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 article documents the secrecy surrounding executions in South Africa during late 1988, highlighting the lack of official information prior to executions and the reliance on newspaper reports by monitoring groups. It details the execution of eight men (with one granted a stay), discrepancies in official statistics on political death sentences, and the case of George Skosana. The article also covers several trials resulting in death sentences and lengthy prison terms for individuals involved in political unrest, including the Tumahole and PUTCO cases. The text references specific individuals, events, and sources, illustrating the broader context of political repression and the use of the death penalty.

This issue of FOCUS covers legal and political developments in South Africa and Namibia during July-August 1990, including proposed changes to death sentence laws, commutation of political prisoners' sentences, political and labour trials, repression of workers and students, and violence in the Natal region attributed to Inkatha and police complicity. Includes case studies, trial reports, and background on the humanitarian work of IDAF.

This issue of FOCUS covers political trials and changes to the death penalty in South Africa, including the enactment of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, notable cases involving political prisoners, and judicial reforms. It details ongoing and recent trials of anti-apartheid activists, mass arrests, police and vigilante actions, and the evolving legal context for political offences. The issue also discusses the processes for pardon and indemnity for political prisoners and exiles, referencing key agreements between the ANC and the South African government. Includes reports on protests, police violence, and the legal status of detainees, as well as organizational information about IDAF and its international affiliates.

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.

This issue details the South African government's deepening apartheid policies after the 1977 elections, repression through political trials, detentions, and bannings. Major trials include the Pretoria Twelve, Springs Six, and PAC-related cases. It reports on torture in Namibia, police killings, arson trials, and student resistance. The issue includes coverage of Steve Biko’s aftermath, the death of Robert Sobukwe, Soweto’s community council elections, detentions of minors, and rising legal and political suppression.

This issue reports on the execution of Solomon Mahlangu, Soweto student trials (Soweto Eleven), new political trial convictions including Mzilikazi Khumalo and Norman Ngwenya, and ongoing PAC and ANC-related legal cases. It covers the death in detention of Mputie Matsobane on Robben Island, detention statistics, banning orders, and claims for damages by families of detainees like Steve Biko and Joseph Mdluli. Zimbabwe elections, martial law, and South African collaboration with the Rhodesian regime are also addressed. Further topics include press censorship, guerrilla detentions, and the militarization of the border zones.

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.