In response to businessman Mike Abel’s letter to South Africans abroad, passionate SA activist in London – Hayley Reichert – has penned the following letter. PLEASE NOTE: *Disclaimer: this is an opinion piece* Dear Mike… with love from the expats. A response to Mike Abel’s open letter to the expats of South Africa. Read Mike’s […]

The following letter, by M&C Saatchi Abel Group founder Mike Abel, has been going viral the last few days. As we pointed out to Mike, at SAPeople we have been flooded with only wonderful, supportive messages from expats wanting to generously reach out and help those back home. Thank you to all of you. This letter is […]

Ozzy Man, the Australian reviewer who has become famous worldwide for his pull-no-punches reviews of just about anything (and always packed with swear words) has delivered the following classic about a hapless looter during the recent looting spree in South Africa. In typical Ozzy Man style, the review is a “bloody tellin’ it straight, no […]

SANDWICH, England (Reuters) – South African Louis Oosthuizen takes a two-shot lead into the British Open third round which started in bright sunshine at Royal St George’s on Saturday. Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open champion, carded rounds of 64 and 65 to move to 11 under par, two clear of American Collin Morikawa and three ahead […]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says the violence experienced in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng – characterised by looting, property destruction and loss of life – was an attempted insurrection that failed to gain popular support. “It has failed because of the efforts of our security forces, and it has failed because South Africans have […]

Young Syrian refugees have sent a special message of solidarity to South Africa after the traumatic violent protests and looting tore through parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng this week. It’s a message that has touched so many South Africans… watching these young children, who themselves have suffered and live in uncertain times, reaching out with […]

In the frenetic, desperate sharing of any post people can find to make sense of the devastation of the past few days, there are many which are wonderful, heartwarming and inspiring… but also a few which are not quite true. Two of the most popular posts in fact, are not genuine. The first is a […]

The DA says it will lay charges of treason and terrorism against the alleged ANC instigators of the unrest that led to wide-spread looting and destruction in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng. “The DA has seen WhatsApp chats between individuals who have identified themselves as being part of a number of ANC branches in KwaZulu-Natal […]

Groups of residents in some parts of Brakpan have vowed to protect immigrant-owned shops. At a spaza shop in Langaville extension 4 belonging to Sharif Ahmed, originally from Bangladesh, there were long queues throughout the day on Wednesday. It is the only shop in the area left unstripped, thanks to a brave widow and a […]

Reuters – President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday that the SA government would not allow “anarchy and mayhem” to prevail in South Africa after violence this week which he suggested had been deliberately provoked, and said that some suspects have been identified. Ramaphosa made the remarks when he visited Ethekwini Municipality, which includes the port […]

A piano player in Waterfall, South Africa, has everyone sobbing with the beauty and poignancy of her heavenly music as it rises up from the ashes, like Phoenix… and as the tears run down our faces, the notes soothe our souls like a healing balm, washing away the pain of what has been this week… […]

Three South African match officials have been named on the 2021 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series panels for the men’s and women’s competitions, World Rugby has announced. Specific tournaments allocations will be done at a later stage but Morné Ferreira and AJ Jacobs will form part of the action during the 2021 men’s series to […]

Civil unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng has resulted in some people calling for a state of emergency to be declared under the State of Emergency Act. Here we explain what it is and how it is declared. Under the State of Emergency Act the government invokes temporary emergency powers meant to restore peace and public […]

The Durban warehouse belonging to FoodForward SA was ransacked on Tuesday, prompting the organisation to close all its branches in five cities, leaving some 675,000 people without the food it supplies. More than 125,000 vulnerable people depend on the food sourced from the Durban warehouse, according to FoodForward SA’s fund development manager, Deidre Adams. She said looters […]

A volunteer group that started on Tuesday has already attracted nearly 27,000 members willing to clean up looted shopping malls, donate money, and transport food. “I didn’t expect this small act of kindness to reach so many people. I am proud and overwhelmed,” says RebuildSA Facebook group founder Emelda Masango. Masango, from Soweto, Johannesburg, started […]

While some South African residents have described the sounds of shotguns keeping them awake at night, during the last few days of violent protests, here Viv Vermaak in Gauteng eloquently describes the sounds of insomnia giving her and so many other South Africans sleepless nights… Sounds of Insomnia – by Viv Vermaak Everything is so […]

After days of looting, shopping malls being desecrated and highways blocked, South Africans in hard-hit parts of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Gauteng are having to queue for hours for food and fuel, raising the risk of further riots as more people could face starvation. In Durban North there’s a queue over 3km long for Checkers. People […]

DURBAN, South Africa (Reuters) – South Africa plans to deploy up to 25,000 extra soldiers in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) where security forces are struggling to quell days of looting, arson and violence, its defence minister told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday, according to local news channel eNCA. A military surge of that size would […]

I’m so deeply disturbed by what I have seen over the past few days… writes photographer Kierran Allen Photography All these clips (below) were shot today 14/07/2021, just incase people think this is not real, this is the raw truth! Spread this video far and wide. South Africa is on fire. Watch video below. Billions […]

As the hashtag #PrayForSA has gained momentum around the world, an Eastern Cape resident has posted this beautiful and moving prayer for South Africa. Mariska Lee Bezuidenhout from Queenstown in the Eastern Cape has emotionally delivered the prayer in isiXhosa. Mariska told SAPeople “I grew up on a farm and have been speaking (isiXhosa) for […]

South African citizens living and working abroad are in uproar at the situation unfolding on the ground in South Africa. With daily updates from friends and family in areas of KZN and Gauteng, where protests have been violent since the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma, many SA expats are concerned about the safety and […]

The South African Emergency Personnel’s Union (SAEPU) has strongly condemned the attitude of protesters who involve innocent emergency personnel workers in their protest by attacking them. The union has called for calm as the country is experiencing violence and looting not seen in many years. Yesterday a crew from Chiawelo base in Soweto, Gauteng, was […]

South African National Parks (SANParks) has proudly announced that Ndabenhle David Simelane has become the first black Chief Pilot for SANParks Air Services. SANParks Chief Operating Officer Lize McCourt, said: “Simelane’s most recent promotion sees him moving from the rank of pilot to SANParks Chief Pilot and Person Responsible for Operations as per the South […]

Video footage of a baby being thrown from a burning building in South Africa has made international headlines. The baby was thankfully safely caught, first by a woman on a ledge believed to be the mother, and then by the crowd below to whom she threw the young child. The incident took place during violent […]

In between shops being looted and buildings burning, there is an uprising of South Africans who care for one another and for their country. Facebook groups are springing up to help unite people who want to help rebuild SA. As Brand South Africa says: “Mzansi, our greatest and most powerful weapon now is Ubuntu. Our […]