Issue No. 1 of 'Focus' bulletin, dated November 1975, detailing the intensification of political repression in Southern Africa, including mass detentions, torture, political trials under the Terrorism Act, and increasing use of banning orders. Specific cases, trials, and legislative actions in South Africa, Rhodesia, and Namibia are described.
Angola
30 Archival description results for Angola
This issue highlights torture and political repression in Namibia, including sworn affidavits of electric shock torture and abuse of detainees like Bernadus Petrus. It covers arrests of SWAPO leaders, police crackdowns on rallies, and controversial security laws such as AG9. South African topics include trials, bannings, deaths in detention (e.g., Steve Biko, Rick Turner), Goch Street shootings, and Spring Six sentencing. Other topics include educational repression, press censorship, Rhodesian executions, guerilla warfare, and the seizure of banned organisations’ assets.
This issue covers the emergence of 'private armies' in Rhodesia following the internal settlement, including reports of guerilla activity, auxiliary forces, and repression. Topics include the Elim Mission massacre, security force abuses, wage disparities, police shootings of miners, numerous political trials and executions, including the death sentence of Solomon Mahlangu. Also covered are detainee lists, deaths in detention (including Lungile Tabalaza), torture allegations, and forced deportations of Roman Catholic clergy.
This issue highlights the violent police raids on Crossroads squatter camp, political trials including the Mothopeng and SASM 11 cases, detention of activists, the death of Lungile Tabalaza, and the publication of IDAF's 'Prisoners of Apartheid'. The issue also covers South Africa’s intensified legal repression, martial law expansion in Rhodesia, repression in Ciskei and Venda, deportations, and the death of student activist Johannes Matsobane.
This issue documents mass executions under Rhodesian martial law, including hangings and firing squad deaths; political trials and detentions in South Africa and Namibia; the torture of SWAPO official Axel Johannes; repression of election activity under Rhodesian martial law; starvation and violence in rural areas; cross-border military raids by South Africa into Angola and Zambia; and detailed lists of political prisoners, detainees, and court rulings. The issue also highlights the censorship of political prisoners, private armies in Zimbabwe, and the use of elections as political manipulation by the Rhodesian regime.
This issue details a new phase of military escalation in Namibia, including South African troop build-ups, air raids in Angola, martial law extensions, and mass detentions in Windhoek. It covers the repression in ‘Zimbabwe-Rhodesia,’ highlighting political trials, executions, the Mothopeng PAC trial, and press censorship. Key developments include the sentencing of PAC members, reports of sexual violence by security forces in protected villages, new appointments to suppress dissent, and the systematic use of curfews and detentions without trial.
This issue details extensive torture allegations in Rhodesia, including specific cases of teenage detainees Benchard and Leavit Katumba, Bibo Chitsedza, and Duster Katanha. It reports on political trials, executions, petitions for clemency, and the expansion of martial law across prisons in Zimbabwe-Rhodesia. It also covers SWAPO detentions in Namibia, repression in South Africa (including bannings, exile, and suppression of political activists), the creation of a South West African Defence Force under South African control, and press censorship. Further reports cover banned and exiled individuals, refugee crises, and new powers granted to police and Bantustans to restrict movement and civil liberties.
This issue centers on the campaign to release Nelson Mandela, political trials involving ANC members, widespread detentions, prison conditions, and regional instability due to South African military incursions into Angola and Zambia. Key trials include those of James Mange, Renfrew Christie, and numerous ANC guerrillas. The issue details amnesties in Zimbabwe, restoration of study rights for political prisoners in South Africa, torture accounts of detained youth, and the banning of religious and civil society organizations in the Transkei. Also discussed are border attacks, military build-ups, and systematic pressure on frontline states.
This issue highlights South Africa's military presence in Angola, expanded powers of the Defence Force, and new legislation legalizing extraterritorial deployment. Reports include armed forces statistics, political trials (Bloem, Black Consciousness trial), banning orders, and 'protected' villages in Rhodesia. Includes a personal account by Winnie Mandela on political 'widows'.
This issue documents intensified repression of black trade unions, including police brutality, deportations, and censorship of union material. It covers mass removals under apartheid laws, including the Hout Bay evictions, relocation of farm squatters, and resettlement for wildlife conservation. A major feature is the in-depth testimony of ANC official Zinjiva Nkondo, abducted and interrogated by South African security forces. Also included are reports on student repression in the bantustans, widespread bans on political gatherings, censorship of Mandela campaign material, trials of ANC guerrillas, Robben Island prison conditions, and Namibia's 'internal settlement' military and administrative developments.