The Ahmadi movement is one of the most controversial modern Muslim movements primarily for the reason of their unorthodox belief in the continuation of prophecy after the Prophet Muhammad and/or the belief that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the fulfilment of the prophecy relating to the coming of a messiah and the return of Jesus.

Print media transformation in South Africa has been an ongoing area of debate and contention in the first twenty years of democracy. Especially given the country’s history of colonialism and apartheid, where racism was institutionalised and impacted the character and functioning of the print media. The attainment of true transformation in the press is critical to reverse the injustices of the past and to ensure today’s print media is reflective of South African society and its many axes of diversity.

The starting point for this research is the disjuncture between the functions of elections predicated in democratic theory and the reality of electoral authoritarian regimes. Mainstream democratic theory views elections as the sine qua non, that is, the institutional mechanism through which the essence of democracy - self-rule of the people - is actualized.

Purpose: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) worldwide are facing increased pressure to meet the needs of non-traditional-age students (NTASs), defined here as 25 and older. However, there is not only a lack of supportive institutional cultures for NTASs who pursue a deinstitutionalised life course, but also scholarly knowledge pertaining to the trends in enrolments and perspectives of NTASs according to different socio-demographic variables.

The growth of a distinctive German South African minority that began during the midnineteenth century, is closely related to the arrival of German mission societies in the region and the Hermannsburg Mission Society (HMS) in particular. Influenced by the tide of nineteenth century German emigration, along with sentiments of ethnic German nationalism, the HMS was far more than an agent of Christian evangelism in that it offered the means for a new life abroad without the need to forgo a connection to the “old country” or Heimat.

This thesis is an ethnography of a group of medical doctors in South Africa who produce clinical research based on their patient practice. These clinician-researchers are scarce around the globe but praised as contributing indispensable clinical insights to research in an aim to improve healthcare. In South Africa government and professional bodies recently took action to expand and racially transform this elite of knowledge producers with the aim of remedying the country’s healthcare, perceived as being in crisis. My ethnography centres on the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), specifically its School of Clinical Medicine, its associated teaching hospitals, and its attempts to grow a so-called culture of research among doctors.

This thesis focuses on the transformation of healthcare services for the blacks in the former Transvaal during the period from the 1930s to 1990s. The thesis argues that over this period the healthcare of rural blacks from Union to Republican governments had incipient features of primary health care – haphazardly driven by progressive-minded individuals within the state, by missionaries, as well as other stakeholders, motivated by concerns over the socio-economic conditions of the blacks.

Although South Africa is home to nine indigenous African languages, English remains the dominant official language in democratic South Africa. This continues despite the fact that the country’s Constitution and the Use of Official Languages Act (UOLA) of 2012 oblige the government to safeguard that all official languages are equitably used and indigenous languages developed and promoted.

‘Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu’ is a historical figure whose prominence and acclaim has been primarily documented through ‘Zulu’ historiography. She has been immortalised as the daughter of ‘King Dinuzulu’1, the mother of ‘Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi’ and an unparalleled musician, imbongi2, instrumentalist, composer, performer and custodian of ‘Zulu culture’.

This study explores the various representations of the dictator and the postcolonial condition in what can be termed the African dictator text. Adopting a panoramic approach that selects texts from several regions of Africa, the study critically examines the ambivalence and paradox of power, focusing on the various strategies devised and deployed by African writers