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.
Botswana
6 Archival description results for Botswana
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 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 covers the major treason trial of 12 alleged ANC guerillas, repression under martial law in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia), escalating political trials in South Africa, continued security legislation abuses, and numerous detentions and bannings. It includes detailed reports on the use of torture, child detentions, the settlement of civil suits like the Steve Biko case, and bans imposed on legal defenders like Priscilla Jana. Reports on trials span across Transkei, Ciskei, Namibia, and Botswana. Also included are conditions in resettlement camps like Dimbaza and Ilinge, treatment of political prisoners on Robben Island and Kroonstad, and censorship cases involving journalists.
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 covers intensifying repression in Namibia, including the introduction of tighter security measures in Ovamboland and Kaokoland, SWAPO detentions, torture reports, amnesty rejections, and detailed accounts of atrocities. A centerpiece is the testimony of Lucia Hamutenya, former SWAPO Legal Secretary, who recounts her arrest, torture, and hallucinations in detention. The issue also addresses continued political trials in South Africa, Pretoria prison conditions for political detainees, calls to free Mandela, a list of over 500 political prisoners, execution statistics, and the deportation of missionaries and conscientious objectors. Developments in the 'homeland' policy in Namibia and the impact on representative authorities are also critically analyzed.