Convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester has approached the Johannesburg High Court to challenge his transfer from Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Facility in Pretoria to the eBongweni Super Maximum Correctional Facility in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal. In his court application, Bester is seeking an order declaring the transfer unlawful, invalid and unconstitutional. He argues that the Department of Correctional Services acted outside its legal powers by moving him to the super maximum facility. Bester is the second high-profile accused to be transferred…

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) has maintained its criticism towards the government regarding its handling of the Operation Vala Umgodi crackdown on illegal miners in Stilfontein, North West last year, accusing authorities of creating a humanitarian crisis that led to deaths of zama zamas. LHR’s comments comes as the South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) commenced with the second leg of the National Inquiry into the Policy Framework Governing Artisanal Mining in Parktown, Johannesburg. The inquiry will also probe its…

The Gauteng Small Bus Operators Council (GASBOC) has suspended scholar transport services after the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) allegedly failed to pay service providers for more than three months. Operators staged a protest outside the department’s offices in Marshalltown, Johannesburg, on Monday, demanding immediate payment of outstanding invoices. GASBOC Chairperson Jabulani Khumalo said the department has been in arrears since October 2024, despite service providers submitting invoices within the required 30-day period. “The Department of Education has failed to…