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.

Issue 54 details condemnations of Namibian security legislation, torture and overcrowding in prisons, living conditions for Black Namibians, mass arrests of SWAPO leaders, ongoing township protests in South Africa, youth and student trials, and political detentions under apartheid. It features extensive evidence from the Namibian Bar Council challenging the legitimacy and brutality of the state's policing and detention laws, while also documenting high-profile trials and growing resistance movements.

Issue 55 chronicles the intensified resistance to apartheid in South Africa, focusing on rent boycotts, township uprisings, school and university protests, mass detentions, and political trials. It documents electoral boycotts of the segregated parliament, bans on political gatherings, deaths in detention, and brutal state repression. Coverage includes SWAPO's military and political strength in Namibia, press censorship, and war zone atrocities in the Kavango region. Also featured are trials of student activists, trade unionists, and members of banned organisations such as the ANC and AZAPO.

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.

This issue details Rhodesian cross-border military raids into Mozambique and Botswana, the escalation of warfare, and border violations. It also provides updates on detainees, political trials in South Africa and Rhodesia, repression in Namibia, and deaths in detention. Extensive coverage is given to attacks on ANC and Black Consciousness activists, the SASO-BPC trial convictions, and the acquittal of white NUSAS-linked activists. Lists of detainees, descriptions of torture, censorship, and abuses of the Terrorism Act are included.

Issue 9 covers legislation protecting South African police from prosecution, increased executions in Rhodesia, death sentences from Special Courts, the SASO-BPC trial, detentions, Robben Island conditions, and deaths in detention (including Elmon Malele, Matthews Mabelane, and Samuel Malinga). The issue also reports on Rhodesian cross-border raids, student escapes to Botswana, repression in Namibia, and psychological warfare campaigns.

This issue of Focus (no. 92) covers political trials, detentions, and the struggle for the reincorporation of the Bophuthatswana bantustan in South Africa during late 1990 and early 1991. It documents ongoing legal repression, mass detentions, bail applications, prison sentences, and mass action against apartheid-era authorities. The issue includes case studies, named individuals, and references to legal and political developments, as well as coverage of campaigns for the release of political prisoners and the activities of anti-apartheid organizations.