Democracy & Social Justice

The People’s Tribunal on Economic Crime in South Africa will open its first hearings this Saturday, 3 February, at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. People’s Tribunals have been led by citizens and civil society for over four decades to address human rights abuses and war crimes in many contexts, including Palestine and Indonesia. The South African People’s Tribunal on Economic Crime will be the first tribunal of its kind to focus primarily on economic crimes and corruption.

Planact Hosts HBF for site visits

Yesterday, the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) secured a significant judgment in the Supreme Court of Appeal relating to the burden that single parents, particularly single mothers, face when seeking to ensure access to education for their children. EELC’s client, Michelle Saffer, struggled for more than 6 years to secure a vindication of her rights - her courage and tenacity has paved the way for greater certainty and clarity for parents in her position. The Women’s Legal Centre (WLC) entered the case as a friend of the court, highlighting the impact of the current fee exemption scheme in fee paying schools on women who are similarly placed as Ms Saffer and the manner in which the current framework discriminates against women.

Interview on the situation in Zimbabwe with Brian Raftopoulos, Director of Research and Advocacy, Solidarity Peace Trust.

Civil society organisations condemn the perceived interference in the running of the Treasury.

Both the Mugabe’s succession plan and Mnangagwa’s long held Presidential ambitions have been in play for some time. While they have coincided in their strategic intent, at some point the final confrontation between the two was always on the cards.

Shortly before the coup, the offices of HBF partner Magamba Network were raided and a team member arrested. Magamba's Tongai Makawa provides an update and reflects on the implications of the military takeover.

On 14 November the Zimbabwean army took control of the capital Harare, effectively ending Robert Mugabe's longlasting rule over the impoverished country.

South Africa has been rocked by news that President Jacob Zuma has bulldozed the country’s National Treasury to adopt a fee free higher education proposal without following standard process and scrutiny. This is reportedly what’s behind the resignation of the Treasury’s respected head of budgeting, Michael Sachs. The Conversation Africa’s Sibonelo Radebe asked Seán Muller to weigh up the implications.

The rural Amadiba community of Xolobeni on South Africa’s picturesque Wild Coast won a rare victory in July when an Australian company gave up its 13-year battle to mine titanium from the dunes that have sustained them for generations.