South Africa
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SAFTU condemns imperialist blackmail disguised as diplomacy in Ramaphosa’s secret deal with Trump
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) condemns in the strongest terms the disgraceful deception of the South African public by President Cyril Ramaphosa and his delegation during their recent meeting with Donald Trump in Washington. What was presented as a diplomatic engagement has now been unmasked as a covert operation to surrender South… Continue reading
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Listen to South Africans? Trump’s ‘white genocide’ tirade borrows directly from fascist script
In a stark display of racist arrogance, President Donald Trump derailed a recent meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa when he launched into a rant alleging that the government of South Africa is engaged in “white genocide.” Continue reading
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Oligarchy and the subversion of democracy–warnings from South Africa
The world has an oligarchy problem. It threatens economic and social stability and accelerates planetary environmental destruction and global warming. While much has been written about Russian oligarchs, it has become clear that the West, particularly the U.S., has a similar and growing oligarchy problem. Thom Hartmann writes how ” The American Oligarchs Have Arrived… Continue reading
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Trump wants a super bigot to be ambassador to South Africa
Donald Trump has nominated L. Brent Bozell III–who defended the white supremacist apartheid system–to be U.S. envoy to South Africa, whose people overthrew apartheid in 1994. Meanwhile, the apartheid nepo baby Elon Musk–whose daddy owned an emerald mine in Northern Rhodesia (now independent Zambia)—posted on X, “The legacy media never mentions white genocide in South… Continue reading
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Abahlali baseMjondolo Secures Victory Against Forced Evictions
A landmark ruling has blocked the eviction of poor residents in Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal, marking a major victory for the Abahlali baseMjondolo movement. Continue reading
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US aid freeze: Analysts see South Africa being punished for dragging ‘Israel’ to ICJ
Trump has frozen US aid to South Africa, citing land confiscation and human rights concerns, but analysts see it as retaliation for South Africa’s ICJ case against “Israel” over genocide in Gaza. Continue reading
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Naledi Pandor – “Israeli agents have threatened me and my family”
“The Israeli agents, intelligence agencies, this is how they behave. They seek to intimidate you. We must not be intimidated.” Continue reading
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South Africa to prosecute citizens fighting for Israel in Gaza
On Monday, the South African government cautioned that South Africans participating in combat for Israel in Gaza will face prosecution upon returning home. Continue reading
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Abahlali baseMjondolo and the fight of the organized poor against a hostile justice system
Months after being imprisoned on a murder charge, three leaders of the eKhenana Commune of Abahlali baseMjondolo have been finally granted bail. Their arrests are part of a lengthy history of violent persecution of the shack dwellers’ movement Continue reading
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An image of hope: Abahlali baseMjondolo’s fight for dignity and land, 17 years on
On November 17, a photo exhibition titled ‘Socialism or Death: Abahlali baseMjondolo on the Frontlines of Struggle’ opened at The Forge in Johannesburg. The work displayed chronicles the years-long struggle of South Africa’s shack dwellers movement to secure land and housing for the urban poor Continue reading
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“South Africa’s ‘Just’ Transition climate deal with the west is a betrayal of the working class”
South Africa is set to implement an $8.5bn plan funded by western countries to transition from coal-based energy to renewables. The country’s biggest union NUMSA has warned this plan will only intensify privatization while burdening South Africans with debt and poverty. Continue reading
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Abahlali baseMjondolo demands justice for its members lost to “the politics of blood”
On Friday, September 30, South Africa’s militant shack dwellers’ movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM), in a speech addressed to the United Nations, demanded justice for the lethal repression unleashed on its members Continue reading
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South Africa: Civil Society, Human Rights Organizations Call for Urgent Intervention to Protect Abahlali baseMjondolo
On Friday, 9 September 2022, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) sent a letter concerning the ongoing attacks on Abahlali baseMjondolo to various members of the South African executive and legislature, as well as commissioners of regional and international human rights organisations. The letter received the endorsement of over 140 civil society organisations… Continue reading
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“A fearless leader”: South African shack-dwellers’ leader, Lindokuhle Mnguni, assassinated in Durban
Chairperson of the eKhenana commune of Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM), who was out of prison on bail, was gunned down at his home two days before he was to appear in court. This is the third murder of AbM leaders in eKhenana commune in Cato Crest this year. Continue reading
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Marikana’s legacy is one of justice denied and capital’s greed
10 years after the brutal massacre of striking mine workers in Marikana in South Africa, Mbuso Ngubane, Deputy General Secretary of NUMSA, talks about questions of justice and the close ties between mining giants and the state Continue reading
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When People Want Housing in India, They Build It: The Thirty-Third Newsletter (2022)
It all started with a survey. In April 2022, members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), went door to door in the town of Warangal in Telangana state. The party was already aware of challenges in the community but wanted to collect data before working on a plan of action. Thirty-five teams… Continue reading
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South Africa is on a knife edge as xenophobia escalates
With no national force with the vision and power to offer an emancipatory alternative to politics that turns neighbors against each other, the country is on a knife edge. Continue reading
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New Frame steps back
After close to four years of intense work we must now reimagine how journalism can and should be done in a moment when the coils of social and political crisis squeeze ever more tightly. Continue reading
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WATCH: 1976 and 2015: Vital turns towards true freedom
The uprisings of 1976 and the Fees Must Fall protests of 2015, almost 40 years later, were important turns in the continuing fight for the true emancipation of a majority of South Africans. Continue reading
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South African history, through Rashid Lombard’s lens
Rashid Lombard’s home feels like a photo gallery. Images of all sizes line the passages and bedrooms as moments of history stare at you from the walls. The legendary photographer sits in his lounge with his wife Colleen and daughter Yana, in their home in Athlone, Cape Town. The family presence is important to him… Continue reading
The New Dark Age 