Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- January–February 1983 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 newsletter (multi-page, printed text)
Context area
Name of creator
Repository
Archival history
Stored and preserved as part of IDAF’s archive on political repression in Southern Africa.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
South African History Archive (SAHA)
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This issue focuses on increasing military control in Namibia, particularly through South Africa’s use of intelligence and military figures to override civil authority. It documents multiple cases of deaths in detention (notably in Kavango), systemic torture by security police, conditions in Namibian hospitals, repression of trade unionists, political trials (including Barbara Hogan, Cedric Mayson, and Allan Fine), abuses of the Internal Security Act, political detentions, and apartheid’s legal manipulation. Includes statistical updates, case reports, and trial summaries relating to anti-apartheid activists, students, and workers across Southern Africa.
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
Chronological within the 'Focus' newsletter series.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open for public access and academic research.
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 scanned; legible and structurally complete.
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 1–43, Rabie Commission reports, DPSC torture memoranda, Koevoet operations, ANC/SWAPO trial records, Namibian occupation archives.
Publication note
Focus', Issue No. 44. International Defence and Aid Fund, January–February 1983.
Notes area
Note
Contains strong evidence of systemic torture, multiple deaths in detention, civil-military overlap in Namibia, and growing resistance through legal and trade union activism.
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Barbara Hogan (Subject)
- Cedric Mayson (Subject)
- Neil Aggett (Subject)
- Oscar Mpetha (Subject)
- Suzman Mokoena (Subject)
- Siphiwo Mtimkulu (Subject)
- Mandla Sibisi (Subject)
- Joe Thloloe (Subject)
- Sisa Njikelana (Subject)
- Thozamile Gqweta (Subject)
- Roggerio Chamusso (Subject)
- Lillian Keagile (Subject)
- Nomakhephu Ntsatha (Subject)
- Mncekeleli Peter (Subject)
- Mlungisi Mtshotana (Subject)
- Alan Fine (Subject)
- Themba Mthembu (Subject)
- Makhosazana Nhlapo (Subject)
- Benedicta Monama (Subject)
- Cosmos Makanga (Subject)
- Sintenga Nguuru (Subject)
- P.W. Botha (Subject)
- Magnus Malan (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
This issue intensifies documentation of the collapse of civilian governance in Namibia under military pressure, and marks a high point in the exposure of systemic torture practices in South Africa.