This issue documents the massive state security operation during anti-Republic Day protests, widespread student and labor detentions, guerilla actions by the ANC, and extensive trials under apartheid-era laws. Major topics include detentions of COSAS members, SAAWU and AZAPO activists, Robben Island releases, union suppression, and forced removals. It contains full trial listings, bans and restrictions, Namibia militarization, Kassinga anniversary, and a historical review of 20 years of repression since the Republic’s founding. The issue also exposes systemic use of torture, curfews, censorship, rape by soldiers, and the conscription system in Namibia.
This issue focuses on the controversial parole of political prisoners in South Africa, political trials of ANC and SWAPO members, deaths in detention (Muofhe and Depale), widespread use of the Terrorism and Internal Security Acts, bannings, banishments, repression of trade unions, the Rabie Commission reforms, and intensified state surveillance. It includes reports on the torture of detainees, new legislation affecting civil liberties, restrictions on media coverage, and paramilitary operations like Koevoet in Namibia.
This issue documents the worsening prison conditions for Nelson Mandela and fellow political prisoners at Pollsmoor Prison, state-sanctioned forced removals and the killing of community leader Saul Mkhize, child malnutrition and mortality in resettlement camps, mass detentions and psychiatric abuse of detainees, repression in the Ciskei bantustan, and the execution of ANC guerrillas. It provides updates on extensive political trials including Oscar Mpetha, Cedric Mayson, Siphiwe Makhathini, and Angula Mwaala (SWAPO). The issue contains a special review of state witnesses, torture allegations, and continuing evidence of apartheid legal manipulation and brutality.
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.
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 documents the death sentence imposed on Markus Kateka in Namibia, mass detentions under apartheid and occupation laws, torture and health crises in prisons, political trials involving ANC and SWAPO activists, testimonies of disappearances and cross-border raids, and systemic repression through censorship, bannings, and restrictions on civil society. Highlights include the trials of ANC guerrillas, the SWAPO activist Ida Jimmy, brutal detention of juveniles, the case of Dr. Nafta Hamata, and state-sanctioned killings and disappearances in Namibia. The issue also includes coverage of forced removals, health inequalities under apartheid rule, and testimony to international bodies including the UN and OAU about South African attacks in Angola.
This issue documents the South African raid on ANC residences in Matola, Mozambique, killing 15 people, including ANC and SACTU members. It reports widespread detentions, school boycotts, union crackdowns, and new censorship laws. It includes a testimony from SWAPO's Axel Johannes detailing 15 months of solitary detention under Proclamation AG26. Key events include the banning of six journalists, mass opposition to conscription in Namibia, accounts of torture, detentions of AZAPO members, the death of Jonas Shimuefeleni on Robben Island, and the escape of Kassinga detainees. The issue underscores militarization in Namibia, legal mechanisms used for indefinite detention, and state suppression of media and civil liberties.
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.
This issue covers school boycotts and the violent repression of student protest in South Africa, particularly in the Cape and Transvaal provinces. It details political trials, including the ANC guerrilla trials, the imprisonment of journalist Msekeli Mgijima, and union repression cases. Detentions under various security laws are documented, including hunger strikes, torture allegations, and the death of a Transkei official in custody. The newsletter features an interview with SWAPO President Sam Nujoma, highlighting repression in Namibia, including new police units, forced removals, and militarization. Also covered are conditions in Robben Island, internal exile, and the targeting of student activists and civic leaders. A large section lists detainees and political prisoners.
Issue 37 provides detailed reporting on repression in the Ciskei bantustan, the South African invasion of Angola (Operation Protea), political detentions, bannings, student and trade union trials, and prison conditions. It includes first-hand accounts, trial updates (including those of Oscar Mpetha and ANC guerillas), figures on political prisoners, juvenile detentions, and restrictions on journalists. Reports also highlight police violence, attacks on press freedom, and widespread protest against 'independence' imposed on Ciskei.