Two Sandton-based ex-military generals of the late Mobutu Sese Seko have been held for travelling illegally, reports Ann Eveleth Two of former Zairean dictator Mobutu Sese Seko’s closest military cohorts – arrested in Johannesburg on Saturday – allegedly spoke openly about their plans to topple Mobutu’s successor, Laurent Kabila, in an uprising which had been […]

Mungo Soggot : A Second Look Judge Monas Flemming bestowed on Allan Greenblo the honour of becoming the new South Africa’s first banned author when he turned the clock back on the country’s media law in the Johannesburg High Court last week. His decision to ban Greenblo’s biography of Sol Kerzner was all the more […]

David Beresford talks to Desmond Tutu and finds the former archbishop is still a believer in the power of truth and redemption Desmond Tutu is a busy man. He has, after all, been agonising over whether to press the button which could send a former state president to prison. He is being bombarded with demands […]

The `great white Bushman’ was a storyteller whose gift was to create romantic tales, particularly about himself, writes Dea Birkett It’s a crisp autumnal afternoon in October 1996, and the view from the Chelsea penthouse flat is fine. On the shelves behind me, prominently displayed, are a year-old Christmas card from Prince Charles, snapshots of […]

Wonder Hlongwa President Nelson Mandela’s support for a merger between the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party this week spurred IFP president Mangosuthu Buthelezi into an unprecedented attack on Sipo Mzimela, his senior Cabinet and party colleague. Buthelezi hinted that Mzimela, who is correctional services minister and IFP deputy chair, could be on […]

FRIDAY, 5.30PM: FUTURES trades hijacked the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Friday during the last two hours of trade as the December ’97 contracts closed out leading most of the major indices to be knocked lower as the derivatives market sold scrip, dealers said. At the close the all gold index had gained 4,8 points to […]

Nicky Barker The government has unveiled an ambitious plan to develop the Lake St Lucia area on the northern KwaZulu-Natal coast as a major international tourist attraction. Minister of Environment Affairs and Tourism Pallo Jordan describes the project as “one of the biggest tourism investment initiatives the country has ever seen”. The announcement is a […]

Police display South Africa’s crime history in a museum that is brought to life by actors, writes Donald GMcNeil “Yaaaaaaaaa!” Bursting out of the darkness at the end of the corridor, the screaming man charged right into the crowd, his razor-sharp machete flashing above his head. People slammed back against the walls, screaming too. Captain […]

Lucy Hannan in Nairobi Surrounded by filth and terrorised by crime, residents of the suburb of Korogocho routinely refer to themselves as the “forgotten ones”. But even their misery could be ignored when a cholera epidemic took grip in Nairobi’s slums as a nurses’ strike entered its third week. Government hospitals have remained deserted since […]

Janet Smith The hairiest fun lots of Johannesburg theatregoers had a couple of years ago was Doo Bee Boobies, the soft-core drag show with beautiful ankles that forced them to stand up and warble or be singled out for a one-liner slap in the face. Janice Honeyman says she still adores the show, would dig […]