Celebrating Cape Town’s queer past
Cape Town’s rich drag culture is being taken into the future by new-school queers wholly aware of the trailblazers that made it all possible.
Stories by: Barry Christianson
Ceres residents fight ‘unnecessary’ water rationing
Impoverished residents have sought legal advice after the Witzenberg Municipality withdrew indigent subsidies for those who refused to allow it to install water management devices.
Siya Vato sailing in uncharted territory
Although it’s considered that the 26-year-old will be the first black skipper in the Cape2Rio Yacht Race, his focus is more on winning and inspiring future generations.
Violence follows gay asylum seeker
Despite South Africa’s progressive and protective Constitution, some gay asylum seekers feel no safer here than in the countries from which they are fleeing.
Belinda Davids is, and is not, Whitney Houston
The Port Elizabeth-born singer celebrates the memory, vocal range and heart of Whitney Houston in a worldwide tribute show while remaining distinctly herself.
Angels feed learners before matric exams
What started as an idea to spoil her son with breakfast has led to a Cape Town mother opening her heart, pockets and house to matric pupils, serving them meals during exam time.
Township spelling-bee winner inspires
A 15-year-old Nyanga pupil, who lives in a shack and goes to school in a dangerous area, has been named the best speller in the Western Cape – and the sixth best in Africa.
Africa’s oldest ‘tin soldier’
Thozi Mciki has a rare condition that has rendered him increasingly immobile, but he has travelled the world to find out more about FOP and raise awareness about this incurable disease.
Xenophobia in classrooms harms learners
Teenagers remain traumatised and fearful after xenophobia flared up in their schools and compromised their education.
Township design is big in the US
Deep Settle Movement is a design studio in Gugulethu that makes high-quality clothing in celebration of the township’s energy, and they can’t keep up with demand for their products.
Khayelitsha’s winning kasi-style pizza
Breaking traditional Khayelitsha cuisine expectations, Nokuthula Sigaba has established Sweet n’ Lovely, the township’s first pizza joint.
Farm workers march for basic rights
Dismal working and living conditions on farms drove farm workers on to the streets of Cape Town in protest against inhumane treatment, gender discrimination and evictions.
The Church’s stranglehold on Klipfontein
The Klipfontein Mission Station owned by the SA Methodist Church has mostly ignored complaints of families living in the area. But some local people remain loyal to the area of their birth.
Dispossession of the Adriaanse family home
A family still seeks restitution after the apartheid state forced them off their farm and the current government used the ground for the Blikkiesdorp “temporary relocation area”.
Cass Abrahams cooks up a culinary revolution
The food historian and Cape cookery expert’s work in the kitchen since the 1980s remains a touchstone for the cultural and historical value of Cape Muslim cuisine.
Cape Town’s homeless take on the City
The City of Cape Town has been fining people who live on the street and confiscating their belongings. But seven homeless residents, led by a woman tired of the inhumane treatment, are fighting back.
Children fear being shot and killed at school
Gang members in Hanover Park use the children leaving Blomvlei Primary after school as ‘shields’ to get closer to their rivals, and gunfire is common in the afternoons.
Shack fire victims left out in the cold
After a fire swept through a section of Masiphumelele township near Cape Town, razing homes and leaving residents without food or shelter, Sassa failed to respond despite being mandated to do so.
Workers take Oak Valley to court over ‘inhumane’ housing
Farm workers in the Western Cape winelands are still living in single-sex hostels at Oak Valley, as they were during apartheid. Now they are taking legal action.
Gangsterism versus football in Lavender Hill
The sound of gunshots regularly reverberates through the Cape Town suburb where gangs and residents vie for the lives of their youth.
The murder crisis in the Western Cape’s ganglands
Statistics reveal that 900 people have been killed in gang-related violence on the Cape Flats so far this year and police volunteers risk suspension by speaking out about it.