Informal clothing traders outside the ANC’s National General Council (NGC) in Boksburg say sales have dropped to their lowest levels ahead of the Christmas season a time when they usually rely on major ANC gatherings to boost their income. This comes as ANC delegates have arrived at the Birchwood Conference Centre in luxury vehicles, some escorted by VIP protection, creating a stark contrast with traders who say they are barely making enough to survive. Nompumelelo Ngema, who has been selling…

In a chilling escalation of South Africa’s whistleblower crisis, former Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) officer and private security owner Marius “Vlam” van der Merwe—known as “Witness D” at the Madlanga Commission—was gunned down outside his Brakpan home on December 5, 2025, in full view of his wife and children. CCTV footage captured him confronting his attackers, drawing his weapon in self-defense before being fatally shot multiple times, possibly with an AK-47. Police have identified three persons of interest, with…

One year after the formation of South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU) following the 2024 elections, public confidence in political leadership and institutions remains stubbornly low, according to the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation’s (IJR) 2025 South African Reconciliation Barometer (SARB). The survey, the longest-running public opinion poll on reconciliation in the world since 2003, involved face-to-face interviews with 2,006 nationally representative respondents between July and August 2025. Stagnant or Worsening Perceptions Despite the “dramatic shift” to multi-party coalition…