This issue of FOCUS covers political trials and changes to the death penalty in South Africa, including the enactment of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, notable cases involving political prisoners, and judicial reforms. It details ongoing and recent trials of anti-apartheid activists, mass arrests, police and vigilante actions, and the evolving legal context for political offences. The issue also discusses the processes for pardon and indemnity for political prisoners and exiles, referencing key agreements between the ANC and the South African government. Includes reports on protests, police violence, and the legal status of detainees, as well as organizational information about IDAF and its international affiliates.

This supplement to FOCUS No. 87 provides an analysis of the steps taken and obstacles remaining in the process of negotiating an end to apartheid in South Africa as of early 1990. It details the partial reforms initiated by the apartheid regime, including the unbanning of political organisations, the release of some political prisoners, and the lifting of certain emergency regulations. The supplement critically examines the limitations of these reforms, the continued existence of repressive legislation, the ongoing state of emergency, and the regime's retention of significant powers of repression. It also covers the responses of the African National Congress (ANC) and the international community, and outlines the requirements of the Harare Declaration for genuine negotiations.

This issue of FOCUS documents government plans and actions regarding the forced incorporation of various areas (Moutse, Botshabelo, Peelton, Leeuwfontein, Braklaagte) into South African bantustans during 1988-1989. It details community resistance, legal challenges, forced removals, police and vigilante violence, states of emergency, and the response of civil society organizations. The report includes references to contemporary press coverage and provides context on the humanitarian and political implications of these events.

Issue 57 outlines the intensifying political repression in South Africa and Namibia during early 1985. It highlights escalating political trials, over 1,100 detentions in 1984, censorship and state raids on press agencies, the trial of SWAPO fighters under repressive conditions, and the growing use of the Internal Security Act. The issue reports on community resistance, school boycotts, labour union suppression, press censorship, and constitutional manipulation to preserve apartheid structures. It includes detailed trial summaries, prisoner lists, and coverage of Nelson Mandela’s conditional release rejection.

Issue 56 documents an intensified wave of popular resistance and state repression in South Africa during the latter half of 1984, compared to the 1976 uprisings. It covers mass protests, rent boycotts, township uprisings, education strikes, and repression involving mass detentions, torture, and the militarization of civil areas. It includes resistance timelines, details of youth and trade unionist arrests, SWAPO resistance in Namibia, press censorship, and trials of political dissidents. Special attention is given to armed forces operations in Sebokeng, the rise of student activism through COSAS and AZASM, and censorship actions in Namibia.

Issue 53 details unequal prison conditions between male and female political prisoners, focusing on the treatment of Barbara Hogan and Dorothy Nyembe. It reports detentions, including youth activists, trade unionists, and ANC affiliates; describes major political trials involving ANC members and community leaders; and explores repression in Transkei, Venda, and the Ciskei. Also covered are education protests, the election boycott campaign, censorship battles over the Freedom Charter, and the release of Namibian political prisoners from Robben Island. The issue also includes coverage of SWAPO harassment, student resistance, and university unrest.

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.

This issue details South Africa’s continued occupation and military offensive in southern Angola (Operation Askari), systematic torture of detainees in Namibia, SWAPO trials, and the expansion of South Africa’s armed forces. Key topics include Ida Jimmy’s reduced sentence, Kavango detainees' torture affidavits, political trials involving ANC and PAC members, censorship enforcement, and high-profile detentions. It also highlights poverty in Namibia, with case studies revealing the state’s discriminatory benefit policies and extreme deprivation. Notable incidents include the Robben Island protest for elderly detainee release, the ‘roasting’ torture case in Kavango, and multiple political trials including that of Sister Mary Bernard Ncube.

Issue 50 covers the widespread rejection of South Africa’s new constitution by black communities, intensified state repression through arrests, treason trials, and censorship. It documents the brutal crackdown on the United Democratic Front (UDF), mass arrests in Namibia’s Kavango region, detentions of students and clergy, torture, trials under the Internal Security Act, and township resistance. The issue also includes coverage of Inkatha violence, the banning of political meetings, police shootings, and hanging secrecy policies. An obituary for Alex Hepple is included.

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.