Human Rights
Fidelity and betrayal under the law
Constitutional Court judge Edwin Cameron delivered the Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture at Oxford University on 16 June. While much longer than pieces we normally carry, the speech is relevant to vital current issues and we present it here in full.
Edwin Cameron
Analysis | 17 June 2015
Bringing Omar al-Bashir to justice
Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The court’s prosecutor alleges that al-Bashir has "criminal responsibility for the crime of genocide … killing members of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups … causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of those groups, and deliberately inflicting on those groups conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in part”.
GroundUp Staff
Analysis | 15 June 2015
Marikana: All we want from the state is an opportunity for honest engagement
Today, the Pretoria High Court dismissed the urgent application by Advocate Dali Mpofu on behalf of Mzoxolo Magidwana, who was shot by police during the Marikana massacre, and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), for the Marikana Commission’s findings to be released immediately. The President has given a self-imposed deadline of 30 June for releasing the report.
Fairouz Nagia-Luddy
Opinion | 15 June 2015
Has the president used the defence force legally?
To deploy the army is an exceptional measure. It implies that the police force is unable to control a situation that threatens a country’s security and well-being.
Lara Wallis
Analysis | 4 June 2015
Activists to Mthethwa: “Who gave you the right to kill a sex worker?”
On Monday the murder trial of renowned artist Zwelethu Mthethwa was postponed again in the Western Cape High Court. Mthethwa is accused of murdering Nokuphila Kumalo, 23, who was a sex worker in Woodstock, on 14 April 2013.
Ashleigh Furlong
News | 1 June 2015
Residents clash in Philippi
Violence has erupted between residents of Lower Crossroads and the Marikana settlement in Philippi East. Today police shot rubber bullets and stun grenades at a group of protesters from Lower Crossroads apparently to prevent them attacking Marikana.
Nombulelo Damba
News | 29 May 2015
“Not enough money allocated to sanitation,” say SJC protesters
Yesterday, about 150 members of the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) marched to the civic centre. They demanded “a detailed account” of hundreds of submissions to the City of Cape Town on the 2015/16 budget.
Bernard Chiguvare
Brief | 28 May 2015
Blikkiesdorp residents accuse ACSA and City of deciding their future without them
It has taken eight months for the residents of Blikkiesdorp to be given access to an agreement between the City of Cape Town and Airports Company South Africa (ACSA). The agreement outlines ACSA’s plans to purchase the land on which the Blikkiesdorp residents are currently residing and rehouse them.
Ashleigh Furlong
News | 28 May 2015
“It’s not a life I would wish on anyone, but this is home to us”
A group of homeless people who live under the bridge behind the Castle of Good Hope have over the past few months gathered funds to buy small tents in a bid to fight off the winter chill.
Barbara Maregele
Feature | 27 May 2015