Author: Sue Maclennan

A chip of paint led to a further delay in the high-profile Ndlovu trial finally under way in the High Court in Makhanda (Grahamstown) last week. In High Street on Monday 26 November, an emotional crowd of animal rights and anti-poaching activists, vets, environmentalists, private reserve owners and local councillors matched their step and song to a toyi-toyiing army of rangers. Later, inside the packed High Court in Makhanda (Grahamstown) you could have heard a leaf fall as Judge Jeremy Pickering read out his judgment in a trial within the high-profile Ndlovu trial. Jabulani Ndlovu, Forget Ndlovu and Sikhumbuzo Ndlovu…

The ANC’s Regional Executive Committee has put forward the names of 11 people it believes are key to its mission to rescue Makana Municipality.  This comes after ANC Provincial Executive Council Chairperson Oscar Mabuyane effectively snubbed local politicians during his visit to Makhanda (Grahamstown) on Monday 26 November, instead meeting with local activists and businesspeople. It was widely anticipated that Monday would see Mabuyane announce a reshuffle of Makana Municipality’s political leadership. Rumours of a palace revolution followed a march by hundreds of residents last month and the handing over of a petition of more than 21 000 signatures calling…

Poet and academic Professor Peter Mtuze was among a small group of surviving members of the Cradock based Congress Choir who gave a nostalgic performance at the Albany Museum at the launch of the Songs of Freedom exhibition recently. The exhibition in honour of composer, priest and activist Canon James Arthur Calata is the first phase of the Songs for Freedom project and comprises words and images. The second phase will entail the transcription of the music into notation from the audio recordings done by the surviving members of the Congress Choir. Canon Calata, born in 1895, lived a very rich and…

Eskom has announced Stage 1 loadshedding from midday to 10pm today, as a result of a plant being out for planned maintenance and unplanned outages. Loadshedding schedules are available on the Eskom website (http://loadshedding.eskom.co.za). Eskom customers can also contact the Customer Contact Centre at 0860 037 566. “Stage 1 rotational loadshedding requires 1000MW to be loadshed nation-wide. Loadshedding is conducted as a measure of last resort to protect the power system from a total collapse or blackout,” Eskom’s media desk said in a statement. “We encourage residents and businesses to please use electricity sparingly to ease the demand of electricity. Please…

Monday 26 November was the day ANC Provincial Executive Council Chairperson Oscar Mabuyane was expected to announce a reshuffle of Makana Municipality’s political leadership. Rumours of a palace revolution followed a march last month, where residents delivered a petition of more than 21 000 signatures calling for the Section 139 (1) (c) dissolution of the Makana Council. Mabuyane, as MEC for Economic Development and Tourism, led a march to show support for rangers, private reserve owners and anti-rhino-poaching activists. There, Grocott’s Mail questioned him on rumours that his presence in Makhanda could herald political changes. Mabuyane confirmed the PEC was aware…

In High Street on Monday 26 November, an emotional crowd of animal rights and anti-poaching activists, vets, environmentalists, private reserve owners and local councillors matched their step and song to a toyi-toyiing army of rangers. Later, inside the packed High Court in Makhanda (Grahamstown) you could have heard a leaf fall as Judge Jeremy Pickering read out his judgment in a trial within the high-profile Ndlovu trial. Jabulani Ndlovu, Forget Ndlovu and Sikhumbuzo Ndlovu are charged with five counts following their arrest at Makana Resort outside Makhanda in June 2016, in possession of a freshly cut rhino horn along with…

In a potential turning point for South Africa’s fight against rhino poaching, MEC for the Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT), Oscar Mabuyane will on Monday 26 November 2018 lead a multi-stakeholder march in Makhanda (Grahamstown). The march will coincide with the resumption of the Ndlovu trial in the High Court. Jabulani Ndlovu, Forget Ndlovu and Sikhumbuzo Ndlovu are facing 50 rhino poaching charges in connection with incidents across the province over the past five years. Grocott’s Mail reported that at Field Rangers Day celebrations at Thomas Baines Reserve outside Makhanda in August, Mabuyane announced he…

The ‘Khoi San Three’ will continue their dramatic demonstration against gang killings outside the Premier’s office until the Minister of Police meets them. MPL Christian Martin, along with Cora Henning and Crawford Fraser, all of whom use the title Chief, set up a tent and dozens of crosses outside Phumullo Masualle’s Bhisho offices on Friday. Martin slept in a coffin last night in a grim evocation of the average 11 people a month he says die in gang violence in Port Elizabeth’s Northern Areas.  This morning he told Grocott’s Mail they expected to meet with Premier Phumulo Masualle on Tuesday.…

On 22 October, a group of women from Extension 5 and Extension 6 demanded to see the editor. The women, in their 60s, 70s and 80s, were at their wit’s end. After months of phone calls and visits to the municipality, they said, they were still living in unbearable conditions, surrounded by raw sewage. Grocott’s Mail was later that day taken on a tour of homes where the owners – mostly retired – continue to do their best to live the lives they’ve earned after dedicating their working years to the community as teachers, nurses and civil servants. It was…

Kungiwe Cetu speaks to friends and family at her 105th birthday celebration in  Makhanda (Grahamstown) recently. ‘Nesi’ Kungiwe Kate-Cetu did her work as a midwife in Grahamstown at a time when trusting and helping strangers was the rule rather than the exception. “She knows the day you were born, and what the weather was like on that day. If you are twins, she knows which one of you came out first.” These were some of the stories told about the community her we reported on her 103rd birthday in 2016 and you can read more of them here: bit.ly/Groc105Years This…