Nevanji Madanhire The farce goes on at Town House, seat of the Harare City Council, but the government is reluctant to fire executive mayor Solomon Tawengwa. The city is tottering on the brink of collapse and all fingers point to one man. Recently, half the city went without water for three weeks and a quarter […]

Sharon Hammond A support group for abused men has been established in Swaziland, which is regarded as one of the most macho countries in the world. Reaction to the Swaziland Association for the Protection of Men (Sam) has been mixed since reports first hit the Internet this week. “What a load of crap!” wrote one […]

heat It was bound to happen sooner rather than later: before it has even got around to setting an official date for next year’s general election, the government is sending out signals that it wants the “political heat” taken out of the electoral process and that it requires the services of the more compliant sectors […]

go’ Chiara Carter A damning report on the conflict-ridden University of the Transkei (Unitra) recommends that its principal, Alfred Moleah, take early retirement and the university’s finances be investigated. The report by independent assessor Louis Skweyiya was requested by Minister of Education Sibusiso Bengu. Skweyiya found that the relationship between Moleah and the rest of […]

Mail & Guardian reporters The South African Police Service (SAPS) has 1 500 policemen on its staff who were convicted of criminal offences in the past 17 months. More than 50 serving policemen have been convicted of assault in the first half of this year. And the SAPS believes attempted sodomy by one of its […]

Friday night: Dave Chislett Ten years ago, much against my will, I spent two hormone-fuelled years in Port Elizabeth completing my high school career. As a Johannesburg boy, recently transplanted to the coast, I hated the place. My nickname for it at the time was PE-nis by the sea. Now, my good friend Hagen Engler […]

Ferial Haffajee At the front line of the corruption battle in Gauteng, Barbara van Jaarsveld has bagged a rotten principal. Her quiet schoolmarm demeanour gives way momentarily to a victorious grin. The principal will be charged for renting out his school’s electricity to 10 surrounding shacks. “He ran extension chords from the school and charged […]

Wonder Hlongwa A war of words has erupted between the head of Crawford College in Johannesburg and the Muslim parents of a suspended 14- year-old girl. Layla Cassim, a grade eight pupil at the mostly Jewish college, was suspended because of an essay her history teacher asked to her write about the conflict in the […]

Despite the pretty lights and bells, there’ll be little Christmas cheer and ho ho ho-ing in the retail sector this year, writes Ferial Haffajee At Edgars, Christmas comes in July. The manager of the city store in Johannesburg begins planning for the summer high season in mid-winter. “The atmosphere, the look, the gift- wrapping corners. […]

Former Zimbabwean president Canaan Banana skipped bail and fled to Botswana, days before the Harare High Court found him guilty on 11 sex charges. Banana was found guilty in absentia on Thursday on two charges of sodomy, seven of indecent assault and two of committing unnatural acts. Sentencing will take place on December 10, and […]