Benjamin Pogrund HESHEL’S KINGDOM: A FAMILY, A PEOPLE, A DIVIDED FATE by Dan Jacobson. (Hamish Hamilton) By dying early, Heshel Melamed gave his children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren the most precious patrimony of all – life. Had his existence continued in the small town of Varniai in Lithuania the family tree would have been terminated […]
Sechaba ka’Nkosi A group of highly trained operatives linked to dirty tricks operations in KwaZulu-Natal in the early 1990s has been directly implicated in the recent upsurge of violence in the Midlands town of Richmond. A report by peace monitors suggests that senior politicians, right-wing farmers, police and military chiefs have regrouped and are exploiting […]
Phillip Kakaza Dramatist Percy Mtwa was one of the loudest voices in South African theatre in the Eighties. He and Mbongeni Ngema helped to usher in this rich theatrical decade with that famous two-hander, Woza Albert! But the late 1980s saw Mtwa sidelined after his success with Woza Albert! and Bopha! In fact, his principles […]
Andy Duffy Shepherd Mdladlana is duty-bound to say he will serve wherever the African National Congress deploys him. But the Ministry of Labour? Tito Mboweni, a flamboyant, popularist politician was always going to be a hard act to follow – more so for Mdladlana, who until now has preferred operating out of the limelight. Mboweni, […]
Peet Pienaar speaks to fellow-artist Judith Mason Iwent to see Judith Mason on a cold, murky day, and spoke to an artist who seems to have been quietly observing from the sidelines of the art world for quite a while. How would I contextualise her? I know her well, and know that what I know […]
Howard Barrell and Mungo Soggot The relatively unknown African National Congress politician appointed as South Africa’s top prosecutor has shrugged off fears that he will follow the dictates of his political masters when he takes up his new job in two weeks’ time. Cape Town lawyer Bulelani Ngcuka, deputy chair of the National Council of […]
Wonder Hlongwa Minister of Safety and Security Sydney Mufamadi’s new initiative for Richmond, announced on Tuesday, has already been tried and failed. Mufamadi’s two-pronged approach to halt the murders in the town includes sending an additional 240 policemen there and transferring four policemen. But the four were served with notices three months ago – in […]
Tangeni Amupadhi Sello Masinyane has been unable to sleep peacefully since July 8. Horrific images keep flashing in his mind; images similar to what happened to James Byrd Jr – a black man killed by Ku Klux Klan followers in Texas last month after being tied to a truck, dragged for kilometres and dismembered. But […]
Robert Kirby: Loose Cannon With what in the way of a gaudy extravaganza is South Africa planning to celebrate the arrival of the new millennium? There are only about 530 days left before the delight of living in the 20th century will become a thing of the past. As one of those who feels he […]
Nicky Barker KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service officials are deeply concerned about the future of the lion population in their flagship Hluhluwe-Umfolozi game reserve. The 80 lions left have been diagnosed with bovine tuberculosis (TB), an exotic disease introduced in the past 50 years by cattle imported from Europe. There is no cure for wild animals […]