Articles by Zackie Achmat

Law and power: the long road to equality for gay men

The 1998 “Sodomy Case” confirmed LGBTIQ rights at last

Law and power: How a prisoner’s journey saved the lives of thousands

A look back at the battle for the rights of HIV-positive prisoners

The Human Rights Commission is wrong: vaccines are not always optional

The Commission is undermining the state’s vaccine programme

Why Covid-19 vaccines should be compulsory

Join us on the People’s March on 7 August

Ending Zuma’s corruption is a prerequisite to achieving social justice

Prudence Mabele was a radical who led the struggle for openness about HIV

Her eyes would laugh with anger at Thabo Mbeki and Manto Tshabalala-Msimang

Letter from Zackie Achmat to Premier Helen Zille

“If you commit to building affordable housing you will be addressing our resistance with humility and as a leader”

The damning evidence against Phiyega and SAPS leadership

Suspended Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega has had a difficult year. Suspended by President Jacob Zuma following the Farlam Commission report which called for an investigation into her fitness to hold office for among other things tampering with evidence and lying, she now faces significant findings against her from an inquiry by the Minister of Police Nathi Nhleko.

Police: the facts behind the Commissioner’s “good story”

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Policing should ask police management some tough questions, writes Zackie Achmat in the second in a series of articles on policing.

Police: Parliament must ask tough questions

It’s annual report season in Parliament, and the new Portfolio Committee on Police is finding its feet. In the first in a series of articles, Zackie Achmat has some suggestions for the committee.

A tribute to Gerald Kraak

Gerald Kraak (1956-2014), who was responsible for organising funding for many leading civil society organisations, died of cancer on Sunday night. Zackie Achmat pays tribute to his old friend.

Apartheid geography and murder in Cape Town

Building a socially and racially integrated Cape Town will decrease our murder rate and other violent crime, writes Zackie Achmat.

Andile Mngxitama: we need to draw a line in the sand

On the 15th of March Jared Sacks, a journalist and activist, published an article in the Mail & Guardian asking whether or not Steve Biko, the Steve Biko of 1977, would have supported Mamphele Ramphele’s recent political initiative. Some people, including people who had been close to Biko, really liked the piece. Others, including the well-known public commentator Andile Mngxitama, didn’t like it at all.

The Auditor-General Problem

The Auditor-General’s (AG) report on the use of consultants and contractors demonstrates some very important facts. It shows that government is operating in an environment where financial and other controls are lacking. This not only creates an atmosphere in which corruption blossoms, but also allows for those contractors appointed in good faith to take chances and not perform their contractual obligations properly.

Holocaust denial is hateful, immoral and factually wrong

Holocaust denialism is hateful, immoral and factually wrong. It legitimises the taking of measures by individuals, organisations and governments that lead to the destruction of human dignity and life. This destruction of dignity and life is based on ideologies of hate and profit.