A photo of a homeless man who wanders the streets of Johannesburg with his mega-decorated shopping trolley has gone viral and been shared by over 3,000 Facebook users from South Africa and the USA to the UK and Australia. Gauteng mom and sales executive, Valerie Kennedy, took the photo last month and posted it on her facebook […]

As the exchange between the ANC and the Public Protector’s office heats up following a letter from Public Protector Thuli Madonsela to President Jacob Zuma being leaked to the press, South Africans around the country have taken to social media to send their own message to the country’s president – “pay back the money” (please). The […]

His jewellery has been worn by actress Charlize Theron, and has been showcased on the international market at $16-million. Jewellery designer Kevin Friedman produces one-of-a-kind pieces that have won him awards. UPDATE June 2021: Queen Elizabeth II wears South African jewellery designer Kevin Friedman’s brooch. Theron modelled his bead and diamond choker at the 2012 […]

How to get through South African Immigration as a child (with updates – pls read update at the very bottom first)!  The only thing I knew for sure when booking my son’s ticket a couple of months ago, just after the new law was announced, was that whether a child under the age of 18 travels with […]

Jack Parow’s latest music video is a wonderful tribute to all the workers in South Africa…and instead of using models or actors he features some of the country’s very real working heroes (see below). This is a song that’s for anyone who works to make ends meet, who may hate their job but needs to pay […]

It has always been Richard John Pelwana Maponya’s dream to see Soweto grow its own flourishing economy. Born in Limpopo Province on 24 December 1926, Maponya is a property developer best known for building a business empire despite the restrictions apartheid imposed on black South Africans. He was fiercely determined to see Soweto develop economically. […]

South African writer, director and producer Grant de Graf has entered a short film competition with ‘Burned’, his exquisitely filmed story about a former South African special forces operative who seeks revenge after his family is targeted by hijackers. (If you’d like to vote for the film – there’s a link at the end of this […]

It’s never great when the lift you’re in suddenly comes to a grinding halt and you’re stuck, trapped with strangers, in a confined space…unless you’re in the Table Mountain Cable Car with a lovely controller who reminds you to enjoy the sweeping views of the mountain, clouds and Cape Town down below… Musician Gino Mb (full name Mahomed […]

In case you’ve missed them, here’s a selection of some of the best Ice Bucket Challenge videos from the last week…from the Springboks to Charlie Sheen…raising millions of dollars and awareness for ALS/MND. (And then there’s the guy who wants to shut it all down!) ALS Ice Bucket Challenge featuring Joost van der Westhuizen One […]

Fans of author, humanitarian, philanthropist – and South African expat – Trevor Romain will be pleased to know that Trevor’s second book in the very popular Random Kak series has gone to print. In a message to SAPeople, Trevor said: “I am happy to announce that my second book in the Random Kak series has gone […]

We laugh when foreigners think wild animals roam our streets, BUT…maybe we need to rethink our stance! After publishing a photo yesterday of a few zebras happily grazing in the middle of Mtunzini, we received a video showing a leopard wandering through a Coke factory in Polokwane! And apparently there are a few other wild animals […]

The South African Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has announced that it will discontinue the issuance of Temporary Passports as of 01 September 2014. The DHA said this decision has been made because of an improvement in the turn-around time for permanent tourist passports, meaning there is no longer a need for a temporary passport. […]

My husband and I have been living in Dubai for nearly seven years (me, a little bit less) and in this time we have found that there are four types of expats (especially South African expats) living in Dubai: the Expats Running Away, The Expats Using Dubai as a Springboard, the One Foot In and One Foot Out Expats […]

South African actor, director, producer Sharlto Copley has been cast in a leading role in the TV-series adaptation of PlayStation’s “Powers”. It was announced yesterday that he and American actress Michelle Forbes will replace Jason Patric and Carly Foulkes in the roles of Christian Walker and Retro Girl in the live-action adaptation of the comic. This […]

South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu made history today on Avaaz, the campaign network that boasts a  global following of 38-million people. In an email  sent to all its members Ricken Patel, founder of Avaaz, said “this is the first time an opinion piece has gone out to our community, but this one’s historic.” The letter from […]

The Ice Bucket Challenge has finally hit South Africa…and here’s all you need to know (especially the problem with its name!): What’s the Point of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? It’s to raise awareness and funds for research on ALS and the hashtag to use on social media is #ALSIceBucketChallenge. Since the social media craze […]

As a 13-year-old Sir Stuart Ntlathi looked at his world and decided he needed to know how it worked. Fourteen years later, his after-school science club owns patents to a battery-operated shoe polisher with changeable colour cartridges, a 14-in-1 microwave combo, and an auto-cooling umbrella. As a 13-year-old he recycled old appliances and developed a […]

Working the chalkboard for over 74 years, watching students blossom and receive good grades, Nontsikelelo Qwelane, at 94, is South Africa’s oldest teacher. Qwelane believes she was born to “impart knowledge” and has dedicated herself to this lifetime vocation. Born in 1920 in Engcobo in the Eastern Cape, she trained as a teacher and started […]

Nat Nakasa finally started his journey home today, fifty years after he didn’t want to leave. At a church in the north of Manhattan, not far from where Nakasa jumped out of a seventh-floor window of a building near Central Park in 1965, a service was held to mark the beginning of the repatriation of […]

Every day, I hear the cries of media people – journalists, graphic artists, photographers and copy editors – who have just been kicked out onto the street by their long-time employers. Many of them have given decades of faithful service – with little remuneration – to their newspapers and magazines. Most of us do this […]

The fabulous South African rusk has been a staple of Karoo travel, going back to the 1700s. Here’s the story of SA’s famous Ouma Rusks… If you were an explorer, a hunter, a prospector, a trekboer or simply a wandering remittance man crossing the great Thirstland, you always carried a bag of rusks in your […]

Following Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies’ visit to Hollywood last week, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will be leading a delegation of South African film makers to Los Angeles to engage with the major studios, the minister announced on Tuesday. Briefing reporters in Pretoria, Davies said his visit had sought to strengthen […]

The government will invest billions of rands in South Africa’s transport infrastructure over the next three years in a bid to reduce road deaths and traffic congestion in the country, says Transport Minister Dipuo Peters. Addressing a seminar on road safety at the Southern Sun Hotel in Cape Town on Tuesday, Peters said that commuter […]

The latest column by well known South African author, columnist and documentary filmmaker Max du Preez has resonated with many of his fellow countrymen as South Africa (and the world) seem to be living through tumultuous times. Here, with kind permission (thank you!), we republish his column: Finding Hope beyond the Screaming Headlines by Max du Preez […]

Today I’m celebrating my FIRST YEAR in South Africa. I arrived in Durban, from my homeland France, exactly a year ago. Who would have guessed that I would end up in South Africa, in Africa even? I left my friends, family, work, flat, shops, food… everything, and accepted to change my life completely, but I […]