clashes between police and Nomzamo (Lwandle) residents during the evictions last week were given a hero\xe2\x80\x99s welcome from supporters when they were released on bail today.

Barbara Maregele

Pastor\xe2\x80\x99s victims feared he had supernatural powers

The Khayelitsha pastor accused of rape preyed on needy and vulnerable members of his congregation, the court heard during the bail hearing of Pastor Themba Mathibela.

Johnnie Isaac

Building family memories in Manenberg

Parents and their children stood in line to be photographed as a family last Friday in Manenberg. For some it was their first family portrait ever taken.

Pharie Sefali

Evicted Lwandle residents to move to Kuils River

A large stretch of land owned by the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) in Kuils River will soon become home to dozens of evicted Lwandle residents.

Barbara Maregele

Zimbabwean alleges he was assaulted by police

A 40-year-old Zimbabwean man fleeing from robbers was allegedly attacked in the grounds of his home in Van Eyssen Street Parow by a group of Law Enforcement Officers last week.

Tariro Washinyira

Opinion

“White foreigners”: The danger of history repeating itself

Gwede Mantashe, former chairman of the SA Communist Party, former general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and now the powerful secretary-general of the governing ANC, sounded furious this week. In what must qualify as the most ironic case of \xe2\x80\x9cwe\xe2\x80\x99ve heard all that before\xe2\x80\x9d, he blamed the platinum belt strike and the consequent crisis on \xe2\x80\x9cwhite foreigners\xe2\x80\x9d.

Terry Bell

Lwandle: too much acrimony, too little understanding

The house demolitions and evictions that took place in Strand last week highlighted the class and race fractures that run through our country.

Nathan Geffen

NUM and Nzimande defence of Zokwana raises questions about transparency for unions

The recent allegations of financial impropriety in the upper ranks of the SA Municipal Workers\xe2\x80\x99 Union are only the latest in a string of similar scandals over the years. And it is little wonder that these have erupted, for many trade unions have transformed themselves into bureaucratic organisations with business links.

Terry Bell

Broken promises and climate of fear at Eastern Cape school

Back in 2012, learners at Moshesh Senior Secondary School, about 35km from Matatiele in the Eastern Cape, contacted Equal Education (EE) about the abysmal conditions at their school. Last week, EE returned to Moshesh to see what had changed.

Olivia Murphy

Why is there such great demand for illegal abortions?

Why are illegal abortions so widely advertised and used in South Africa? Ruth Atkinson has been investigating. She shares some of her insights here.

Ruth Atkinson

Can the platinum producers afford the wages demanded?

Like any good question, the answer to whether the platinum producers can afford the demands made by striking workers is: \xe2\x80\x9cit depends\xe2\x80\x9d.

Gilad Isaacs

Three infants die from polluted water in Northwest: Justice must be done

In early April 2014, violent service delivery protests erupted at Boitumelong at Bloemhof in Northwest. Residents, accusing Lekwa Teemane municipality councillors of corruption, maladministration and nepotism, torched the house of the mayor and demanded the municipality to be disbanded.

Melissa Fourie

Science

Renewable energy streetlights could change lives

Nikolas Jankovich is the entrepreneur behind a brand new off-the-grid streetlight developed at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). The Twerly, he says, will change people\xe2\x80\x99s lives.

Paul Kennedy

Arts

Khayelitsha gets its first film festival

When Harare Square\xe2\x80\x99s Hubspace first opened its doors to the Khayelitsha community in April 2013, it was touted as a unique space for entrepreneurs to gather, share ideas, and take initiative. As a World Design Capital-linked social enterprise, the office space has sought to foster a culture of conversation and creativity.

Katy Osborn

Langa DJs for Glastonbury Festival

Two DJs from Cape Town\xe2\x80\x99s Langa Township have been selected as part of the world famous Glastonbury Festival line-up for 2014. It is a great sign for aspiring musicians in townships across South Africa. DJ Fosta and Thibo Tazz discuss what is about to be the biggest moment of their music careers.

Zethu Gqola

Jozi: A Novel : a glimpse through a scratched looking glass

Jozi: a novel is the debut of Swaziland-born journalist, lecturer and editor, Perfect Hlongwane. It is a gut-wrenching tale of loss, anger, love and death in the new South Africa.

Joshua Maserow

Sport

Canoeing - the new sport in Khayelitsha

What used to be a mugging haven for Makhaza Khayelitsha thugs has had a facelift. Officially opened late last year, \xe2\x80\x98the park\xe2\x80\x99 as it is known by people in the area, now comprises an outdoor gym and a play park for children, and there are canoeists in the dam.

Siyabonga Kalipa