Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
University of the WitwatersrandIn the news
SOUTH AFRICA

The country that forgot its own lesson: Xenophobia, memory and the pass book that never quite left

A powerful analysis of South Africa's deepening xenophobia, drawing parallels between current anti-migrant movements and the country's apartheid past. It explores how economic…

  • Reverend Lionel Jean Michel
10 min read
STEM

Daveyton teenager reaching for the stars through science and innovation

George Tsoametsi, an 18-year-old from Daveyton's Chief Albert Luthuli township, is making waves in science. Despite limited resources, this aspiring astrophysicist and robotics…

6 min read
HUMAN RIGHTS

'The law is clear': Sasha Stevenson fights back as vigilantes try to keep migrants out of clinics

Sasha Stevenson, Executive Director of SECTION27, reflects on over a decade of fighting for human rights in South Africa. From securing healthcare access for migrants against…

  • Sean Christie
17 min read
Youth unemployment remains very high. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
SOUTH AFRICA

Same fight, different adversary: From political oppression in 1976 to economic exclusion in 2026

South Africa commemorates 32 years of democracy, 50 years since the Soweto uprising, and 30 years since its progressive Constitution. Yet, despite political freedom, the nation's…

  • Isabel Bosman-Burnett
  • Nosipho Dube
5 min read
JAZZ
Video

Abdullah Ibrahim, jazz icon, dies at 91

South Africa has lost a musical giant. Pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim, the towering figure of Cape Jazz and one of the most influential voices in international jazz, has…

  • Kibo Ngowi
3 min read
The book foregrounds “the experiences, the ideas and the reflections of people who were actual participants in 1976, both leading figures but also young people who, on the morning of June 16th, did not see themselves as political activists,” says the author. Photo: Historical Papers Research Archive, University of the Witwatersrand South Africa.
SOUTH AFRICA

The uprising they turned into a party: What Youth Day keeps getting wrong

Every June 16th, South Africa celebrates Youth Day with music and speeches, often reposting the iconic image of Hector Pieterson. But historian Noor Nieftagodien argues these…

  • Kibo Ngowi
8 min read