to die Zanemvula (Zakes) Mda has happy memories of growing up among a community of South African exiles and Lesotho locals in the small town of Mafeteng. Last week he returned to find a smouldering ruin Chris Hani used to frequent this restaurant. His father, known to us only as Ntate Hani, owned it in […]

Chiara Carter Nomaindia Mfeketo, the new mayor of Cape Town, tackles the social side of her work with zest because she wants to make sure every function she hosts tackles the city’s “apartheid divisions”. Mfeketo, who became mayor last week, acknowledges the criticism often levelled at Cape Town: that little has changed since 1994 and […]

Andy Capostagno Cricket A collective sigh of relief echoed through the corridors of power in the smaller unions this week when the United Cricket Board (UCB) decided not to impose a two-tier system on the Supersport Series. It was, by all accounts, the most conciliatory UCB meeting for years. The outcome was that, while note […]

CD of the week Michael Odell Sweeting Of course we knew there were two Ringos in the group. The Fugees, the biggest-selling rap group in the world, comprises two blokes employed to shout “One time!” and Lauryn Hill – who combines the singer/songwriter talents of Lennon and Macca. The Fugees was never the arena to […]

The outsider on this year’s Booker Prize shortlist is a bus driver. Peter Kingston caught a ride You’re sprinting for the bus. The driver spots your imploring wave and appears to be waiting, but just as catching the bus looks a real possibility, it pulls away. Why do they do that? “It’s the only pleasure […]

Alex Sudheim `Comedy is the new rock ‘n roll” goes the catchphrase of the moment. Young standups across the country are provoking audiences with a scabrous brand of humour that gleefully pokes and digs at society’s guilty secrets. As with the early days of rock ‘n roll, there is a spirit of anarchic, anti-establishment zeal; […]

Chiara Carter investigates a link between the Mafia boss and the ex- foreign minister The investigation into alleged Mafia moneyman Vito Palazzolo has led to a bizarre hunt for photographs of former foreign minister Pik Botha in bed with a black woman. The presidential investigation task unit’s acting head, Peter Viljoen, said he had several […]

Ann Eveleth: IN THE ACT T hree pieces of labour legislation working their way through the halls of Parliament promise dramatic changes in the workplace. But tight human and financial resources, coupled with the growth, employment and redistribution programme’s (Gear) industrial growth bias, raise questions about how effective these changes will be. The Basic Conditions […]

(and the odds) 7-4 Amsterdam by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape) 2-1 Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge (Duckworth) 4-1 England, England by Julian Barnes (Jonathan Cape) 9-2 Breakfast on Pluto by Patrick McCabe (Picador) 10-1 The Industry of Souls by Martin Booth (Dewi Lewis) 10-1 The Restraint of Beasts by Magnus Mills (Flaming)

row with black officers Tangeni Amupadhi Minister of Safety and Security Sydney Mufamadi is extinguishing fires these days. In between shuttles to Lesotho for peace talks, he stepped in to quell a growing rift between the national police commissioner and black managers. It is understood Mufamadi urged police National Commissioner George Fivaz to meet with […]