Articles for Pharie Sefali

Residents demand clarity on R60 million Langa Junction complex

Management of the R60 million Langa Junction complex has promised to make information available to angry residents who have complained about a lack of transparency in the building and leasing of the 5,000 square metre space.

Pharie Sefali and Nombulelo Damba

News | 14 April 2015

Angolan reporter who exposed torture hauled into court

The defamation trial of Angolan journalist Rafael Marques de Morais, accused of libelling seven of the country’s military generals in a book he wrote, kicked off in Luanda on Tuesday. The generals are suing him for defamation – which could cost him $1.2-million in damages and nine years in prison -- after he had asked for them to be investigated for human rights abuses he first exposed in a book.

Pharie Sefali

News | 27 March 2015

Thanks to whistleblower, arrests imminent in massive housing fraud

The wheels of justice finally seem to be turning in relation to a huge suspected fraud in a housing scheme for the poor that is said to have cost the Vryburg municipality at least R60-million in 2008 and 2009.

Pharie Sefali and Drew Forrest for amaBhungane

Feature | 20 March 2015

Twenty-one deaths in 13 months at Glebelands Hostel

Four months after KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu’s high-profile announcement of a peace deal and R10-million security plan at the violence-torn Glebelands hostel in Umlazi, Durban, two more hostel residents have been murdered.

Pharie Sefali

News | 13 March 2015

Corruption busting vs defamation in Lowveld court case

A well-known Limpopo businessman is suing the editor of a small Lowveld newspaper, Kruger2Canyon, for R500 000 in a defamation case described by the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) as having “elements of intimidation and censorship by individuals with significant power”.

Pharie Sefali

Feature | 13 February 2015

So you want a fake medical certificate? Meet Mancane and co.

Hung over and want to stay in bed? Missed a deadline for a university assignment? Mancane and his colleagues in Katlehong may be able to help you.

Pharie Sefali

News | 23 January 2015

Township residents complain about festive season noise

Some townships residents are fed up with the noise from parties and street bashes that escalate at this time of the year.

Pharie Sefali

News | 19 December 2014

No sign of Zuma’s sanitary towels

In 2011, President Jacob Zuma made promises about the provision of sanitary towels to poor women. Three years later, GroundUp tried to find out whether these promises have been kept.

Pharie Sefali

News | 17 December 2014

Witness says fire that left over 20 homeless was started by man high on tik

At noon on 10 December more than 20 people were left homeless by a fire at a hostel in Mfuleni.

Pharie Sefali

Brief | 11 December 2014

Don’t touch me on my dreads

Anelisa Sonjola from Khayelitsha says that last week she was mugged. And robbed of her dreadlocks!

Pharie Sefali

News | 11 December 2014

Aftermath of a shack fire

With summer heat and seasonal gale force southeaster winds, it is a time of high risk for shack fires. There were 123 fires in the past month in informal settlements in the Western Cape. This December, load shedding may well be adding to that risk. GroundUp visited a family in the aftermath of a recent shack fire to see how they are coping.

Pharie Sefali

News | 5 December 2014

Two dead as police fire on crowd looting rice

Police have confirmed that live ammunition was used yesterday against people looting rice from a broken-down truck near Mbizana in the Eastern Cape. Two people were killed.

Pharie Sefali and Daneel Knoetze

News | 3 December 2014

Urban initiates: are the teachings still relevant?

In many African cultures, boys from age 14 must go through the process of initiation, where they are circumcised in order to be recognized as men by the community. But how relevant is the ceremony for today’s urban youth and are the traditions being upheld in the cities?

Pharie Sefali

News | 20 November 2014

Who is behind Confessions of a Bisexual Chick?

A year ago, Ntombikayise Matyumza of Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape started a Facebook page aimed at gay and lesbian youth. Today she has more than 14,000 followers across the country.

Pharie Sefali

News | 12 November 2014

Ndisebenzisa ikawusi njengephedi, utsho umfundi wakwaLanga

UAkhona ufunda kwibanga lesibhozo. Njengabo bonke abalingane bakhe baseklasini abaninzi, usoloko ephoswa kukuya esikolweni xa esexesheni ngenxa yokuba usapho lwakhe alukwazi ukumthengela iiphedi. Xa kufuneka abhale uvavanyo, usebenzisa ikawusi, utsho.

Pharie Sefali

News | 11 November 2014

I use a sock as a sanitary pad, says Langa learner

Akhona is in grade eight. Like many of her classmates, she often misses school when she has her periods because her family cannot afford sanitary pads. When she has to write a test, she uses a sock, she says.

Pharie Sefali

News | 6 November 2014