Jacques Pauw, who implicated Ferdi Barnard in the murder of David Webster, reflects on the failure of the law to put away those who sent him to kill It was in the autumn of 1992 that I came face to face with Ferdinand Barnard for the first time. I had stood outside his Roodepoort home, […]
David Shapshak Now that Pakistan has shown the world that it could quietly purify enough plutonium for the five nuclear devices it detonated recently – and probably enough for many more – attention is turning to how to divorce nuclear weapons from nuclear power plants. And while conventional nuclear power stations have had a bad […]
Suzy Bell On show in Durban Eduoard Manet would have been proud. Reclining Olympia-like for the opening of her exhibition at Durban’s NSA Gallery was post-modernist babe – and seriously talented artist – Carol- Anne Gainer. With her deep penetrating gaze, this sensual and spiritual young artist successfully claimed her own private space in a […]
Robyn Alexander, who helped curate an exhibition on the reproductive body, explains the thinking behind the show The Bringing Up Baby exhibition is part of the main programme at the Standard Bank National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. It was first conceived (and, of course, that verb is used deliberately) by its curator Terry Kurgan, during […]
Iden Wetherell A banking crisis is followed by economic collapse. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) steps in with a harsh rescue package. Student-led anti-corruption protests precipitate the fall of a dictator whose rule has only recently been praised as providing regional stability. Zimbabwe may at first glance appear far removed from Indonesia. But recent events […]
John Hooper Human rights observers were last week given a rare glimpse into the workings of one of the world’s least known – and least savoury – regimes. In Malabo, the capital of theEformer Spanish colony of Equatorial Guinea, 117 people went on trial accused of separatist violence. The defendants, many of whom face the […]
Andy Duffy Sibusiso Bengu hates the spotlight, and it’s not hard to see why. Pinned down last week on prime-time TV, the minister of education resorted to pathos to get himself off the hook. “It isn’t my fault,” Bengu pleaded, after being confronted with yet more evidence that education is going down the tube. It’s […]
Mungo Soggot The state tea company has quietly axed its managing director after a disciplinary inquiry headed by a retired high court judge found him guilty of financial impropriety. Sapekoe suspended Mike Cherry three months ago and fired him last week. The low-profile company has clung to its apartheid-era penchant for secrecy and sought to […]
Andrew Muchineripi Soccer Bafana Bafana are just one week away from the greatest challenge of their seven-year existence. Next Friday evening in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, they face World Cup hosts France. It will be the opening Group C match for the countries and both realise that a victory would leave them well […]
Shaun de Waal Ken Barris has won the R50 000 M-Net Book Prize in the English category for his novel The Jailer’s Book, published by Kagiso. The win was somewhat unexpected by the author, who said, “Iwas surprised – and grateful for the acknowledgement, bearing in mind how long it took to get the book […]