Author: Larson Thebe
President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a Special Official Funeral Category 2 funeral for the late Ambassador and former Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu. The 72-year-old Mahlangu, who passed away last Sunday on his way to a South African hospital following a short illness, will be laid to rest in Middelburg, Mpumalanga. He held the positions of High Commissioner to Kenya, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Somalia, and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON). He is also a former Ambassador to the United States. “President Cyril Ramaphosa offers his deep condolences to…
The Ventersdorp Magistrate’s Court has postponed the bail application of 36-year-old Mthobisi Mkhwatswa to next week Thursday. He was arrested on Wednesday at a weighbridge in Ventersdorp, after he was found transporting 350 boxes of Chief and Sahawi illicit cigarettes, worth an estimated value of R4,5 million. According to authorities, the truck which was travelling from Pretoria to Kuruman in the Northern Cape, was stopped on N14 as part of the normal operation by officers. “Reports suggest that after becoming aware that the truck was overloaded, traffic officials at the weighbridge checked the load and found that it was cigarettes. …
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has named his 23-man squad that will play two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Nigeria next month. Broos trimmed the squad from the initial 48 list that he announced last week, for the crucial games. Bafana last qualified for the World Cup in 2002. The team will play Lesotho away from home at the Free State stadium on 5 September, as Lesotho has chosen the stadium as its temporary home ground. Bafana will then face arch-rivals Nigeria at the same venue four days later. Broos said the team is aware about what is…
National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, has ordered that 121 dockets be returned to KwaZulu-Natal Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who will then assign them to the political task team. The dockets were taken in March this year by suspended Deputy National Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya, on the instruction of suspended police minister, Senzo Mchunu. The confiscation of the dockets was revealed by Mkhwanazi, during an explosive briefing last month, where he alleged the political task team was disbanded, after it discovered syndicates that involved senior police officials, politicians, judiciary and drug cartels. Briefing the media on the side-lines of the…
The North West Department of Agriculture and Rural Development alongside various state organisations conferred about 242 participants of the National Rural Service Corps (NARYSEC) with certificates of qualification during a graduation ceremony that was held in Mahikeng. According to the department, the graduates were recruited in collaboration with municipalities across the province in line with the District Development Model (DDM). The group completed training in various fields such as Mixed Farming, Beauty and Nail Technology, Tourist Guiding and Accommodation Services among others. During the ceremony, MEC Madoda Sambatha reaffirmed the provincial government’s commitment to support young people and provide them…
The South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) is demanding immediate action from the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality to ensure the safety of its employees following a shocking shooting incident within the municipal building that has halted all operations. This alarming event has intensified concerns over the rising tensions stemming from a volatile political landscape, characterised by a fierce power struggle between two rival ANC councillors both laying claim to the title of mayor. The chaotic backdrop of this conflict has marred the functioning of the council, which has witnessed increasingly confrontational behaviour, including fistfights during official sittings. These disturbing incidents…
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has retained 36 of the 38 players who did duty for the team during the two Castle Lager Rugby Championship matches against Australia for their tour to New Zealand. The Boks will face the All Blacks in back-to-back Tests at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday, 6 September, and the Sky Stadium in Wellington a week later on 13 September. With wings injured, Makazole Mapimpi, who joined the team in Cape Town last week, will make the trip down under, following the injury of wings Kurt-Lee Arendse, while the only utility forward Cobus Wiese has been…
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has announced that it will implement the mandatory Beneficiary Biometric Enrolment in all its offices from 01 September. The agency will revolutionise the administration of social grants and detect fraud and any potentially fraudulent activities in the SASSA’s grant system. SASSA said this comes after a conclusion of successful discussions with organised labour on several issues, paving the way for a new age for SASSA in its resolve to administer a tight and credible grant system. “Our plans were to commence with biometric enrolment at the beginning of the 2025/26 financial year, however,…
Police in the North West Province have launched an investigation following the deaths of five men at an open cast mine in the Tlhatlaganyane village, close to Sun City. The area, infamous for its illegal mining activities, has raised immediate concerns that these killings may be connected to the ongoing crisis surrounding unregulated mineral extraction. Authorities have confirmed that a multi-disciplinary team is currently deployed at the scene, meticulously gathering crucial evidence and testimonies to uncover the motives behind the brutal murders and identify the perpetrators responsible. “While we refrain from speculation, we cannot rule out connections to rival mining…
President Cyril Ramaphosa has held a series of telephone calls with European leaders on the Russia-Ukraine peace efforts. The calls, which were held on Saturday, follow recent meetings hosted by US President Donald Trump with his counterparts from Russia Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several other European leaders. “President Ramaphosa spoke to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron of France and President Alexandar Stubb of Finland. Additional calls with other European leaders will follow in the coming days and weeks. President Ramaphosa also appreciated the briefing he received last week from President Vladimir Putin following his meeting…