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 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
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
Activists are always in a minority, 1980s student leader Llewellyn MacMaster told students in Cape Town last night.
GroundUp Staff
News | 30 October 2015
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
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
“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
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
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
An uneasy calm has returned to Masiphumelele, but residents say they are preparing further protests on Friday, when a community leader charged with murder is due to appear in court.
GroundUp Staff and Bernard Chiguvare
News | 28 October 2015
Despite the South African Schools Act prohibiting the use of corporal punishment, caning continues in many schools. Now a Pietermaritzburg mother has had enough, and she's laid a complaint with the police against her son's school principal.
Ntombi Mbomvu
News | 28 October 2015
In October 2012, then Western Cape police commissioner, Lieutenant General Arno Lamoer, promised that a new satellite police station would be opened in Nyanga. Three years later, the promise has not yet been kept. Nor is it clear what steps have been taken to address a multitude of problems raised by a parliamentary committee a year ago.
GroundUp staff and Tariro Washinyira
News | 28 October 2015
Moedie Motlanke, 53, who works for a catering company which has a contract with the University of Cape Town, has been involved in the student protests since they began last week.
Ashleigh Furlong and Pasqua Heard
News | 27 October 2015
As the judges of the South Gauteng High Court prepare their findings in the massive silicosis class action case, Pete Lewis reflects on the failure of the compensation system to protect black mineworkers from the disease, condemning them to poverty and destitution.
Pete Lewis
Analysis | 27 October 2015
Learners from the Centre for Science and Technology (COSAT), Khayelitsha, aired their first high school radio show last week. And they’re not shying away from difficult topics. The group, known as the Optimistic Youth Reporters (OYR), debated teenage pregnancy in a twenty minute live broadcast for staff and their fellow students in the school hall.
Pasqua Heard
News | 27 October 2015