Andrew Worsdale TELEVISION I was there. At Granny Lee’s funeral in the Anglican Cathedral in downtown Johannesburg in 1989. As someone remarks in the upcoming documentary Metamorphosis: The Remarkable Journey of Granny Lee, “It was a de luxe state funeral.” I’d met him some years earlier when I used to hang out with friends at […]
Judicial history was made when Sibusiso Radebe the alleged mastermind behind the Miracle 2000 pyramid scheme was granted R1m bail, the highest ever set by a South African court. Radebe was released on condition that he reports every day to the Midrand police station. He also may not leave the greater Johannesburg and Nelspruit areas. […]
Howard Barrell There is widespread support for democracy among people in countries neighbouring South Africa, according to a six- nation survey of public attitudes conducted by a consortium of researchers headed by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa). Southern Africans credit democracy for achieving significant increases in their political freedoms but they are […]
Desmond Tutu often caused bemusement when he said that apartheid oppressed us all – black, white and all the shades in-between – and that its end would free us all. The bewilderment that sometimes greeted his assertion was not difficult to understand. For, whatever curtailment apartheid imposed on whites’ liberty or life chances, it seemed […]
Iden Wetherell President Robert Mugabe can be forgiven for feeling rather besieged this week. He is on the receiving end of importunate members of Parliament reminding him of their sterling work on the electoral front and promises made of preferment. He is deeply hurt by the lyrics of songs belted out by opposition supporters at […]
slopes Monica Graaff Obituary To those who don’t climb – and I am one of them – the question “why” always comes up. Why risk your life unnecessarily? Why choose the most difficult route up a mountain when you could stroll up the back? Why? To Duncan Elliott, the 35-year-old South African alpinist who died […]
Deon Potgieter BOXING Realising early on in his career the importance of having an image in boxing, Charles Mailula opted to wear a cowboy hat when entering and leaving the ring. Is it merely a coincidence or perhaps an omen that when he challenges for the World Boxing Union junior featherweight world title this Saturday, […]
Merryman Kunene SOCCER Nastasia Tsichlas started at Sundowns as club secretary. Some might think it was a ploy by club vice-chair Angelo Tsichlas to keep his wife busy while he took care of big business at the club – but her skills were soon recognised. The small job led to bigger things and when her […]
OPPOSITION parties slammed Mpumalanga Premier Ndaweni Mahlangu on Thursday for allowing provincial director general Coleman Nyathi to resign instead of firing him on corruption charges. Nyathi resigned voluntarily but unexpectedly on Thursday morning, citing “personal problems” surrounding his citizenship. Both Home Affairs and the police Aliens Control Unit are currently investigating indications that Nyathi and […]
Facing the challenges of a post-apartheid South Africa should be an urgent priority, especially for the media Barney Pityana As a nation we are always at our best when we face a common cause. When we queued together to cast our votes in 1994 or when we erupted as one nation when Francois Pienaar hoisted […]