Academic freedom should go beyond creative teaching and dynamic research. It must include contributions to public discussions and debates. It was in this spirit, arguably, that the vice-chancellor of the University of South Africa, Barney Pityana, addressed the annual general meeting of the Law Society of South Africa.
Kagiso Trust announced on Thursday the death of its chairperson, Yunus Mahomed. He was 57. He died on Sunday. Kgotso Schoeman, chief executive of Kagiso Trust, said: "Yunus, or YM as he was affectionately known, was a passionate and consistent leader."
South African government plans to halve poverty and unemployment by 2014 appeared increasingly at risk on Tuesday as official statistics confirmed fears of a downturn in economic growth. Figures released by Statistics South Africa showed a drop in gross domestic product growth to 5,1% last year from 5,4% in 2006.
A planned lodge development at the settlement of Molapo in Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve has become a source of controversy. Tourists who frequent the 40-room lodge's luxury accommodation will enjoy the sights of the Kalahari. The outlook for indigenous Bushmen from the reserve is less positive, however.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe may have dealt a fatal blow to Pretoria's "quiet diplomacy" by calling an election in the middle of mediation efforts by his South African counterpart, say analysts. President Mbeki was handed the poisoned chalice of mediating between Mugabe and the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change last April.
Police torture and brutality are rife and High Court orders are openly disregarded in Zimbabwe, pointing to a "grave constitutional crisis", according to a report released on Wednesday. The most worrying aspect is open attacks on members of the legal profession, said advocate Andrea Gabriel.
African National Congress president Jacob Zuma's allies have rallied to his defence in the wake of University of South Africa rector Barney Pityana's indictment of his character on Monday. The Young Communist League said it had noted the "disrespectful and dastardly remarks made by the deplorable" rector.
The African National Congress (ANC) has come out in defence of its president, Jacob Zuma, after scathing criticism of him by University of South Africa rector Barney Pityana on Monday. ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe described Pityana's statements as "spurious" and a reflection of "intellectual bankruptcy".
African National Congress president Jacob Zuma has failed to inspire confidence during his first few months at the party's helm, says University of South Africa rector Barney Pityana. "We now enter a new era. It is a time shrouded in anxiety and uncertainty with the looming presidency of Jacob Zuma and a new assertive leadership of the ANC," he said on Monday.
Outgoing African National Congress Youth League president Fikile Mbalula on Thursday criticised University of South Africa rector Barney Pityana for making "a clown of himself" regarding his comments about ANC president Jacob Zuma. Mbalula said the league condemned the continued slander by self-imposed political commentators on the integrity of Zuma.
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.
The University of South Africa (Unisa) is to adopt an anti-racism policy, it said on Tuesday. "The renewal of Unisa must and will be built on a fully representative body of staff, academic and non-academic, at all levels," said vice-chancellor Barney Pityana.
High-profile criminal cases involving senior South African officials have renewed fears among opposition parties and the legal community that judicial independence may be at risk. President Thabo Mbeki's government has had a testy relationship with the judiciary.
A KwaZulu-Natal pilot project -- proven to reduce court backlogs and overcrowding in prisons drastically -- may be rolled out countrywide, if the government comes to the table with funding, the Justice and Constitutional Development Department said on Tuesday.
