A strong political initiative rather than an external military intervention is the solution to the Congo crisis, argues Mahmood Mamdani When Rwanda decided to provide foot soldiers to spearhead the anti-Mobutu rebellion in October 1996, the main objection came not from Mobutu Sese Seko’s erstwhile patrons, but from Rwanda’s own staunch ally, President Yoweri Museveni […]
Stuart Hess A British couple are attempting to declare a section of the South African Child Care Act unconstitutional because it prohibits them from adopting a South African child. Sarah and Benedict Fitzpatrick have been supported by the Child Welfare Society of South Africa in their challenge to Section 18 (f) of the Act. The […]
corruption probe Wonder Hlongwa KwaZulu-Natal’s Department of Health says it is close to making a breakthrough in its investigation into an allegedly fraudulent scheme to siphon money from provincial coffers to the Inkatha Freedom Party. The department’s corruption unit investigator, Leon Wolmarans, says it has been interviewing Durban businessman Sateesh Isseri for two years. Last […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Durban | Thursday 11.00PM. THE chief bodyguard of KwaZulu-Natal premier Ben Ngubane assisted the Inkatha Freedom Party’s secret Caprivi strike force in attacks on African National Congress strongholds, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission amnesty committe heard on Thursday. IFP member Phillip David Dhlamini, 31, told the hearing that he had operated in the […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Maseru | Thursday 3.00pm. RENEWED protests in Lesotho on Thursday developed into running gun battles in which nine people were injured. Early on Thursday anti-government protesters blocked the roads in the capital Maseru in order to prevent hundreds of people from going to work. The anti-govenrment protesters were confronted by government loyalists. Police […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Abuja | Thursday 10.00pm. MORE than 100 political leaders from southern Nigeria met in Lagos on Wednesday to reaffirm their commitment to the radical restructuring of the country’s federation. They are calling for a devolution of power to the south and the splitting of the army into regional units. The meeting was held […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Maputo | Thursday 9.00PM. MOZAMBICAN opposition parties’ calls for the cancellation of the country’s first-ever local elections were anulled on Thursday when the Mozambique Supreme Court proclaimed the elections to be valid. The court admitted in a statement that there were some irregularities on the June 30 polling day, but said they were […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Wednesday 11.00pm. THE Inkatha Freedom Party will apply for an urgent interdict against the Mail & Guardian on Thursday morning after objecting to an article published in the paper last Friday. The IFP contacted the M&G on Wednesday, demanding that last Friday’s issue, which carried the article “How IFP milked KwaZulu-Natal […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Lusaka | Thursday 10.00pm. UN Secretary-General Koffi Annan will hold a special meeting of southern African states on the Angolan crisis at this month’s Non-Aligned Movement summit in Durban, South African officials said on Thursday. Annan’s special envoy to Angola, Lakdar Brahimi outlined plans for the meeting when he briefed South Africa’s Deputy […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Goma | Thursday 11.00PM. REBELS in the Democratic Republic of Congo claim to have seized a dam at Inga, 250km south-west of Kinshasa, which supplies the capital with electrical power. At the same time a power blackout in Kinshasa itself has sparked panic that the rebels are within reach of the capital. Jean-Pierre […]