Human Rights
“Sometimes I only manage to make R10 a day just to put bread on the table, - 17-year-old boy
When you’re 14 years old, your parents normally take care of you. But Sivuyile Sibhozo from Site C Taiwan Informal Settlement in Khayelitsha has been taking care of his brother and grandmother for the past three years.
Nombulelo Damba
Feature | 23 April 2015
Call for parliament to sign anti-xenophobia pledge
About 100 people marched against xenophobia in Cape Town yesterday. The protest was organised by several civil society organisation including PASSOP and Sonke Gender Justice.
Tariro Washinyira
News | 23 April 2015
“They just came to our home and slapped me”
Nowela Mukeyo, an 11-year-old Grade 5 pupil at an Isipingo primary school in Durban, calls a tent on the Isipingo football ground home.
Chris Makhaye
News | 22 April 2015
The way we punish
South Africa is often branded as a country with a high incarceration rate. In certain respects, this is true. For with 290 people per 100,000 imprisoned, it has the highest incarceration rate in Africa. But there is much more to prison population rates than a national head count of bodies behind bars.
Clare Ballard
Opinion | 22 April 2015
Xenophobia: let’s avoid the easy answers
Much has been written about why the recent wave of xenophobic attacks took place. But it's more complex than the usual reasons given, argue the authors.
Matthias Krönke and Mpho Raboeane
Opinion | 21 April 2015
Cape Town foreigners uneasy after Durban attacks
Authorities in Cape Town will “not just stand by” and watch if xenophobia spreads to the city again, says J P Smith, mayoral committee member for safety and security. But foreigners living in the city are nervous.
Tariro Washinyira
News | 16 April 2015
South Africa’s questionable silence about human rights violations in Swaziland
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), campaigning groups and labour supporting members of the European parliament this month launched protests about the continued harassment and jailing of trade unionists and democracy campaigners in Swaziland. ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow has noted that, in Swaziland, “Violations against the fundamental rights of workers have become systemic.”
Terry Bell
Opinion | 13 April 2015
Land Affairs Director General could face jail
A Land Claims Court judge could opt to jail the Director-General of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, Mdu Shabane, for contempt of court. Such a decision, however, may still be too late for Zabalaza Mshengu, who turned 101 in January, and has waited 14 years for his claim to land as a labour tenant to be processed. The case also raises uncomfortable questions about how far government will go to push judicial tolerance in order to avoid implementing constitutional rights.
Donna Hornby
Opinion | 13 April 2015
Right to protest is under sustained attack
Equal Education’s recently concluded sleep-in protests in three cities have shown how disturbingly difficult it has become to hold legal protests, even for organisations fortunate enough to have access to resources and legal expertise.
Doron Isaacs
Opinion | 10 April 2015