Anyone in South Africa wanting to report corruption, take note: You can only do it during business hours, even though whistleblowers tend to call out of office hours and not from their place of work. The Public Service Commission – the custodian of the corruption hotline – recently told a portfolio meeting of Parliament that […]

Anyone who benefitted off of the VBS bank heist will sleep less peacefully from tonight, because its former chief financial officer agreed to a deal to cooperate with the National Prosecuting Authority. For his cooperation, Phillip Truter will have three years suspended on his 10-year sentence. Truter will cooperate with the NPA in its investigations […]

Property investment of almost R14 billion underpins the Cape Town CBD’s resilience in the face of the devastating health and economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new report. The State of Cape Town Central City Report 2019 – A Year in Review (SCCR), the eighth and the biggest so far, was published today […]

It was a day of seizures by the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority and the Hawks in at least two cases involving fancy vehicles acquired by people implicated in cases of corruption. The most visible seizure involved highflying businessman Edwin Sodi, who was among seven people who appeared in court last week […]

From early today hundreds of people gathered outside the magistrates court in Senekal, Free State, where the two suspected murderers of young farm manager Brendin Horner are scheduled to appear. Streams of vehicles and motorbikes made their way into the town centre, and the police reportedly closed the town’s main streets in preparation for the […]

PRETORIA – The National Commissioner of the South African Police, General Khehla John Sitole, and other senior officers met today with Agri SA, TLU SA and AfriForum in an effort to address matters of criminality affecting rural communities, and said that helicopters, drones and mounted reservists would be used more to tackle rural crimes. The […]

The South African Judge Albert Hoffmann has been elected president of the 168-member International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for the next three years. The ITLOS was established by the United Nations in 1982, with an international framework for law over “all ocean space, its uses and resources.” Based in Hamburg, Germany, there […]

It is only the latest headache to befall the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. Her WhatsApp has been hacked, exposing her private and confidential information to a third party. “This illegal activity has been reported to relevant authorities and platform owners for action. Obtaining and distributing information that is illegally obtained is […]

There have been some classic moments during the two years of the Zondo Commission of Enquiry into State Capture. And even though many think the commission is a waste of time and money, information coming out of the witnesses has clearly helped crime-busting agencies. One only has to consider the arrest this week of seven […]

After a decade-long struggle to register with the United Nations, AfriForum has received confirmation it is now officially registered with the UN’s Economic and Social Council, ECOSOC, as an NGO with special advisory status. AfriForum said that it would “take a strong view,” in any ECOSOC meetings it attended in future, on subjects like expropriation […]

Two men have been arrested for the brutal murder of young farm manager Brendin Horner, whose body was found tortured and tied to a pole in the Paul Roux district, Free State, on Friday. The police said in a statement today that the two, aged 32 and 43, were arrested yesterday at Fateng tse Ntho […]

A man was arrested in Pietermaritzburg after a combined police operation found him in possession of a rhino horn, valued at R1.2 million. “A joint operation between the Pmb Flying Squad and the Pmb Dog unit led to the arrest and detention of the following white male suspect for Possession of Rhino’s horn after he […]

The government will release 700,000 hectares, the equivalent of 7000 square kilometres, of vacant state land in the next two weeks and lease it to qualifying applicants. The vacant or underutilised land is made of of 896 farms in all provinces except the Western Cape and Gauteng, according to a statement today by Agriculture, Land […]

It was a gift that Trevor Noah, a nonfan of Donald Trump if ever there was one, couldn’t have hoped for in his wildest dreams to celebrate his five-year anniversary on the “Daily Show”: the first debate between Donald Trump and the Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden. The debate last night – there are meant […]

During his testimony to the Zondo commission into state capture yesterday, Gauteng businessman Edwin Sodi (who was arrested today by the Hawks) said that over the years he made donations to several cabinet ministers and deputies, including health minister Zweli Mkhize and deputy minister of state security Zizi Kodwa.   The Democratic Alliance said today […]

South Africans have been crying for the arrest of big-name politicians and businessmen over state capture, and Hermione Cronje of the National Prosecuting Authority promised last month that there would be arrests in September. Well, on the last day of the month, it’s come true. The arrests seem to have begun in earnest. The Directorate […]

The Electoral Commission has rejected the registration of former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba’s ACTIONSA as a political party, citing the infringement of sections of the Electoral Act. “ACTIONSA was informed in writing yesterday of the failure of its application based on the similarity of its symbol or distinguishing mark to that of another party already […]

The back and forth of the South African Airways Saga continues, as the business rescue practitioners in charge of the airline’s future or demise have suspended all operations with immediate effect until they have a clearer picture of whence (and if) the money is coming to save the beleaguered carrier. “The BRPs have made a […]

“One tap in 26 years.” That was one of the comments on social media after the Alfred Nzo Municipality in the Eastern Cape posted a video on this week showing a ceremony to announce the installation of a single tap for a village. The views (61,000 so far) and comments haven’t stopped running since then. […]

After stunning rains across Cape Town this winter, the largest dam serving the region, Theewaterskloof, started overflowing today, for the first time since 2014 and barely two-and-a-half years after Day Zero loomed. (Update 28/09/20: Theewaterskloof dam has not yet officially overflowed. It turns out it only appeared to do so because of the wind blowing […]

A former pro rugby player, Zane Kilian, appeared in a Cape Town court in South Africa today under heavy security charged with the murder on 18 September  of Anti-Gang Unit cop Lieutenant Colonel Charl Kinnear (52). Kilian (spelt Killian by some media outlets), 39, was charged at the Bishop Lavis magistrate’s court with murder, conspiracy […]

After the former minister Mosebenzi Zwane made some startling admissions at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture today, admitting to not knowing the laws of his department while he was MEC, the Democratic Alliance said the noose of justice was closing in on Free State politicians like himself and former premier Ace Magashule. […]

Independent solar and wind power generators, among others, will in future be allowed to sell electricity to Eskom, which will hopefully break the cycle of loadshedding that has afflicted the country and its potential for progress. Rules were gazetted today allowing the procurement of 11,813 MW of electricity and storage from independent power producers (IPPs). […]

The Competition Tribunal has approved The Foschini Group to acquire Jet stores subject to conditions, while seller Edcon has said that it would maintain its big branch of Edgars in downtown Johannesburg, which has been there for 90 years and is being renovated, a major impetus to the central business district. It was reported earlier […]

After months of talk, they are finally here, the bumped-up security detail being put in place to protect the infrastructure and trains of South Africa’s railways. There will be at least 3,100 of them in identified hotspots, and some of them were out marching in Rhodesfield, Johannesburg, today (see video). Introducing a new security plan […]