For the first time in its 77-year history a British animal welfare organisation has awarded a gold medal for honorable service to a rat, an African Giant Pouched Rat named Magawa working to detect landmines in Cambodia. UPDATE JANUARY 2022: Landmine detection hero rat Magawa has sadly died.   In 2016, the same medal, also […]

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 […]

South Africans around the country (and world) answered President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call to take up the Jerusalema dance challenge for Heritage Day on Thursday. Here are just three of the many, many videos posted by wonderful, proud and fun-loving South Africans. For different reasons, these three are amongst the best… WATCH Woodside Sanctuary’s Perfectly Imperfect […]

Princess Charlene of Monaco sparkled in silver at a fundraising gala on Thursday evening, 24 September, besides stars that included Sting, Johnny Depp, Naomi Campbell, Rebel Wilson, Sienna Miller, (American model) Alton Mason, designer Tommy Hilfiger and many more. While the rest of the world is holding most events online, the South African expat’s husband […]

Tatjana Schoenmaker has broken the 12-year-old short-course South African record in the 200m breaststroke. Schoenmaker accomplished the feat at the Regional Short-Course Championships in Pretoria. She finished in 2min 18.20sec to lower the mark set by Suzaan van Biljon in 2008 of of 2:18.73. Schoenmaker’s time would have placed her fifth in the 2019 world […]

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). […]

Parliament has dismissed the Citizen newspaper’s claims that it will fully open for physical meetings on 5 October 2020. In a statement on Thursday, Parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said the report is replete with blatant falsehoods and fictitious references. “As if these fabrications were not bad enough, the story further claims that the ‘regular Cabinet […]

On 9 April, sex worker and activist Robyn Montsumi was arrested on a drug charge and held at the Mowbray police station. A few days later she died in police custody. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is investigating what is allegedly a suicide by hanging. Sex worker advocacy groups are demanding an update on the investigation. […]

As we celebrate Heritage Month, South Africa – a melting pot of cultural diversity – continues to embrace its haunted history of racial divisions through a citizenry that displays a will to triumph over adversity… often with humour – like the recent Chicken Licken advert that lightened the gloomy environment, brought smiles to South Africans… […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has thrown his weight behind the empowering of women in Africa by giving them enabling tools to build themselves a financially secure and independent future. President Ramaphosa was speaking during a high-level virtual panel, G7 Partnership for African Women’s Financial Inclusion on Wednesday. The panel also featured philanthropist Melinda Gates, Queen Máxima […]

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 […]

A South African expat, living in Australia, has spoken this week about how shocked she was at 51 to discover she was not only donor conceived, but that her mom’s gynaecologist (who was also her Godfather) was actually the donor and therefore her biological father. In an interview with SBS in Australia, Fiona Darroch reveals […]

South Africa reported 1 906 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday which brings the total number of people infected in the country with the virus to 665,188 since the outbreak. Meanwhile, 88 more Coronavirus related deaths were recorded. Of the additional fatalities, 22 are from Limpopo, 18 from KwaZulu-Natal, 13 from Mpumalanga and 11 from the […]

The Springboks will begin their defence of the Rugby Championship with an away match against Argentina – in Brisbane – before a ‘home’ game against the Wallabies in Sydney, it was announced overnight as SANZAAR unveiled the competition fixtures. South Africa’s participation in the event still has to be confirmed but SANZAAR has revealed the […]

Unilever Southern Africa has agreed to collaborate with the Department of Small Business Development to increase investment in small, micro and medium enterprise (SMME) development. “Unilever [has] already identified input materials which can be manufactured locally and committed to work with the department to build the capability of SMMEs, particularly black, women and youth-owned, and […]

The rezoning of the River Club property in Observatory to allow a R4.5 billion mega-development including headquarters for Amazon was given the go-ahead by the City of Cape Town’s Municipal Planning Tribunal on Friday 18 September. A city tribunal has made way for Amazon to move in to River Club mega-development in Cape Town. The […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the international community to support the rollout of a comprehensive stimulus package for African countries. Addressing a virtual sitting of the 75th United Nations General Assembly debate on Tuesday, President Ramaphosa, who is also the Chairperson of the African Union (AU), said the stimulus package will enable African countries […]

SAPeople editor Jenni Baxter sat down with Adrian Roos MP (DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Home Affairs) and Justin Adams (DA Abroad UK and Europe Chairperson) to discuss the critical situation SA citizens abroad are facing in obtaining their South African passports from Home Affairs and the SA embassies. To assist South Africans abroad the […]

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP) has built a fantastic new fence, complete with the latest technology, to deter and detect rhino poachers… and in so doing save South Africa’s wildlife as well as keeping the brave rangers, who put their lives on the line for the rhino, safer. This incredible park, situated in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), is home […]

The mystery of why hundreds of elephants (over 300) have been suddenly dying in Botswana – some literally dropping dead on their faces – has been solved, according to Botswana authorities. The Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism said in a live broadcast on Monday that toxins in the water is to blame […]

While President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africans to proudly celebrate Heritage Day – on Thursday 24 September – by taking on the Jerusalema Dance Challenge, SA will actually not be the first country to use the gospel hit song for national celebrations (watch video below)… In Papua New Guinea, which marked its 45th Independence […]

South Africa will reopen its international borders on 1 October 2020, under alert level 1 of lockdown which began today, but not all visitors will be welcome just yet. SA to keep close watch on countries’ COVID-19 status The SA Government says while a ban will be put in place for international countries still experiencing […]

South Africa’s Police Minister, General Bheki Cele, will today, Monday 21 September, host a rural safety imbizo in KwaZulu-Natal. The imbizo will take place at the Normandien Auction Saleyard Hall in Newcastle at 10am. The Imbizo follows the Minister’s first visit to the area on 2 September 2020, after the murder of two elderly farmers, […]