matatu journal for african culture & society

When Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress declared victory over the bitter injustice of apartheid, some thought South Africa’s future was assured. But despite Mandela’s mission of reconciliation, rampant inequality remains; race relations are uneasy, violence is endemic and many in the ANC appear to have lost sight of the liberation ideals. With the election in 2009 of Jacob Zuma, a charismatic populist embroiled in scandal, uncertainty over the trajectory of the nation has only intensified.

South Africa now stands at a crossroads, and award-winning journalist Alec Russell draws on his deep knowledge of the country to tell us how it got there and to give us a compelling account, revised and updated for this edition, of the journey from Mandela to Zuma.

The Fante and the Transatlantic Slave Trade explores the fascinating history of the transatlantic slave trade on Ghana’s coast between 1700 and 1807. Author Rebecca Shumway brings to life the survival experiences of southern Ghanaians as they became both victims of continuous violence and successful brokers of enslaved human beings. The era of the slave trade gave birth to a new culture in this part of West Africa, just as it was giving birth to new cultures across the Americas. The Fante and the Transatlantic Slave Trade pushes Asante scholarship to the forefront of African diaspora and Atlantic World studies by showing the integral role of Fante middlemen and transatlantic trade in the development of the Asante economy prior to 1807.

Late one night in July, 1963, a South African police unit surrounded the African National Congress headquarters in Rivonia and arrested a group of Movement leaders gathered inside. Eventually eight of them, including Nelson Mandela, who was already serving a sentence, Walter Sisulu, Dennis Goldberg, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoledi, Andrew Mangeni, and Ahmed Kathrada, were convicted of sabotage and, on June 12, 1964, sentenced to life in prison. Soon, these men became widely known as the “Rivonia Trialists.” Despite their imprisonment, the Trialists played active roles in the struggle against South Africa’s racist regime. Instead of being forgotten, as apartheid officials had hoped, they became enduring symbols in a struggle against injustice and racism.
Kathrada and his colleagues were classified as high security prisoners, segregated from others and closely watched. Every activity was regulated and monitored. Among the many indignities visited upon them, the prisoners were prohibited from keeping copies of incoming and outgoing correspondence. Kathrada, or “Kathy” as he is known, successfully hid both.
     Letters From Robben Island contains a selection of 86 of the more than 900 pieces of correspondence Ahmed Kathrada wrote during his 26 years on Robben Island and at Pollsmoor Prison. Some were smuggled out by friends; others were written in code to hide meaning and content from prison censors. These are among his most poignant, touching, and eloquent communications. They are testimonies to Kathrada, his colleagues, and to their commitment to obtaining human dignity and freedom for all South Africans.

A gripping retelling of the legendary story of Livingstone and Stanley.

In 1866 Britain’s foremost explorer, Dr David Livingstone, went in search of the answer to an age- old geographical riddle- where was the source of the Nile? Livingstone set out with a large expedition, on a course that would lead through nearly impenetrable, unmapped terrain, and into areas populated by fearsome man- eating tribes. Within weeks his intended journey began to fall apart- his entourage deserted him and Livingstone vanished without trace into the African interior. He would not be heard from again for two years.While debate raged in England over whether Livingstone could be found in the unmapped wilderness of Africa, James Gordon Bennet, a brash young American newspaper tycoon, hatched a plan to capitalise on the world’s fascination with the missing legend. He commissioned his star reporter, Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands in Wales!), to search for Livingstone. Stanley undertook his quest with gusto, filing reports that captivated readers and dominated the front page of the New York Herald for months.INTO AFRICA traces the journeys of Livingstone and Stanley in alternating chapters. Livingstone’s journey is one of trials and set- backs, that find him alone and depleted miles from civilisation. Stanley’s is an awakening to the beauty of Africa, the grandeur of her landscape and the vivid diversity of her wildlife. It is also a journey that succeeds beyond his wildest dreams, clinching his place in history with the famous question- ‘Dr Livingstone, I presume?’ The first book to examine the extraordinary physical challenges, political intrigue and larger- than- life personalities of the Stanley- Livingstone story, INTO AFRICA is a fascinating window on the golden age of exploration and will appeal to everyone’s sense of adventure.