His appearance on behalf of the families of mine workers shot by the police at the Marikana Commission of Inquiry was just one of his efforts to seek justice for the poor and marginalised.
Apartheid-era Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee, Thabo and Zanele Mbeki, Nelson Mandela and his daughter Zenani, FW and Marike de Klerk.
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The book shows that the claim made by some analysts that it was the fall of communism that prompted moves towards negotiations to end apartheid is off the mark.
Black labourers extracting sludge.
on a mine near Johannesburg at the height of apartheid in the 1980s.
David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
Mangosuthu Buthelezi deserves better than being dismissed as an apartheid stooge. But he deserves little praise as an advocate for human rights and civil liberties.
Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s freedom struggle icon and first black president, continues to be revered around the world.
For the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994, citizens have had to accept stringent restrictions on their normal civil liberties.
Former South African President FW De Klerk at the opening of parliament recently. The Economic Freedom Fighters objected to his presence.
EFE-EPA/Reuters Pool
A retrospective exhibition displays the key works from the life and times of activist and artist Judy Seidman. She has used political posters as a galvanising force in the fight against injustice.
The Berlin Wall symbolised the Cold War divide between the capitalist West and communist Soviet Union.
EPA-EFE/Omer Messinger
Marking the end of the Cold War offers the chance to reflect on the changes and continuities in African politics and international relations since 1989.
Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s replacement as leader of Inkatha Freedom Party after 44 marked the end of an era.
GCIS/Flickr
The IFP’s constitution provides that the nomination of national office bearers be approved by the branches. But this was not done in the nomination of its new president.
The Democratic Alliance has transformed itself from an overwhelmingly white party to a majority black party.
EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook
Cyril Ramaphosa is likely to emphasise stability - in government and the ANC. Given his history he is likely to want to stabilise the economy rather than pursue radical interventions.
Land reform remains a divisive subject 23 years after democracy in South Africa.
Filckr
After South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994, the previously oppressed and dispossessed black majority hoped for constitutional restitution of their land. This has largely failed.
A protester waves the South African flag during a mass protest demanding President Jacob Zuma step down.
EPA/Kim Ludbrook
The promise of Easter, which Christians around the world celebrate, can be likened to the new struggle in South Africa for a new leadership and government that cares about the people.
Leader of South Africa’s opposition parties and civil society took part in an anti-corruption march against the government.
EPA/KIM LUDBROOK
South Africa’s social compact is at breaking point and the country may need a dialogue similar to its 1994 political transition talks to get out of the crisis.