Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- November–December 1979 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 newsletter (multi-page, printed text)
Context area
Name of creator
Repository
Archival history
Retained as part of the IDAF archive series covering Southern African legal repression, armed resistance, and humanitarian violations.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
South African History Archive (SAHA)
Content and structure area
Scope and content
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.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Retained permanently for historical research on Southern African political repression and human rights violations.
Accruals
No further accruals expected.
System of arrangement
Chronologically maintained in the IDAF Focus bulletin collection.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Public access permitted without restriction.
Conditions governing reproduction
Reproduction allowed with proper citation of IDAF as source.
Language of material
English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
OCR scan of original publication; readable and formatted.
Finding aids
Uploaded finding aid
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Originals held by the South African History Archives.
Existence and location of copies
Digital copy available through the PWP projects and other Archives.
Related units of description
Issues 1–24; Rhodesian court martial records; AG26 detainee case files; SWAPO legal archives; torture testimony reports.
Publication note
Focus', Issue No. 25. International Defence and Aid Fund, November–December 1979.
Notes area
Note
Significant issue documenting the use of electrical torture on juveniles, repression under martial law, and the militarization of Namibia through proxy forces.
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Benchard Katumba (Subject)
- Leavit Katumba (Subject)
- Bibo Chitsedza (Subject)
- Duster Katanha (Subject)
- Hewat Beukes (Subject)
- Erica Beukes (Subject)
- Solomon Mahlangu (Subject)
- Mary Moodley (Subject)
- Shummie Ntutu (Subject)
- Diliza Matshoba (Subject)
- Priscilla Jana (Subject)
- Sedick Isaacs (Subject)
- Isaac Moroe (Subject)
- Albertina Sisulu (Subject)
- Dirk Mudge (Subject)
- General Geldenhuys (Subject)
- Johannes Konjore (Subject)
- Axel Johannes (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description, Second Edition
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Extensive legal and testimonial coverage of torture, military repression, and internal state violence. Key issue for Rhodesian and Namibian human rights research.