Chanting ‘genoeg is genoeg’ (enough is enough) the residents of the Cape Flats have risen up Friday morning to fight back against the crime in their area, the latest being the tragic death of 8-year-old Tazne van Wyk. At the time of publishing, four homes in the Cape Flats had been torched by citizens who […]

Watch Springbok Captain Siya Kolisi’s moving acceptance speech at the Laureus Awards 20th Anniversary in Berlin, Germany, on Monday evening. Kolisi and his Springbok teammates were accepting the award for Laureus World Team of the Year. Kolisi’s entire speech is inspirational. He stressed the team effort and pointed out the separate challenges that each player […]

It’s been a sad week for South Africans as children headed back to school, with tragic incidents marring what should have been an exciting time in their lives. The shocking death of a Parktown Boys High, Grade 8 pupil, Enoch (Enock) Mpianzi – who drowned while on a school camp – governed the news. But […]

South Africa’s political leaders have shared the following Christmas messages with the country: Christmas message by Deputy President David Mabuza for 2019 Mabuza said it has been a year of success for some, but of pain and grief for others… Mabuza said this is a time to join hands and lend a shoulder to those […]

As 2019 comes to an end GroundUp reflects on another tumultuous year. South Africans came out in their numbers to protests against gender based violence. The army was deployed to the Cape Flats to assist police with gang violence. Refugees and asylum seekers were chaotically evicted from outside the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ offices in Cape Town and […]

Thousands gathered in Zwide stadium in the Port Elizabeth township, South Africa, to watch the Springboks win the World Cup. Sue Hagemann from Mount Croix said that at first, she was hesitant to come to Zwide township in Port Elizabeth to watch the Springboks play England in the Rugby World Cup final. “A workmate of […]

Growing up with a Grandfather screaming at the TV during every sports match (but mostly rugby) – his commentary definitely more valid than the commentators’ – I’ve learnt the rules… writes Zoë Cohen. I’ve learnt the passion, I’ve learnt the culture of not speaking during the match, I’ve learnt that my blood is Green and […]

No other sport makes me crazy like rugby…as in gyrating around a pub (full of England supporters) doing victory dances at the mere sniff of a point one minute and then lying on the floor (very literally) begging Willie le Roux not to drop the ball the next… writes Andrea Zanin from Our Fireside Stories. No sport makes […]

CAPE TOWN – On Wednesday 30 Oct, Reuters reports that “South African police used brute force to disperse refugees who were peacefully protesting in a sit-in outside the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)… Videos of children being ripped away from the arms of their parents circulated on social media. Fearing for their safety in […]

Since the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, South Africa and Nigeria have never had an easy relationship. Over the years, as different presidents have come and gone, the two countries have often been at loggerheads for different reasons. But this was predated by Nigeria’s strong solidarity with black people when South Africa […]

Refugees sitting outside the offices of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Cape Town say they have been victims of xenophobia in South Africa and the UNHCR should help them settle elsewhere. Carine Kavira, who says her brother was shot dead in a 2012 xenophobic attack, says she won’t leave the UNHCR […]

The South African government has emphasised its commitment to protecting the rights of foreign nationals residing in South Africa. This comes amid media reports of foreign nationals allegedly staging a sit-in at the offices of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Cape Town (see news below). The Western Cape Refugee and Migrant Forum […]

The South African Government has prioritised border control and security to deter illegal immigration, says President Cyril Ramaphosa. “We proceed from the principle, as does every other sovereign state that all who live in South Africa must be legally permitted to do so. Police and immigration officials who take bribes in return for making cases […]

Mobs have attacked foreign-owned businesses on the streets of at least three South African cities in recent days. This has caused outrage across Africa. There have even been retaliatory attacks. The South African government, under pressure to protect her large international migrant community, quickly defused the attacks. Such attacks are not new. For more than […]

The South African Broadcasting Corporation has suspended three employees and given notice to a freelancer for their alleged involvement in an act of sabotage by airing the wrong address by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 5 September in an attempt to discredit him and the SABC, the broadcaster has said. “The SABC now has strong prima […]

ABUJA – At least 640 Nigerians have signed up to take free flights home from South Africa after xenophobic attacks on foreigners, a spokeswoman for Nigeria’s president said on Tuesday. Private Nigerian airline Air Peace plans to operate two flights with Boeing 777 aircraft, the first leaving Lagos late on Tuesday to return on Wednesday […]

I am 24-years-old and, newly, an Israeli citizen… writes South African expat and soon-to-be Full-Stack Developer Zoë Cohen who has written a Facebook post which has resonated with many other Proudly South African expats living abroad. (Read it below.) I live in Israel, however my heart will forever be in South Africa. I never left South […]

It was the ad that was banned by the SABC, but the ad that hits home again and again when trouble brews in South Africa… With the latest outbreak of xenophobia in SA, Nando’s Diversity ad – featuring several nationalities in South Africa and the Khoisan, the original inhabitants of the country – is going […]

CAPE TOWN – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told officials and business leaders on Wednesday that he was committed to quelling attacks on foreigners that have threatened to cast a cloud over an economic forum aimed at boosting intra-African trade. Police have arrested almost 300 people and confirmed at least five deaths after riots in […]

Only days after the protests and looting of shops, many of them foreign-owned, began and spread across Johannesburg and Tshwane, celebrities, sports teams and politicians from other African countries including Malawi, Rwanda, Nigeria and Zambia, have pulled out of events in South Africa. At the same time, it was reported that South African businesses in […]

JOHANNESBURG – The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has called off the country’s friendly soccer international against South Africa in Lusaka on Saturday after riots in Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria left at least five people dead. South African police arrested more than 80 people and confirmed the five deaths as violence intensified on Tuesday, […]

South Africa has had many ups and downs, but yesterday – Monday 2 September 2019 – it appeared to reach a new low with South Africans around the country heaving a collective sob in the face of more devastating and senseless crimes. Facebook timelines were strewn with tearful, angry and heartbroken messages. Twitter burned with […]

Last Thursday evening Sibusiso Vumase was entertaining guests when he heard a loud knock on his front door. When he opened the door, a group of people carrying crowbars and hammers were standing outside demanding that he immediately evacuate his RDP house and find another place to live. On Friday morning Vumase was folding and […]

Julius Malema’s firing of what looked like an assault rifle at the EFF’s five-year anniversary in July 2018, has set off imitators around South Africa, threatening public safety, claims civil rights organisation AfriForum. AfriForum cited three subsequent incidents involving firing shots in the air, all of which occurred in March 2019. In one, the owner […]

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and Police Minister Bheki Cele will urgently meet on Monday with Heads of the Diplomatic Missions in South Africa following reports of attacks on foreign nationals. In a statement issued on Saturday, Sisulu expressed deep concern at the recent spate of violence and urged law enforcement officers to […]