Programme News

25 January 2010
(News)
The South African History Archive and the Southern African Centre for the Survivors of Torture will ask the Pretoria High Court to force the government to release an explosive report on post-election violence in Zimbabwe.

The two bodies, with the support of the Southern African Litigation Centre, last week filed papers in court in which they ask that the presidency be compelled to release the...
15 January 2010
(News)
Johannesburg - Thirty-nine foreign nationals, including mothers with young children, were arrested for loitering in the Johannesburg inner city, police said on Thursday. Inspector Gordon Billing said the people, mostly from Malawi and Zimbabwe, were arrested near the Johannesburg Central Methodist Church and the High Court on Wednesday. "The Johannesburg central crime prevention made...
7 January 2010
(News)
The government has agreed to let an independent curator assess the circumstances of each unaccompanied minor at the Central Methodist Church before they can be relocated. Since September, when allegations surfaced about the sexual abuse of children at the church, the government has been trying to have the children removed from the church premises, which housed more than 2,000 mostly...
1 December 2009
(Press release)
The residents of the Mamelodi hostel won a victory in the North Gauteng High Court today where the court confirmed the interim order issued on 18 November 2009 and found that the attempted demolition and the removal of the roof from the Mamelodi Hostel unlawful and ordered the Tshwane municipality to resurrect the roof.    On 15 and 16 November 2009, the municipality began to demolish...
26 November 2009
(Press release)
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will appear today in the North Gauteng High Court to seek an order of contempt of court against officials from the Tshwane municipality who inhumanely and with a wanton disregard for the law, allowed the destruction of the hostel in Mamelodi.  Over the weekend of 14 and 15 November 2009, municipal officials began the destruction of the Mamelodi hostel...
25 November 2009
(News)
The level of crime in South Africa has evidently sent government into emotional bewilderment. This is more so as a result of the violent crimes whose perpetrators are apparently merciless and recognise no boundary. Everyone, excluding the perpetrators and those with whom they act in cahoots, is under siege. Obviously any responsible government would want to do something to curb or rid its...
16 November 2009
(News)
Mamelodi hostel residents woke up to municipal contractors removing the roofs over their heads as their long drawn-out standoff with the Tshwane Metro Council took another turn yesterday.

According to the residents, they were not warned beforehand that the contractors would be removing the roofs, and all of them still had their possessions inside the unit. The remaining Mamelodi hostels are in...
4 November 2009
(Press release)
 In the late hours of 3 July 2009, some 350 destitute and homeless people were arrested for “loitering” in central Johannesburg. As they had nowhere else to go, they had been sleeping in the vicinity of the Central Methodist Mission (“the Church”). As part of “Operation Chachamela”, which effectively targets the destitute and homeless in...
16 August 2009
(News)
South Africa is considering the introduction of zero tolerance policing ahead of next year's football World Cup, making it easier for officers to "shoot to kill" suspected criminals. The proposal has raised fears of a return to "apartheid-era policing", with officers having the right to shoot fleeing suspects in the back. The change in tone has come with the...
28 July 2009
(Press release)
Lawyers for Human Rights has been actively monitoring the situation in Balfour and is gravely concerned by the indiscriminate violence which occurred last week in that community.  Foreign nationals were particularly targeted by some members of the community.  LHR has, however, also learned of widespread violence by police against protesters as well as against community members not involved in the...