This issue of FOCUS covers labour disputes and union activities in Namibia during the first half of 1989, including strikes and negotiations involving NUNW affiliates such as NAPWU, NAFAU, MANWU, and MUN. It also reports on political prisoners, including ongoing detentions and legal proceedings. The publication provides context on the relationship between unions and SWAPO during the transition to independence, and includes a list of sources and abbreviations.

This article details a campaign by the South African regime to undermine SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organization) and associated church groups in Namibia during the mid-1980s. It describes the infiltration of SWAPO by South African spies, the dissemination of propaganda, and the targeting of church organizations such as the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN). The article references press conferences, confessions by captured agents, and attacks on church property, as well as the international response to these events. It also includes statements from SWAPO leaders and church officials, and discusses the broader context of repression and resistance in Namibia.

Issue 50 covers the widespread rejection of South Africa’s new constitution by black communities, intensified state repression through arrests, treason trials, and censorship. It documents the brutal crackdown on the United Democratic Front (UDF), mass arrests in Namibia’s Kavango region, detentions of students and clergy, torture, trials under the Internal Security Act, and township resistance. The issue also includes coverage of Inkatha violence, the banning of political meetings, police shootings, and hanging secrecy policies. An obituary for Alex Hepple is included.

Issue No. 1 of 'Focus' bulletin, dated November 1975, detailing the intensification of political repression in Southern Africa, including mass detentions, torture, political trials under the Terrorism Act, and increasing use of banning orders. Specific cases, trials, and legislative actions in South Africa, Rhodesia, and Namibia are described.