A North West University student has lodged an official complaint with university authorities after an art history lecturer allegedly used his classes to attack homosexuality as ”an immoral fad” to be blamed on the African National Congress government. The university’s rector, Annette Combrink, confirmed that a complaint had been lodged against John Botha but refused to comment pending an investigation.

African National Congress president Thabo Mbeki believes his deputy, Jacob Zuma, will exhaust himself politically before the crucial 2007 ANC congress, and plans to weaken him by constantly beating an anti-corruption drum. Senior party sources said this was the core of Mbeki’s counter-strategy in the vicious battle over the presidential succession.

The Black Lawyers Association has ”questioned the wisdom” of Cape High Court Judge Wilfred Thring’s decision to place correspondence between him and the office of the Chief Justice relating to racism in the judiciary in the public domain. The Cape Times reported that Judge Thring had placed all correspondence relating to the festering race row in the Cape Division in the national state archives.

According to Rhodes University’s Public Service Accountability Monitor, the Eastern Cape social development department has spent R52-million over the past four years defending lawsuits by applicants demanding their social grants. The figure is contained in a damning report by the PSAM highlighting the department’s inability to fulfil one of its primary functions.