A 77-year-old Free State farm foreman was the target of a brutal farm attack that has shocked the farming community. Simon Makhotha was attacked on Harrisdale in the Zastron area on Sunday evening (17 January) at around 20h00. According to Free State Agriculture (FSA), Makhotha was taken by surprise by a gang of three who assaulted […]

A staggering number of teachers in South Africa have fallen ill during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Many have tragically passed away. Yet, sadly, much of parents’ anger over the delay of schools opening (to save lives) has been targeted at teachers, the very people we should surely be heralding as our heroes. […]

Sand sculptor Sonwabo Micheal Somfele has relied on the money he makes from making drawings and images at Lookout Beach in Plettenberg Bay for four years. But since the Garden Route was declared a hotspot, and the beaches closed, he is struggling to make a living. Artists and small business owners in Plettenberg bay say […]

South Africa is showing signs of declining COVID-19 cases, with 9 010 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. This brings the total number of infections to 1 346 936 since the outbreak. “Regrettably, we report a further 344 COVID-19 related deaths,” said Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, on Monday. Of the recent deaths, […]

Only five out of 147 cases of police brutality in Gauteng have been resolved in the past five years, according to Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko. Mazibuko revealed the news in a written reply to the Democratic Alliance’s questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL). Police brutality cases over past 5 years […]

For Cape Town ambulance paramedics Claire* and Mike*, the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic has been relentless. Suspected Covid-19 patients have replaced victims of gun-shots, stabbings and car accidents and each day is grimly the same.   Covid-19 call-outs have replaced call-outs to trauma victims, say Cape Town paramedics interviewed by GroundUp. More of their […]

Eskom is currently implementing Stage 2 loadshedding as the country’s power system remains constrained and vulnerable, and is operating with less contractors as many are affected by Covid-19. At Medupi power station, for instance, well over half the pool of 75 contractors have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Eskom. “Regrettably, as the return […]

As the result of a red tide building up at Elands Bay on South Africa’s west coast, authorities have issued a Situation Yellow Alert as locals rush to collect crayfish being washed up on shore. Several marine species which are being washed up on the beach – including rock lobsters, octopus, white mussels and some […]

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Bheki Ntuli sadly passed away on Saturday. KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala confirmed with “deep shock and sadness” that Ntuli died late on Saturday afternoon in a Durban hospital, due to Covid-19 related complications. Tributes have poured in, with almost everyone describing Ntuli – who was known affectionately […]

The South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Eastern Cape is seeking assistance from the public in finding the relatives of a young baby boy who was abandoned in an ‘open space’ in Mthatha on 8 January. Mthatha police say they are trying to locate the mother, father or any other relatives of the baby. […]

South Africa has an estimated population approaching 60 million. To achieve herd immunity against COVID-19, the government recently set the ambitious goal of vaccinating 67% of the population – roughly 40 million people. According to the outline of this plan, this would be achieved within 2021. But is this ambitious target even feasible? In my […]

DJ Fresh (48) and DJ Euphonik (37) have been taken off the air at music radio station 947, as they face rape allegations dating back to 2011. Update 10/02/21: DJ Fresh and DJ Euphonik have parted ways with 947. Geraint Crwys-Williams, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Primedia Broadcasting, announced on Saturday: “947 and Primedia Broadcasting […]

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and MEC for Social Development Sharna Fernandez have called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in the crisis at SASSA involving lapsed disability grants. The Western Cape Premier and the MEC for Social Development have called on the President to intervene in the crisis at SASSA involving lapsed disability grants. […]

The father who was arrested in South Africa for breaking curfew to buy formula milk for his newborn baby will appear at a press conference on Monday. The media conference will be hosted by AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit to address the South African police’s recent “abuse of power” following the arrest of the dad, less […]

Armed men have killed at least six rangers and wounded several others in an ambush in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Virunga national park. This park is a sanctuary for endangered mountain gorillas. Staff working in the park have often come under attack. Judith Verweijen and Esther Marijnen – experts on armed mobilisation and […]

The Department of Basic Education has made the decision to delay the opening of schools by two weeks, announced Dr Reginah Mhaule, Deputy Minister of Basic Education, in a media briefing on 15 January. This decision includes both public and private schools, including those private schools that have already opened. School management teams (SMT’s) will […]

South Africa had a record 10,907 excess deaths from natural causes in the week of 30 December to 5 January, according to the 11 January mortality surveillance report from the Burden of Disease Research Unit at the South African Medical Research Council. In total, 20,063 people died in one week. The latest mortality surveillance report […]

South Africa’s Information Regulator met Facebook South Africa on Wednesday to discuss the social media company’s revised WhatsApp privacy policy. WhatsApp’s new private policy sparked a global outcry – with SA expat billionaire (and richest man in the world) Elon Musk suggesting a change to Signal – after the Facebook-owned messaging app alerted its 2 […]

Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister, Thoko Didiza, says she is greatly saddened to learn about Professor Mohammad Karaan’s passing. Karaan was a former Dean of the Faculty of AgriSciences at Stellenbosch University (SU) and a champion of agriculture and rural development. The department has described the Professor as a giant in South Africa’s […]

As Eskom announced its plan this morning to implement Stage 2 loadshedding for the next few days – from noon today, Thursday 14 January, until 23h00 on Sunday (17 Jan), a collective ‘ARGH’ could almost be heard around the country from a nation of usually good-humoured, mainly optimistic folk, who are simply fatigued with Covid […]

The Harare Magistrates Court has dismissed a bid by journalist Hopewell Chin’ono to have a charge against him of “spreading falsehoods” declared invalid. The Harare Magistrates Court has upheld charges of “spreading falsehoods” against an award-winning Zimbabwean journalist. Hopewell Chin’ono was arrested on Friday and remains in custody. This week Chin’ono tried to challenge the […]

COVID-19 continues to rise in South Africa, with 13 105 new cases, representing a 26% positivity rate. Meanwhile, 755 more people died due to COVID-19 related complications on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 34 334 to date. Gauteng, which has become SA’s Coronavirus Epicentre once again, recorded the highest number of Covid deaths in […]

In his address to the nation on Monday night, President Ramaphosa claimed that his government has been working on vaccine acquisition for six months, which would have been since July last year. Yet there is much evidence to suggest this is simply not the truth… writes Democratic Alliance (DA) Leader John Steenhuisen. We cannot fully […]

20,000 people have been arrested and/or fined in South Africa for breaking Lockdown regulations, leading Police Minister Bheki Cele to urge South Africans to please adhere to the adjusted Covid-19 lockdown regulations which include the mandatory wearing of masks in public and beaches being off limits. In a statement, Cele noted with great concern the […]

The Gauteng Provincial Government is gearing up for the worst-case scenario as the second wave of COVID-19 infections rears its ugly head in the province. Addressing the media on Tuesday, Premier David Makhura said Gauteng is now the second most affected province in the country in terms of active Coronavirus cases after KwaZulu-Natal. The province […]