Author: Kgaogelo Magolego
Communities on the outskirts of Ekurhuleni have widely welcomed the ongoing clean-up campaign aimed at creating safer communities in response to a rise in incidents of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni launched the Love Your Street programme with the clearing of a particularly dangerous spot in KwaThema, Springs, where residents have been complaining for years. Community leader Nthabiseng Mochesane expressed relief, saying residents have been complaining about the spot, which was meant to be a heritage park but has become a deadly zone. “So today the Minister and President was here in Guatema, and they…
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has withdrawn the criminal charges against National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola in connection with the controversial SAPS health-services tender involving businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. The Pretoria Magistrates’ Court formally recorded the withdrawal of the charges on Tuesday, 22 September. Masemola had faced four counts of contravening Section 38 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), relating to his responsibilities as an accounting officer. The charges stemmed from the procurement of a SAPS health-services contract linked to Matlala’s company, Medicare24. The broader tender was budgeted at R360 million, while the contract at the centre of…
The body of an unidentified woman was found in a dam in Moroka, Soweto, on Sunday. The discovery comes as the province continues to reel from the discovery of nine bodies in Ekurhuleni, an area that has since been placed under lockdown. Gauteng police are appealing to members of the public to come forward with information that could assist with the investigation. Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulu confirmed the discovery of the body, which was found wrapped in a duvet. “The unidentified body was found wrapped in a duvet on 20 September 2026 at about 17:00. The victim is…
Police acted swiftly to round up suspects linked to the killing of two officers at Ziphunzana Location in Libode near Mthatha in the Eastern Cape on Friday. Just hours after the Acting National Police Commissioner General Puleng Dimpane directed that maximum resources be allocated to track and arrest those responsible for murdering the two officers who were shot and killed while responding to an armed robbery at a spaza shop at Ziphunzana Location in Libode near Mthatha, officers rounded up suspects in three different locations were some of them died in shootouts with police while two were arrested. The Acting…
President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended the term of the Madlanga Commission to 25 January 2027 to allow it to interview all persons of interest. The Presidency announced the decision in a statement on Saturday morning, indicating that the extension is a “final” one. Ramaphosa previously granted the commission an extension to 16 November after it raised concerns about time constraints amid increasingly evasive “witnesses”. The latest decision was prompted by similar frustrations. In addition to implicated individuals such as Feroz Khan, who until his recent dismissal was the SAPS deputy head of Crime Intelligence, and North West businessman Suleiman Carrim,…
The situation is tense in Inanda Township, north-west of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, where controversial figure Ngizwe Mchunu and a group of his followers clashed with EFF leaders over his attempts to undermine the party’s provincial manifesto launch. Mchunu, who has publicly vowed to prevent the EFF from holding any major rallies in the province, is staging a rival event in the form of a cultural festival at an adjacent venue, a move that has stirred tensions. The EFF has since filed criminal charges against Mchunu following a heated confrontation involving EFF national elections coordinator Mcini Tshwaku and KwaZulu-Natal provincial chairperson…
Men’s general attitudes towards women have come under the spotlight in South Africa, where the nation is reeling from shock following the recent discovery of the bodies of nine women in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, in Gauteng province. On Friday, several marches were held to the local police station, where protesters demanded swift action from law enforcement agencies, as well as measures to protect women, children and other vulnerable groups. “If you look at these crimes and the way they have been committed, you can see that they were committed by men. That’s why we are here to say to our…
Correctional Services boss Makgothi Thobakgale has revealed that the multiple escapee who was recaptured in Brits last week was allegedly forced out of Rooigrond Maximum Correctional Centre in Mahikeng by prison officials. Thobakgale told the Madlanga Commission that officials pressured Khomotso Madiba into fleeing to prevent him from revealing their alleged role in a previous escape. The commissioner said he interviewed Madiba after his recapture and learned that he had allegedly been pressured into escaping. “The inmate that we just re-arrested last week. I had to interview that inmate with my head of security, because of the information that he…
The inability of the Department of Correctional Services to guard the entire perimeter of prisons has been exploited by inmates and community members to smuggle contraband into the facilities. Head of Department Marothi Thobakgale appeared before the Madlanga Commission, where he painted a worrying picture of criminality in the country’s jails. Thobakgale cited the size of prisons as making it nearly impossible to guard their perimeters around the clock. “The integrated security system is a force multiplier. And it reduces reliance on, as I indicated in the statement, manual processes. For instance, in cases where you don’t have the integrated…
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) is yet to adjudicate on several complaints lodged by political parties against their rivals over alleged unethical campaigning. Among the matters before the commission is a complaint by the African National Congress (ANC) against the Democratic Alliance (DA) over the alleged presence of DA employees at the ANC’s manifesto launch in Diepsloot, Johannesburg. Two DA employees were reportedly spotted filming and gathering content at the ANC manifesto launch. The IEC confirmed during a media briefing in Centurion on Wednesday that it had received a complaint from the ANC and was awaiting the DA’s…