deliver democracy Mahmood Mamdani A Second Look It is widely believed the root problem of the African state is the artificial nature of its boundaries. Were these boundaries not first arbitrarily drawn up at the Berlin Conference of 1884/85 and then imposed from the outside? This bit of conventional wisdom needs to be questioned for […]

staff survived With its staff drawn from such diverse backgrounds, there was as much tension within the TRC as at the public hearings, writes Gaye Davis The three-year life span of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has been marked by public sensation throughout the hearings. But behind the public drama of tortured facing the […]

enough Guy Oliver When Nomonde Calata speaks of the defining moment of her life – the death of her husband, activist Fort Calata, in 1985 – 13 years disappear as if they had never been. The moment has not been dulled by the grand designs of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In many ways, it […]

Many whiteys prefer Soweto to Sandton. Tangeni Amupadhi and Thokozani Mtshali talk to the township’s paler inhabitants Soweto’s majita (the guys) wave at Rudolf “Thokozani” Blignault as he travels the township selling coal for household use. Blignault is well known in large parts of the country’s biggest township, not only because he works there but […]

Belinda Beresford You’ve taken a deep breath and made the leap. You’ve made a commitment. You’re sharing the toothpaste, the washing-up and the telephone account. Now you’ve decided you want a joint bank account, either to pay the household bills or so you can truly express the unity of your relationship. True joint bank accounts, […]

Katharine Whitehorn: FIRST PERSON So Arthur Koestler, giant thinker, whose Darkness at Noon helped to turn a generation of intellectuals away from communism, whose Thieves in the Night can make one almost understand Israel, whose forays into science and mysticism teased and intrigued us for three decades, turns out to have been a compulsive womaniser, […]

Sharon Hammond The Kruger National Park will present its much-awaited proposal for a new policy on managing its elephant population on Saturday. This follows decades of highly emotional criticism for culling the animals in an effort to keep the population in the park at a fixed number of between 7 000 and 7 500. “We […]

Andy Capostagno Cricket Against all odds, the Mini World Cup in Bangladesh is set to be a huge success and the development committee of the International Cricket Council (ICC) headed up by our own Ali Bacher should pat themselves on the back. Before proceedings began there were questions and worries aplenty. Why, if it was […]

Ferial Haffajee `The owner needs the cow because of its milk. The cow needs the owner because he provides it with hay. But when the cow ceases to produce milk, the owner may well decide to slaughter it. The cow cannot do the same to the owner.” This is what Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano said […]

Ann Eveleth The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC)final report has found Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi responsible for all the gross human rights violations committed under his leadership of the party, the KwaZulu government and the KwaZulu police. “Chief MG Buthelezi served simultaneously as president of the IFP and as the chief minister of […]