This issue details the South African invasion of southern Angola, including town occupations, bombings, and destruction of infrastructure. It provides accounts of torture and abuse of SWAPO detainees, repression in Namibia under conscription, destruction of the Anglican seminary in Odibo, mass pass arrests in the Cape, increased military and police operations in urban areas, and ongoing political detentions and trials of trade unionists, students, and ANC members. Notably, testimonies of detainees, statistics on South African aggression in Angola, and reports on religious persecution and the expansion of South African military bases are included.
ANC
13 Archival description results for ANC
Issue 37 provides detailed reporting on repression in the Ciskei bantustan, the South African invasion of Angola (Operation Protea), political detentions, bannings, student and trade union trials, and prison conditions. It includes first-hand accounts, trial updates (including those of Oscar Mpetha and ANC guerillas), figures on political prisoners, juvenile detentions, and restrictions on journalists. Reports also highlight police violence, attacks on press freedom, and widespread protest against 'independence' imposed on Ciskei.
This issue focuses on the controversial parole of political prisoners in South Africa, political trials of ANC and SWAPO members, deaths in detention (Muofhe and Depale), widespread use of the Terrorism and Internal Security Acts, bannings, banishments, repression of trade unions, the Rabie Commission reforms, and intensified state surveillance. It includes reports on the torture of detainees, new legislation affecting civil liberties, restrictions on media coverage, and paramilitary operations like Koevoet in Namibia.
This issue focuses on increasing military control in Namibia, particularly through South Africa’s use of intelligence and military figures to override civil authority. It documents multiple cases of deaths in detention (notably in Kavango), systemic torture by security police, conditions in Namibian hospitals, repression of trade unionists, political trials (including Barbara Hogan, Cedric Mayson, and Allan Fine), abuses of the Internal Security Act, political detentions, and apartheid’s legal manipulation. Includes statistical updates, case reports, and trial summaries relating to anti-apartheid activists, students, and workers across Southern Africa.
Issue 45 provides detailed accounts of repression through tightened pass laws, the criminalisation of residency, and the use of state security forces to restrict African movement and employment. The issue features an obituary tribute to Canon John Collins and reports on mass detentions, child imprisonment, police violence, and political trials of ANC and SWAPO members. It also includes updates on union suppression, school and student protests, the Maseru Raid, Namibia detentions, and Angola incursions. A full review of the 1982 armed struggle is included, with statistical breakdowns of sabotage operations, and evidence of state disinformation regarding guerrilla activity. Ciskei repression and its 'Sword of the Nation' squad are also featured.
This issue covers the imposition of strict military censorship in Namibia by the SADF, the deaths of detainees including Kasire Thomas and Johannes Kakuva, mass arrests under Proclamation AG9, forced labour of prisoners, torture trials and revelations, and systemic suppression of opposition to apartheid-era constitutional reforms. It highlights SWAPO resistance, the banning of the Namibia Report by Archbishop Denis Hurley, police raids on churches, the Mawaala sabotage trial, and trials of numerous ANC activists. A statistical roundup of detentions and court cases also illustrates escalating state violence.
This issue documents the worsening prison conditions for Nelson Mandela and fellow political prisoners at Pollsmoor Prison, state-sanctioned forced removals and the killing of community leader Saul Mkhize, child malnutrition and mortality in resettlement camps, mass detentions and psychiatric abuse of detainees, repression in the Ciskei bantustan, and the execution of ANC guerrillas. It provides updates on extensive political trials including Oscar Mpetha, Cedric Mayson, Siphiwe Makhathini, and Angula Mwaala (SWAPO). The issue contains a special review of state witnesses, torture allegations, and continuing evidence of apartheid legal manipulation and brutality.
This issue highlights post-execution protests, a new death sentence, eleven treason charges in the Eastern Cape, renewed banning orders, and worsening prison conditions for political detainees. It covers township protests in Soweto and East London, police repression of rent and transport protests, numerous detentions including youth activists and clergy, and the extensive use of Section 50 of the Internal Security Act. Reports include detailed updates on treason trials, executions, state witness manipulations, prison deaths, media censorship in Namibia, the banning of Archbishop Denis Hurley's statements, and mass grave discoveries. Notably, the issue records a police massacre during a transport boycott in Mdantsane.
Issue 49 focuses on violent repression of SWAPO activism in Namibia during the UN Secretary-General’s visit, the ongoing arrests and torture of activists, and bans on key political figures. It includes detailed lists of restricted and detained persons, coverage of constitutional resistance through the UDF’s launch, and increasing detentions of students and trade unionists in South Africa. It also highlights the torture of detainees, psychiatric abuse, and the use of treason trials to suppress dissent. The issue documents major political trials, mass protests, state censorship, and population clearances in the Kavango region of Namibia.
This issue reports on the release of SWAPO leader Herman Toivo ja Toivo, his public reaffirmation of SWAPO's mission, and the continued detention of Kassinga survivors. It features court actions to free detainees, detailed lists of those imprisoned, and affidavits documenting torture and unlawful detention under Proclamation AG9. It covers new detentions, student protests, pass law convictions, school boycotts, the Alexandra bus boycott, forced removals, and increasing repression in Namibia and Venda. Major sections report on death in detention, political trials, abuses by security forces, and a growing list of detainees. The newsletter also documents the high-profile trial of journalist Gwen Lister and the deportation of British researcher Alun Roberts.