South Africa In The News

• Oscar Pistorius and US investigators
• Epic rugby test - All Blacks on top
• Diamonds world tour - Rihanna
• Controversial reviews for Operation Genocide

Review For Murder @ Work

What a fantastic review for "Murder @ Work"! "... a tightly plotted mystery with a terrific cast of characters and a unique setting ... " Read it in full here.

The Pistorius Case - Leaked Photos

The shooting that shook South Africa. Read about photos leaked to the press here.

Mandela sued by his daughters

Mandela's daughters sue their father for the control of his money and art. (more)

2030 vision

"Increase the quality of education so that all children have at least two years of preschool education and all children in Grade 3 can read and write".

Is the 2030 vision blind? Find out here.

Want to read about better times? Read this South African Cozy Murder Mystery bestseller by author Yvonne Walus.

South African Champion

A South African champion, who never had a chance to compete in the Olympics, died earlier this week. In her time, she was the youngest world-record holder. Read more.

Christmas in South Africa

Corruption in the New South Africa

Corruption is a sad fact of life in South Africa today. more

Murder Mysteries throughout Africa....

For those of you interested in African Murder Mysteries, here is a cool magazine, Mystery Readers' Journal, featuring two articles of mine. You won't be able to view much of the contents online, though of course you're welcome to purchase the PDF or the hard copy.

South Africa through the eyes of Invictus

I was very pleased to discover that the movie Invictus is set around the same time as my cozy murder mysteries, "Murder @ Play" and "Murder @ Work". It's a beautiful reflection of what South Africa was going through in mid-nineties, all its fears and prejudices, all stemming from our overwhelming love for that amazing country.

Some trivia from Invictus:

• Did you know that when President Mandela shook the hands of the rugby players for the first time, some people in the audience thought it highly inappropriate... either for the president... or for the players????
• A debate is out whether the president should have used both hands when handing the rugby captain that cup of tea: it's African etiquette to do so (a sign of respect) - the issue is whether Mandela felt respectful. Caveat: Francois Pienaar should definitely have received it with both hands (a sign of gratitude). See links about African etiquette: http://hubpages.com/hub/manners-southern-african-countries and http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/africa.htm.
• What they said in the movie, it really is true about Nelson Mandela's eyes.

South Africa in 1994

South African News Headlines in 1994 (the time in which Murder @ Play is set):

• 10 May Nelson Mandela is sworn in as the first President of South Africa and FW de Klerk and Thabo Mbeki become joint deputy presidents
• The United Nations lifts its arms embargo on South Africa
• Princess Anne, Princess Royal, visits South Africa
• The African National Congress hold their 49th National Conference in Bloemfontein