Articles

WHILE the sordid drama of the Mandelas grips the world, a second local clan has emerged to challenge them, nouveau pretenders to the title of the ultimate South African dysfunctional family, torn apart by money and power. Let me introduce the Knipes of the Northern...

WHEN judges dissent what does it mean for ordinary people? – Mostly very little. But there are occasions when a judgment spelling out why a judge disagrees with the majority can mean a great deal. Sometimes it’s hard for a non-lawyer to see the point in a dissent: it...

We were unmasked as country bumpkins even before the festival started. That moment of truth arrived when actor David Butler pitched a whole day before his first performance. We helped unpack the set from the top of his car, carefully carrying the four walls of the...

THE government of Zimbabwe has been dealt a telling blow by South Africa’s highest court: in a unanimous decision delivered this morning, the South African Constitutional Court ruled that property owned by the Zimbabwean government in South Africa could be sold to...

Smithfield’s first arts festival, the Platteland Preview, runs from June 21 – 23, bringing choice fringe performers from Grahamstown’s National Arts Festival to the countryside. We’re still amazed that it’s all happening, but if you hear it on the radio it must be...

The Helen Suzman Foundation has launched a high court application challenging a number of recent decisions by the Judicial Service Commission. The application claims the decisions were invalid as they were ‘irrational’. Explaining why the foundation has taken this...

EXACTLY a year ago, two guests arrived at my door: a friend and his actor daughter. As dinner ended she said she couldn’t go to bed immediately: she needed another run-through of the show she was taking to Grahamstown’s National Arts Festival. Would she like an...

IF you search the Web for ‘Natasha Chang’ you can take your pick. There’s a rather gorgeous top Caribbean motorsport driver, who describes herself as ‘a young, petite woman driving a big boy’s car and having some fun’. She suggests that if you want to excel in racing...

THE judge’s introductory remarks make me want to curl up in a comfy chair and read on: ‘The facts of this matter disclose a sorry tale of mishap, maladministration and at least two failures of moral courage.’ Sjoe! It sounds hot, and the contents of the judgment don’t...

DON’T try quoting the Bible’s most virulent anti-homosexual fulminations in Canada to justify an anti-gay attack. The highest court in that country has recently upheld a human rights commission decision declaring such rants amount to hate speech. The man responsible...