Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
unbanned 25 years agolatest news & developments

Shoeless Mandela went missing, ‘sipping tea’ on day of release

Mandela was found sipping tea with his shoes off in a quiet Cape Town home, his driver having made a detour to avoid the crowd outside the city hall.

Coal, a key fuel for electricity production, is a major producer of carbon dioxide emissions, a major driver of global warming. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)

Inkatha, too, paved the way to peaceful liberation

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) sought the greatest possible protection of human rights and the strongest possible constitutional democracy.

Resistance: André Muller started his own church.

Liberty feels hollow when we are still economically incarcerated

With so many citizens trapped in poverty and hunger it is difficult to remember February?2 1990 today with the same feelings we had 25 years ago.

In Lusaka, wary exiles dared to hope

Elation was tempered by fear and the sense that the unbanning was real came only when Mandela was released.

Apartheid police strike a last blow at freedom

The cops did not share in the jubilation when president FW de Klerk unbanned the liberation movements in 1990.

Homecoming: The unbanning of liberation movements in 1990 allowed exiles

The day that changed our lives

The sacrifices we made for the struggle were all validated in one speech by FW de Klerk.

Unbanned 25 years ago: Sharing a toilet with Tutu – that’s a first

Unbanned 25 years ago: Sharing a toilet with Tutu – that’s a first

The unbanning of political parties caught people unawares, but most can recall where they were.

FW de Klerk’s ‘quantum leap’: Did he jump or was he pushed?

The motives of the ‘last apartheid president’ can only be truly understood within a 20-year context.

Cold comfort: The ANC government has made infinitesimal progress in the area of land reform ­despite the fact that access to land formed a critical element of the struggle for freedom.

Unbanned 25 years ago: The promise of the time hasn’t been fulfilled

It’s 25 years since Madiba’s release from prison and the unbanning of political parties. Former minister Mosibudi Mangena asks what’s changed.

In 1984 Pik Botha

Peace with neighbours led to unbanning

A sequence of solutions – in Angola, Namibia and Mozambique – guaranteed democracy in SA.

The magic of Madiba’s dual personality

Mandela was a far wilier politician, and could be less saintly, than some other portrayals would have us believe, writes Robin Renwick.

Paradigm shift: After FW de Klerk announced the unbanning of the ANC

Unbanned and uncertain: How we found new purpose

The unbanning of political parties and the end of emergency media laws meant the Weekly Mail had to reassess its role.