Makhanda High Court declares new school admission policy unconstitutional By Geoffrey Allsop Eastern Cape children who were prevented from attending school because they do not have identity documents won an important victory in the Makhanda High Court in December. Read the judgment In 2016, the Eastern Cape Basic Education Department introduced a new admission policy which said public schools would only receive funding for...

Protesters call for plan to transform Johannesburg’s hostels Coalition marches against xenophobia By Zoë Postman Hundreds of people marched through Johannesburg at the weekend demanding an end to xenophobia and gender-based violence. The route was supposed to take the marchers through Hillbrow but it was changed on the morning of the march because police said they had received intelligence that it was not...

But bill has been waiting for the president to sign it into law since at least April By Linda Daniels Aphiwe Nomandla is a second year computer science student at the University of the Western Cape. To date, the cost of prescribed textbooks for his course ranged from R799 to R3,985. He said most students could not afford to buy the required...

Courts make inhumane decisions based on legal facts and are not in touch with our people on the ground, says farm workers’ rights organiser By Barbara Maregele “They are the authors of their own fate,” said Land Claims Court Acting Judge Canca, referring to the May family’s decision to squat outside the gates of the farmfrom which they were evicted in Paarl, and...

Durban mayor Zandile Gumede and her cronies present accumulating private wealth from the public purse as “radical economic transformation”. But corruption charges against the mayor could bring positive change for shack dwellers, street traders and flat dwellers – those most opposed to her. By Greg Ardé The arrest of Zandile Gumede, the mayor of the eThekwini Municipality, has shifted national attention...

There has been a decline in election participation since 1994, especially this year By GroundUp Staff For the first time in democratic South Africa, less than half the adult population went to the polls. And the ANC was elected by only slightly more than one in four adults. In 1994, 86% of adults voted. More than half of people eligible to vote elected...

Substantial changes made to means testing to account for inflation and the rising cost of living By Kristine Liao Legal Aid South Africa, which provides tax-funded legal aid to the poor, amended its means test on 1 April, enabling more people to qualify for legal assistance. Legal Aid provides independent legal aid services in criminal and civil legal matters. Its means test is...

But Lawyers for Human Rights disagrees with the court’s reasoning and is appealing  By Ohene Yaw Ampofo-Anti Eight Somali nationals, who currently live in South Africa, are seeking asylum here. But their applications for asylum were turned down by Home Affairs officials. They appealed to the Refugee Appeal Board (RAB), which also turned them down. Represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, the eight...

To prevent disruptions, university says it will enforce interdict that it obtained in 2018 By Joseph Chirume Protesting students at the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth have vowed to paralyse operations at the institution until their grievances have been addressed. The university was shut down on Wednesday and Thursday by members of the South African Students Congress (SASCO), who claimed some people...

Correctional Services says it has complied with the order and denies any wrongdoing 28 January 2019 By Ciaran Ryan Inmates at Johannesburg “Sun City” Medium B prison say prison authorities are violating a court order issued by Acting Judge SM Wentzel in June 2018 that ordered the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to serve three meals properly spaced throughout the day. In January 2018 inmates complained to...