This is no time for panic, or for manic depression of the sort that Xolela Mangcu displayed in a column last weekend. This is politics, not rugby -- so the national state of mind should be governed by clear-headed questions, not by the hyperbole of triumph and disaster. We must keep a sense of perspective.
Earlier this month the Constitutional Court ruled in a case with tremendous consequences for ordinary South Africans and our system of labour relations. The appeal involved the dismissal, more than seven years ago, of Zingisile Sidumo by Rustenburg Platinum Mines. Sidumo was employed to patrol the mine's high-security facility, where precious metals are separated from lower-grade concentrate.
Several weeks ago the Constitutional Court ruled in a landmark case on religious and cultural expression in public schools. In 2004, Sunali Pillay, then a learner at Durban Girls' High School, pierced her nose and inserted a small gold stud. The school objected to the stud on the basis that it contravened the school's code of conduct.
Matatiele residents were set to march through Pietermaritzburg on Thursday to the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in protest over their incorporation into the Eastern Cape. Matatiele-Maluti Mass Action Organising Committee chairperson Mandla Galo said that at least 45 minibus taxis had transported residents to Pietermaritzburg.
The multimillion-rand cost of fighting the Richtersveld land claim was money well spent, the Department of Public Enterprises said on Wednesday. It was responding to a query on the final legal bill for the case, which was settled last week.
Tears of joy flowed on Tuesday when the Richtersveld community got a court order restoring land taken from them seventy years ago. "I am overwhelmed with joy. I can't hold back my tears," said community leader Willem Diergaardt. "This is a big moment in the history of the Richtersveld."
There was no word yet on whether African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma would have to face new corruption charges as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was still considering the case, an NPA spokesperson said on Monday. "It is a very painstaking process of consideration," said NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali.
Forty years after Robben Island detainees formed the Makana Football Association inside the island fortress, the club was officially recognised by Fifa, the sport's international governing body. Now the little-known story of how prisoners set up their own league under the noses of the warders is to be told in a feature film.
The district of Matatiele moved a step closer to being permanently incorporated into the Eastern Cape after the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday voted by a narrow margin in favour of the controversial Constitution 13th Amendment Bill. Heated debate between opposition parties and the ruling African National Congress preceded the vote.
More than 3Â 000 people packed the local soccer stadium in Matatiele as the second day of public hearings on the region's controversial incorporation into the Eastern Cape started on Tuesday. Matatiele was incorporated into the Eastern Cape on February 28, hours before voting started in the local government election of 2006.
At least 500 people packed a local soccer stadium in Matatiele as the second day of public hearings on the region's controversial incorporation into the Eastern Cape started on Tuesday. Matatiele was incorporated into the Eastern Cape on February 28, hours before voting started in the local government election of 2006.
Cape Judge President John Hlophe's refusal to resign is a typical example of persons holding high office refusing to face the consequences of their actions, says Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille. "By refusing to step down, contrary to the dictates of good governance, such senior office-bearers undermine our young democracy," she said on Friday.
Chief Justice Pius Langa steered clear on Tuesday of the controversy around Cape Judge President John Hlophe and suspended National Director of Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli. He told students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban that he knew there were many who wanted him to speak on President Thabo Mbeki's decision to suspend Pikoli.
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille should focus on her own party rather than concern herself with the African National Congress's (ANC) business, Deputy Defence Minister Mluleki George said on Monday. He called Zille's proposal to postpone the ANC conference in December "ridiculous".
Designing a code of conduct for a liberation struggle in exile was the most significant work of his career, Constitutional Court Justice Albie Sachs said on Thursday. "To my mind that was the beginning of the constitutionality at the heart, at the core of the freedom struggle," Sachs said in delivering the second annual Abdullah Omar Memorial Lecture.
With just more than a month to the African National Congress presidential election, Jacob Zuma will be waiting to see whether the National Prosecuting Authority will recharge him for corruption. Court rulings on Thursday clarified the status of searches and documents related to the investigation against him concerning alleged corruption in the arms deal.
African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma will approach the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal two of Thursday's Supreme Court of Appeal judgements, said his lawyer. They would also "observe with keen interest" whether the rulings emboldened the National Prosecuting Authority to again indict Zuma on any charges.
The increase in the number of cases where the Eastern Cape provincial government is contesting the right of poor citizens to access social grants suggests that the majority party is at war with the poor, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Friday, writing in her weekly newsletter.
The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) will appear in the Constitutional Court on Thursday in the case of Independent Newspapers versus the minister of intelligence. The FXI said on Wednesday it would argue that Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils did not follow proper procedure when trying to withhold certain documents from the public.
The Constitutional Court on Thursday reserved judgement in the case of a man seeking to have his five-year stay in St Alban's maximum-security jail near Port Elizabeth declared unlawful. Jonathan Zealand is claiming R10,4-million in damages from the ministers of justice and correctional services.
