City plans to sell off a string of properties

The City of Cape Town has announced it intends to sell off 65 municipal properties prompting a backlash from the hosts of a recent symposium on the Urban Land Question.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 22 August 2014

Cosatu holds conference on crime

On 22 August in the Cape Town City Hall, Cosatu convened an anti-crime conference in response to desperate pleas from communities asking for a more effective response to crime.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 22 August 2014

Silver lining for evicted farm tenants

There is a glimmer of hope for Andries Joostenberg and his family who, earlier this month, were evicted from the farm where they have lived for 50 years. As they near the prospect of becoming homeless again, a Stellenbosch attorney, Johan van der Merwe, has agreed to appeal the eviction order which put the family out on the street.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 21 August 2014

Daylight robbery at Nyanga school

On 20 August at Walter Teka Primary School in Nyanga, an official from the Department of Education in Western Cape became a victim of a crime while he visited the school on official duties. The incident occurred in front of schoolchildren.

Johnnie Isaac

News | 21 August 2014

Amakrwala

Young Xhosa men are welcomed back by the community after spending a month undergoing initiation and circumcision in the open veld in Philippi. It was on a Friday and mostly older brothers and young children cheered on the three young men at New crossroads, Nyanga. The women waited patiently at the family home, preparing food and peeling vegetables, while the elders chatted and drank African beer waiting to share words of wisdom with the new men.

Masixole Feni and Hugo Bobeheman

News | 21 August 2014

Crucial evidence missing from police docket

The handwritten notes made by the three police officers who claim they recorded Rowan du Preez’s dying declaration “were nowhere to be found” in the investigating docket.

Barbara Maregele

News | 21 August 2014

Delft teenager determined on success

“Some gangsters in my community have their reasons to be in gangs. I understand where they are coming from, but I choose to be different,” says Sibabalwe Mpetha.

Pharie Sefali

News | 21 August 2014

Women who beat the odds: Langa’s Nomzamo Mbete

72-year-old Nomzamo Mbete is determined to do her bit to help young township girls through dance.

Pharie Sefali

News | 21 August 2014

Amakrwala

Young Xhosa men are welcomed back by the community after spending a month undergoing initiation and circumcision in the open veld in Philippi. It was on a Friday and mostly older brothers and young children cheered on the three young men at New crossroads, Nyanga. The women waited patiently at the family home, preparing food and peeling vegetables, while the elders chatted and drank African beer waiting to share words of wisdom with the new men.

Masixole Feni and Hugo Bobeheman

News | 21 August 2014

Do big electronic dance music festivals spread the love?

From Miami’s supercharged Ultra Music festival to Rocking the Daisies, Cape Town has become home to some of the highest grossing music festivals in the country. Our music journalist, Zethu Gqola, takes a look at how, if at all, four of the biggest festivals have benefitted struggling communities in and around Cape Town.

Zethu Gqola

Opinion | 20 August 2014

Original District 6 families face eviction

On Searle Street, six semi-detached Victorian cottages house a handful of families not forcibly removed from District 6 during apartheid. Now, as the cottages go on sale, the tenants face imminent eviction.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 20 August 2014

Angy Peter case: defence questions police docket

Defence attorney William King has questioned the authenticity of the police docket handed to the court in the trial of Angy Peter and others.

Barbara Maregele

News | 20 August 2014

I am a sex worker …

Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) has staged a photo exhibition at its head office in Observatory, Cape Town, aimed at the ignorance and prejudice that comes with being labelled a sex worker.

Simbonile Mkwambi

News | 20 August 2014

Women who beat the odds: Khayelitsha’s Nokuthula Sibaba

Thanks to a successful woman, people in Khayelitsha don’t have to go to a mall to buy pizza - they can go to a pizza stand in Litha Park.

Pharie Sefali

News | 20 August 2014

Gay and not free in South Africa

A gay man from the DRC claims the Congolese community in South Africa will not rest until they kill him. Junior Miteo Kalonji, 34, wept hard as he talked about his life. GroundUp had to stop the interview three times when he broke down.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 19 August 2014

New toilets for Khayelitsha creche

It’s an hour before snack time at the Sophumelela Day Care centre in Site C, Khayelitsha, and one of the toddlers has indicated to his teacher that he needs to use the toilet.

Barbara Maregele

News | 19 August 2014