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The Herald
a day ago
- Politics
- The Herald
Land and justice under the spotlight at community dialogue
Frantz Fanon's vision of justice and reconciliation through the examination of the Expropriation Bill and the case of the Cradock Four was explored at a community dialogue on Tuesday night. The Herald, in collaboration with Nelson Mandela University, hosted the dialogue at the South End Museum. Organised by the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy (Canrad), the event was facilitated by Katlego Mofokeng and had four legal experts, activists and academics, each bringing a different perspective to the floor. The panellists discussed issues around land injustice, historical accountability, and the legacy of colonialism in democratic SA. Qhawe Mbongwe, PhD candidate at NMU who analysed the role of the TRC in post-apartheid SA, said the commission failed because it did not provide more than a one-dimensional view of apartheid. 'The TRC succeeded in advocating for a narrow interpretation of the effects of apartheid, and by doing so, it acknowledged only the violations that were suffered by political activists or agents of the state. 'It effectively ignored the effects apartheid had on the broad masses of the South African population. 'Not only did the TRC's final report downplay apartheid — the crime against humanity — but proceeded to demonstrate limited understanding of the legal machinery through which this crime was perpetuated under the disguise of the rule of law. 'Furthermore, the TRC's definition of human rights violations was narrow and restricted. 'Apartheid, as a system of oppression, did not target the bodily integrity of a population group defined as Bantu, but their means of livelihood, land and labour. It did not oppress or violate people individually, but collectively. 'We have seen how the works of Frantz Fanon continue to shape historical epochs in the Third World. 'All over the colonial world, Fanon remains a symbol of resistance, justice and decolonisation,' he said. Sibusiso Thwala, specialist and director of NexGen Leadership Solutions, highlighted the issues around settlers in SA and colonialism. 'Land is not merely about hectares or title deeds. In SA, land holds memory, identity, dignity and economy. It is our connection to history, to each other, and to ourselves. 'Frantz Fanon reminds us: 'For a colonised people, the most essential value, because it is the most concrete, is first and foremost the land: the land which will bring them bread and, above all, dignity.' 'Colonialism didn't just steal land, it reshaped identities, distorted truths, and dictated whose life mattered. So Fanon's idea of revolutionary justice is not simply retribution, it is reconstruction. 'It demands that we ask: Who owns? Who decides? Who heals? Who benefits? Without changing these foundations, the oppressed remain colonised under a different flag,' he said. The last speaker of the evening, Zandi Radebe, shared some insight on the struggle songs used during apartheid, and through the use of amagwijo (liberation songs), she explained how these traditions reflect different ideological approaches to land, memory and justice. 'I chose amagwijo because I want to speak to how ordinary community members, mainly the rank and file, what some people call the masses of the movement, thought about the liberation struggle, and most importantly, how they felt. 'Amagwijo allows us to access the structure of feelings among the people in whose names the liberation was fought,' Radebe said. The Herald
Al Jazeera
27-06-2025
- Al Jazeera
‘Waited for 40 years': South Africa's Cradock Four families want justice
Johannesburg, South Africa – On the night of June 27, 1985 in South Africa, four Black men were travelling together in a car from the southeastern city of Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, to Cradock. They had just finished doing community organising work on the outskirts of the city when apartheid police officials stopped them at a roadblock. The four – teachers Fort Calata, 29, and Matthew Goniwe, 38; school principal Sicelo Mhlauli, 36; and railway worker Sparrow Mkonto, 34 – were abducted and tortured. Later, their bodies were found dumped in different parts of the city – they had been badly beaten, stabbed and burned. The police and apartheid government initially denied any involvement in the killings. However, it was known that the men were being surveilled for their activism against the gruelling conditions facing Black South Africans at the time. Soon after, evidence of a death warrant that had been issued for some members of the group was anonymously leaked, and later, it emerged that their killings had long been planned. Though there were two inquests into the murders – both under the apartheid regime in 1987 and 1993 – neither resulted in any perpetrator being named or charged. 'The first inquest was conducted entirely in Afrikaans,' Lukhanyo Calata, Ford Calata's son, told Al Jazeera earlier this month. 'My mother and the other mothers were never offered any opportunity in any way whatsoever to make statements in that,' the 43-year-old lamented. 'These were courts in apartheid South Africa. It was a completely different time where it was clear that four people were murdered, but the courts said no one could be blamed for that.' Soon after apartheid ended in 1994, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up. There, hearings confirmed the 'Cradock Four' were indeed targeted for their political activism. Although a few former apartheid officers confessed to being involved, they would not disclose the details and were denied amnesty. Now, four decades after the killings, a new inquest has begun. Although justice has never seemed closer, for families of the deceased, it has been a long wait. 'For 40 years, we've waited for justice,' Lukhanyo told local media this week. 'We hope this process will finally expose who gave the orders, who carried them out, and why,' he said outside the court in Gqeberha, where the hearings are taking place. As a South African journalist, it's almost impossible to cover the inquiry without thinking about the extent of crimes committed during apartheid – crimes by a regime so committed to propping up its criminal, racist agenda that it took it to its most violent and deadly end. There are many more stories like Calata's, many more victims like the Cradock Four, and many more families still waiting to hear the truth of what happened to their loved ones. Known victims Attending the court proceedings in Gqeberha and watching the families reminded me of Nokhutula Simelane. More than 10 years ago, I travelled to Bethal in the Mpumalanga province to speak with her family about her disappearance in 1983. Simelane joined Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), which was the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC) – the liberation movement turned majority ruling party in South Africa. As an MK operative, she worked as a courier taking messages and parcels between South Africa and what was then Swaziland. Simelane was lured to a meeting in Johannesburg and it was from there that she was kidnapped and held in police custody, tortured and disappeared. Her family says they still feel the pain of not being able to bury her. At the TRC, five white men from what was the special branch of the apartheid police, applied for amnesty related to Simelane's abduction and presumed murder. Former police commander Willem Coetzee, who headed the security police unit, denied ordering her killing. But that was countered by testimony from his colleague that she was brutally murdered and buried somewhere in what is now the North West province. Coetzee previously said Simelane was turned into an informant and was sent back to Swaziland. Until now, no one has taken responsibility for her disappearance – not the apartheid security forces nor the ANC. The case of the Cradock Four also made me think of anti-apartheid activist and South African Communist Party member, Ahmed Timol, who was tortured and killed in 1971 but whose murder was also covered up. Apartheid police said the 29-year-old teacher fell out of a 10th-floor window at the notorious John Vorster Square police headquarters in Johannesburg, where he was being held. An inquest the following year concluded he had died by suicide, at a time when the apartheid government was known for its lies and cover-ups. Decades later, a second inquest under the democratic government in 2018 found that Timol had been so badly tortured in custody that he would never have been able to jump out of a window. It was only then that former security branch officer Joao Rodrigues was formally charged with Timol's murder. The elderly Rodrigues rejected the charges and applied for a permanent stay of prosecution, saying he would not receive a fair trial because he was unable to properly recall events at the time of Timol's death, given the number of years that have passed. Rodrigues died in 2021. 'A crime against his humanity' Apartheid was brutal. And for the people left behind, unresolved trauma and unanswered questions are the salt in the deep wounds that remain. Which is why families like those of the Cradock Four are still at the courts, seeking answers. In her testimony before the court this month, 73-year-old Nombuyiselo Mhlauli, wife of Sicelo Mhlauli, described the state of her husband's body when she received his remains for burial. He had more than 25 stab wounds in the chest, seven in the back, a gash across his throat and a missing right hand, she said. I spoke to Lukhanyo a day before he returned to court to continue his testimony in the hearing for his father's killing. He talked about how emotionally draining the process had been – yet vital. He also spoke about his work as a journalist, growing up without a father, and the impact it's had on his life and outlook. 'There were crimes committed against our humanity. If you look at the state in which my father's body was found, that was a clear crime against his humanity, completely,' Lukhanyo testified on the sixth day of the inquest. But his frustration and anger do not end with the apartheid government. He holds the ANC, which has been in power since the end of apartheid, partly responsible for taking too long to adequately address these crimes. Lukhanyo believes the ANC betrayed the Cradock Four, and this betrayal 'cut the deepest'. 'Today we are sitting with a society that is completely lawless,' he said in court. '[This is] because at the start of this democracy, we did not put in the proper processes to tell the rest of society that you will be held accountable for things that you have done wrong.' Fort Calata's grandfather, the Reverend Canon James Arthur Calata, was the secretary-general of the ANC from 1939 to 1949. The Calata family has a long history with the liberation movement, which makes it all the more difficult for someone like Lukhanyo to understand why it's taken the party so long to deliver justice. Seeking accountability and peace The office of South Africa's Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, says the department has intensified its efforts to deliver long-awaited justice and closure for families affected by apartheid-era atrocities. 'These efforts signal a renewed commitment to restorative justice and national healing,' the department said in a statement. The murders of the Cradock Four, Simelane and Timol are among the horrors and stories we know about. But I often wonder about all the names, victims and testimonies that remain hidden or buried. The murders of countless mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters by the apartheid regime matter not only to those who cared for them but for the consciousness of South African society as a whole, no matter how normalised the tally of the dead has become. It's not clear how long this new inquest will take. It is expected to last several weeks, with former security police, political figures and forensic experts testifying. Initially, six police officers were implicated in the killings. They have all since died, but family members of the Cradock Four say senior officials who gave the orders should be held responsible. The state, however, is reluctant to pay the legal costs of apartheid police officers implicated in the murders, and that may slow down the process. Meanwhile, as the families wait for answers about what happened to their loved ones and accountability for those responsible, they are trying to make peace with the past. 'I've been on my own, trying to bring up children – fatherless children,' Nombuyiselo told Al Jazeera outside the court about the years since her husband Sicelo's death. 'The last 40 years have been very difficult for me – emotionally, and also spiritually.'
Scottish Sun
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Noel Gallagher and Pete Doherty are ego-free and fantastic – it's crap rockers who are c***s', says Britpop legend
The guitarist's group dethroned Oasis in the UK album chart in 1997 LIKELY LADS Noel Gallagher and Pete Doherty are ego-free and fantastic – it's crap rockers who are c***s', says Britpop legend Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THEY were both notorious hellraisers with prickly reputations in their 20s as they embraced rock 'n' roll debauchery. But, now in middle age and their reputations as great songwriters secured, Oasis's Noel Gallagher and The Libertines' Pete Doherty are ego-free, according to Ocean Colour Scene's Steve Cradock. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 6 Ocean Colour Scene's Steve Cradock has sung the praises of three rock legends 6 Noel Gallagher was in the studio with Cradock working on Paul Weller's new album Credit: Doug Seeburg 6 Pete Doherty is a big fan of Ocean Colour Scene and recently joined them on stage Credit: Getty Guitarist Cradock, 55, who has also played with Paul Weller since the early 90s, is pals with both musicians and lifted the lid on what they're really like behind the headlines. Speaking exclusively to The Sun from his home ahead of the band's performance at Godiva Festival, he said: " He [Noel] plays guitar on a track on Find El Dorado actually - Paul's covers album - so I saw him there. We text occasionally. It's lovely. I love Noel. He's an incredible writer. I can't say that enough, he's fantastic." Cradock will be heading to see Oasis this summer with his sons, Sunny and Cass, and feels like the newly-reformed group "deserve to be the biggest band in the world again". Even though Ocean Colour Scene knocked Oasis's Be Here Now off the top of the UK album chart in 1997 with their third album Marchin' Already, Cradock acknowledges his band didn't have the same cultural impact as the Gallagher brothers. "Oasis changed the whole country," says Cradock. "The Beatles did that. I think maybe The Jam did that. Maybe the two-tone label did that. Maybe Arctic Monkeys had done that. We're just a group from Birmingham who were around at that time. "Oasis changed the way people dressed and they had such incredible characters, you know, Noel and Liam. Liam was just a one-off and they broke the f**king mold, I think. And, you know, good on them." Meanwhile Doherty, who now lives a quiet life in a small French seaside town with his wife Katia de Vidas and their daughter Billie Mae, two, recently joined Ocean Colour Scene on stage to sing backing vocals. "He's always lovely, Pete Doherty," says Cradock. "I like him a lot and he seems to be a fan of the group and always has been apparently. "He's just lovely, and I'm pleased he's managed to get himself straight, you know. "It's the people who are no good who end up being c**ts to me because they have to be, don't they? They've got to have it. I don't know, I don't want to get into psychology or anything but most people I meet are really lovely people, really nice." Noel Gallagher looks stony-faced as he makes lonely Tube journey to Oasis rehearsals – but Liam's entrance is chaotic Though he was immersed in the raucous Britpop scene that preceded Doherty's rise to indie stardom in the early noughties, Cradock managed to come through the wild parties relatively unscathed. He admits he was never on "Pete's level" but says "the 90s were very hedonistic so we've all had our moments. But that sort of bullsh*t, when you see people who pass through all that rock and roll death, it's all just bullsh*t man." When asked if the pair have big egos, Cradock delivered an emphatic no, saying: "No I don't think there is. Most people are really lovely." Classic rock fans can also breathe a sigh of relief that Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant is another music hero with no airs or graces. The Whole Lotta Love singer features on Weller's upcoming album and Cradock says he turned up ready and willing to work like a regular session musician. "He was prepared for it, like a working musician, not a rock god," he says. "He was humbling and he played some beautiful harp. Then we asked if he would sing and he sang and it was just like, 'wow'." Mod fan Cradock rejoiced in hearing Plant's tales from his days before superstardom, particularly how he played a role in a notorious battle between two subcultures on the south coast. 6 Weller is a 'creative force', according to Cradock Credit: Rex 6 Robert Plant blew Cradock away when he sang in the studio Credit: Redferns "He told me he left the Black Country in '64 on his hand-painted Lambretta, went down to Hastings and got involved in the mods and rockers fight and then drove back on his Lambretta. "It blew my mind the fact that you've got this sort of rock icon who was originally a mod fighting the rockers. "He was a gentleman and he's a great singer and he's really tuned in to what's happening in that moment you know, a true professional, a G. He's a f***ing G." Music fans can hear Plant do his thing when the record is released on July 25. Godiva Festival takes place at Coventry's War Memorial Park July 4-6 6 Ocean Colour Scene dethroned Oasis on the UK album chart in 1997
The Irish Sun
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Noel Gallagher and Pete Doherty are ego-free and fantastic – it's crap rockers who are c***s', says Britpop legend
THEY were both notorious hellraisers with prickly reputations in their 20s as they embraced rock 'n' roll debauchery. But, now in middle age and their reputations as great songwriters secured, Oasis's Noel Gallagher and Advertisement 6 Ocean Colour Scene's Steve Cradock has sung the praises of three rock legends 6 Noel Gallagher was in the studio with Cradock working on Paul Weller's new album Credit: Doug Seeburg 6 Pete Doherty is a big fan of Ocean Colour Scene and recently joined them on stage Credit: Getty Guitarist Cradock, 55, who has also played with Speaking exclusively to The Sun from his home ahead of the band's performance at Cradock will be heading to see Oasis this summer with his sons, Sunny and Cass, and feels like the newly-reformed group "deserve to be the biggest band in the world again". Even though Ocean Colour Scene knocked Oasis's Be Here Now off the top of the UK album chart in 1997 with their third album Marchin' Already, Cradock acknowledges his band didn't have the same cultural impact as the Gallagher brothers. Advertisement READ MORE ON BRITPOP "Oasis changed the whole country," says Cradock. "The Beatles did that. I think maybe The Jam did that. Maybe the two-tone label did that. Maybe Arctic Monkeys had done that. We're just a group from Birmingham who were around at that time. "Oasis changed the way people dressed and they had such incredible characters, you know, Noel and Liam. Liam was just a one-off and they broke the f**king mold, I think. And, you know, good on them." Meanwhile Doherty, who now lives a quiet life in a small French seaside town with his wife Katia de Vidas and their daughter Billie Mae, two, recently joined Ocean Colour Scene on stage to sing backing vocals. "He's always lovely, Pete Doherty," says Cradock. "I like him a lot and he seems to be a fan of the group and always has been apparently. Advertisement Most read in Showbiz "He's just lovely, and I'm pleased he's managed to get himself straight, you know. "It's the people who are no good who end up being c**ts to me because they have to be, don't they? They've got to have it. I don't know, I don't want to get into psychology or anything but most people I meet are really lovely people, really nice ." Noel Gallagher looks stony-faced as he makes lonely Tube journey to Oasis rehearsals – but Liam's entrance is chaotic Though he was immersed in the raucous Britpop scene that preceded Doherty's rise to indie stardom in the early noughties, Cradock managed to come through the wild parties relatively unscathed. He admits he was never on "Pete's level" but says "the 90s were very hedonistic so we've all had our moments. But that sort of bullsh*t, when you see people who pass through all that rock and roll death, it's all just bullsh*t man." Advertisement When asked if the pair have big egos, Cradock delivered an emphatic no, saying: "No I don't think there is. Most people are really lovely." Classic rock fans can also breathe a sigh of relief that The Whole Lotta Love singer features on Weller's upcoming album and Cradock says he turned up ready and willing to work like a regular session musician. "He was prepared for it, like a working musician, not a rock god," he says. Advertisement "He was humbling and he played some beautiful harp. Then we asked if he would sing and he sang and it was just like, 'wow'." Mod fan Cradock rejoiced in hearing Plant's tales from his days before superstardom, particularly how he played a role in a notorious battle between two subcultures on the south coast. 6 Weller is a 'creative force', according to Cradock Credit: Rex 6 Robert Plant blew Cradock away when he sang in the studio Credit: Redferns Advertisement "He told me he left the Black Country in '64 on his hand-painted Lambretta, went down to Hastings and got involved in the mods and rockers fight and then drove back on his Lambretta. "It blew my mind the fact that you've got this sort of rock icon who was originally a mod fighting the rockers. "He was a gentleman and he's a great singer and he's really tuned in to what's happening in that moment you know, a true professional, a G. He's a f***ing G." Music fans can hear Plant do his thing when the record is released on July 25. Advertisement Godiva Festival takes place at Coventry's War Memorial Park July 4-6 6 Ocean Colour Scene dethroned Oasis on the UK album chart in 1997
Scottish Sun
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Britpop legend reveals band's unreleased new song is a ‘banger' ahead of first album in 12 years
BACK ON THE SCENE Britpop legend reveals band's unreleased new song is a 'banger' ahead of first album in 12 years Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) OCEAN Colour Scene are working on new music which could become the band's first album in 12 years, The Sun can exclusively reveal. The popular British band has five top 10 albums to its name but hasn't put out a full length release since 2013's Painting. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Ocean Colour Scene are working on new music 4 Guitarist Steve Cradock called one new tune a 'banger' That might soon change as frontman Simon Fowler has written three new tracks, one of which guitarist Steve Cradock has branded a "banger". In an exclusive interview with The Sun ahead of their performance at Godiva Festival, Cradock, 55, said: "Simon sent me three tunes, that's what I've heard. I've demoed them up to a point where they sound f**king smart. There's one banger, and there's one interesting one. "I mean, we haven't done a record in like 11 years or something, we've been waiting for Simon to write for a long, long time. "The Beatles wrote together for eight years. That sort of puts it into some kind of funk. From where I sit at the moment, it would be fun for us all to do it, I think." The group's back catalogue includes singles The Day We Caught The Train and The Riverboat Song, both of which are currently getting play time during festival season. Having released 10 albums to date, Cradock is content playing Ocean Colour Scene's hits, of which there are many - 17 top 40 singles to be precise. "I don't think it would make a difference to gigs, if I'm honest," he says of a new record. "Because we've kind of got what we are through all the albums that we did back in the day. And when we play festivals, we play the main singles that people know, obviously. "I don't see the point in being self-absorbed when you're doing festivals. You've just got to play the songs that people hopefully will know. And leave it at that. "It's different for your own gigs. There's many tunes that we can unearth. I think that those sort of fans would find it interesting." While he wouldn't be drawn on a timescale for a new album, Cradock says the creative process could be very quick if material is right. Paul Weller - Wildwood "If the songs are there, it wouldn't take me long at all to produce it and to get it out." Away from Ocean Colour Scene, Cradock plays guitar for Paul Weller, a role he's held since 1992. Last year's 66 featured in numerous best of 2024 lists and will be followed this July by the Modfather's covers album, Finding El Dorado, featuring the likes of Robert Plant and Noel Gallagher. "It's beautiful, because you can see what a creative force Paul Weller is," he says. "That's just what he does, and he's a force of nature, and he's a force of melody. When you're in the studio, you see things happen just like that, in the instant, the second. And then, by the end of the day, something's happened. "There's not many days that I've seen where people got that disappointed. To be around that creative process is great." 4 Cradock's produced Paul Weller's upcoming covers album Credit: Getty 4 Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant contributed to the record Credit: Getty Weller didn't hang around, laying it down in just 10 days, and there were no egos in the studio despite the calibre of musicians involved. Led Zeppelin frontman Plant turned up ready and willing to work like a regular session musician. "He was prepared for it, like a working musician, not a rock god," says Cradock. "He was humbling and he played some beautiful harp. Then we asked if he would sing and he sang and it was just like, 'wow'." Mod fan Cradock rejoiced in hearing Plant's tales from his days before superstardom, particularly how he played a role in a notorious battle between two subcultures on the south coast. "He told me he left the Black Country in '64 on his hand-painted Lambretta, went down to Hastings and got involved in the mods and rockers fight and then drove back on his Lambretta. "It blew my mind the fact that you've got this sort of rock icon who was originally a mod fighting the rockers. "He was a gentleman and he's a great singer and he's really tuned in to what's happening in that moment you know, a true professional, a G. He's a f***ing G." Music fans can hear Plant do his thing when the record is released on July 25. Godiva Festival takes place at Coventry's War Memorial Park July 4-6
