Tuesday, 6 June 2023
Tymon Smith is a freelance journalist who writes about the arts and South African history. Previously the literary editor of the Sunday Times, he is the recipient of a silver Standard Banks Arts Journalist of the Year Award for feature writing. He was the head researcher for interactive DVD “Between Life and Death: Stories from John Vorster Square” and is working on a book about the Johannesburg police station.
Recorded in debauchery at a French villa, Exile on Main Street has been trashed, dismissed, hailed and revered in the 50 years since its release in 1972.
Neil Aggett and Ahmed Timol’s families have the closure they sought. But with many TRC-related cases outstanding, more must be done before the perpetrators die.
Judge Motsamai Makume’s long-awaited judgment at the reopened inquest into the 1982 death of the trade unionist places blame squarely at the feet of the security police.
The artist went from township iconography to expressing ideas rather than observed events. He leaves a legacy of magical works that go far beyond the art of a life in exile.
The devoted detective worked tirelessly to uphold the rule of law, tackling crucial cases before and after democracy in South Africa and bringing criminals to book all over the world.
The arrest of his son in 1981 turned Coleman into an activist and anti-apartheid campaigner, leading him to an Order of Luthuli award.
Desmond Tutu was a teacher, preacher, ‘public enemy number one’, Nobel Peace laureate, mediator and conciliator who proved in the course of a long and caring life that he was a man for all seasons.
A memoir by a former member of the Strategic Communications unit details how the regime used deception, sabotage and harassment campaigns to undermine and destroy activists.
The reopened inquest into the apartheid activist’s death in 1977 suggests Security Branch officers tortured him, with a then junior officer giving the clearest picture yet of what happened.
Joao Rodrigues and Paul Erasmus both worked for the apartheid regime and died this year. But while Rodrigues was litigious and tight-lipped, Erasmus tried to help victims’ families.
The astonishingly creative and visionary producer and singer shaped the musical landscape well beyond Jamaica.
The death of the Durban dentist at the hands of the apartheid police in 1977 profoundly shaped his family’s lives. Only two siblings are still alive, hoping to find out the truth.
Lukhanyo Calata has resorted to the courts to compel the Hawks to finalise their investigation into the 1985 murders of his father Fort Calata, Matthew Goniwe, Sicelo Mhlauli and Sparrow Mkonto.
The NPA and the Hawks are allocating people and resources to investigate apartheid-era crimes that have gone unpunished, but not everyone is altogether happy about it.
Final arguments of the reopened inquest into the 1982 death of the trade unionist provide compelling reasons for his chief interrogators to be dealt their just punishment.
The former apartheid security police officer’s attempt to use political interference as a reason not to stand trial for murder has failed.
The ANC leadership will not get away with ignoring the political interference that has allowed apartheid criminals to escape punishment for the murders they committed.
The former actor turned editor now bookseller is slightly bemused at the interest his avant-garde films from the 1980s are garnering, but perhaps they can play a ‘functional role’ in art activism today.
The original Cherry Faced Lurchers’ recordings were deeply recognisant of South Africa as it was in the dark 1980s. Now re-released, they are still powerful and resonant.
The killing of Dulcie September has remained shrouded in secrecy for decades, and though a new documentary about it does not reveal her killers, it might help piece together the puzzle.
Former askari Joe Mamsela has revealed who he says killed Dipale in 1982 while the young activist was detained at John Vorster Square police station.