History Matters

Nomfundo Xulu Published:Times Jan 29, 2009 THOUGH the history of South Africa has always been fascinating, some elements do not make sense because every historian has a different story to tell. One such historical era involves the respected and feared Shaka Zulu. While Zulu people usually sing his praises and say he was the saviour [...]

Jonathan Jansen Your view on the 2008 matriculation examination results depends on where you stand. If you are a successful student with a “B” designation, you are ecstatic because you are virtually guaranteed university entrance. Your parents are very happy and there are no protests again the school system. If you are a student who [...]

Human Rights Watch has just released a new report on Zimbabwe documenting the problems of law enforcement, human rights abuses, political interference in the rule of law that has besieged the country for the last eight years and beyond. Recommendations are also included for future Zimbabwean governments, the SADC community and international donors. This promises [...]

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The terrorist’s attacks on civilians and government forces by armed militants in Mumbai have once again spread mayhem and fear in the Indian sub continent. It is an attack that replicates the hundreds of conflicts across the world which continues to underline the fact how a small group of [...]

17 November 2008 Reuters: The Great Debate “Unacceptable and murderous.” Those were the words French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner chose to describe the situation in north eastern Congo at a press conference after October’s monthly meeting of EU foreign ministers. Sadly, Congo was not even on the agenda of that meeting. In the following weeks, [...]

Durban police constable Kwesi Matenjwa confesses – on the morning of Saturday, 1 November – how “the great white shark”, City Manager Michael Sutcliffe, ordered his unit to evict (without alternative accommodation) 47 desperate people, mostly from the Eastern DRC. Sutcliffe accused the refugees – mainly women and children – of being involved in “crime”, [...]

The Centre for Civil Society, based at the University of KwaZulu Natal presents a photographic exhibition detailing the challenges of a community of foreign nationals during the outbreak of xenophobia in the Durban area. The photographs depict the plight of this community during their journey of no end from the doors of the police station [...]

People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP) is a community based NGO that has been working closely with refugees in the Cape Town area. PASSOP is chaired by Braam Hannekom, a Zimbabwean who has been living in South Africa for some time, but is fuelled by a small team and many volunteers. The work [...]

Zimbabwe’s parties are close to breaking a deadlock over a power-sharing deal and “history is being made” at talks between President Robert Mugabe and rival Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition MDC said on Wednesday. MDC chief negotiator Tendai Biti, asked by reporters when talks would be concluded, said: “If you pray hard, tomorrow. History is being [...]