Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- November–December 1984 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 newsletter (multi-page, printed text)
Context area
Name of creator
Repository
Archival history
Part of the IDAF Focus newsletter collection, archived in anti-apartheid and human rights repositories.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
South African History Archive (SAHA)
Content and structure area
Scope and content
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.
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 within the IDAF Focus series.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open access.
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 machine-readable.
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 1–54, Section 28/ISA detention files, SWAPO war zone documentation, student protest court files, rent boycott resistance records.
Publication note
Focus', Issue No. 55. International Defence and Aid Fund, November–December 1984.
Notes area
Note
This issue includes extensive appendices listing over 100 named detainees, trial details, and evidence of violent state response to civil resistance movements.
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Name access points
- Patrick 'Terror' Lekota (Subject)
- Archie Gumede (Subject)
- Mewa Ramgobin (Subject)
- George Sewpersadh (Subject)
- M.J. Naidoo (Subject)
- Billy Nair (Subject)
- Essop Jassat (Subject)
- Aubrey Mokoena (Subject)
- Curtis Nkondo (Subject)
- Ruth Gerhardt (Subject)
- Dieter Gerhardt (Subject)
- Roland Hunter (Subject)
- Derek Hanekom (Subject)
- Patricia Hanekom (Subject)
- Ephraim Mthethwa (Subject)
- Goodman Mtati (Subject)
- Isaac Genu (Subject)
- Shahida Issel (Subject)
- Sipho Radebe (Subject)
- Alan Williams (Subject)
- Zoleka Brenda Badela (Subject)
- Anton Lubowski (Subject)
- Hans Rohr (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 marks a peak in civil resistance and state repression, offering detailed lists of detainees, trial accounts, and testimonies of military abuse in Namibia.