In a heated and sometimes odd exchange with the South African journalist Jane Dutton on Al Jazeera, SA’s Minister of International Relations and Co-operation said she had a hole in her head from carrying water buckets when she was a child, that she had a lot of respect for President Jacob Zuma, and expressed disinterest in the […]

The short-lived minister of finance, appointed by President Jacob Zuma to take over from Nhlanhla Nene, has been staying at a luxury boutique hotel in Pretoria with his family since the beginning of the year – at a cost so far of R500,000 – according to a news report on Friday. Even though Des van […]

The uproar created in the media over the past few days over the news that some R9 million had been spent from the police budget to buy cars for President Jacob Zuma’s four wives has got a quick reaction from him. His office announced on Friday that there will be a review of these policies, […]

The South African high commissioner to Australia, who is facing charges of corruption and fraud, has been recalled by the government, according to news reports on Wednesday. Sibusiso Ndebele, South Africa’s former transport minister, has been charged with corruption for allegedly accepting more than R10 million in kickbacks, according to news reports. Ndebele, who was a […]

It is difficult to escape the sense of an endgame in progress, not between the ruling ANC government and its assorted opposition, but within the ANC. Thus the cleavages between parties has now finally come out in the open inside the ruling party, too. Between the forces of modernism and tribalism, populism and order, radicalism […]

The American republic survived Richard Nixon. South Africa’s will survive Jacob Zuma. Of that John Campbell sounded confident when I spoke to him this week about his new book. He has called it Morning in South Africa. No “u”. If you’re looking for a Washington establishment view on South Africa, Campbell is a good place […]

President Jacob Zuma, accompanied by Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, arrived in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday for a State Visit. (Both are seen in the photo below arriving at Hamad International Airport). The visit is intended to strengthen and elevate bilateral relations between South Africa and the State of Qatar. According to a statement from the Presidency, these […]

Today’s Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa reports that Public Protector Thuli Madonsela fears for her life after being informed that a hit had been put out on her. Madonsela, who has become a popular heroine in the country due to her bravery in standing up to and exposing corruption, allegedly received a tip off last […]

President Jacob Zuma has condemned the burning of 23 schools in Vuwani in Limpopo in protests that have turned violent and which he describes as suspicious. Today it has been reported that 50 schools in the area have been closed indefinitely, affecting almost 30,000 pupils (26,987 to be exact). The South African president said: “I wish […]

The North Gauteng (Pretoria) High Court has Friday found that the NPA’s decision to drop 783 charges of corruption against President Jacob Zuma was irrational, and have added that the South African president should face his charges. A full bench of judges – led by Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba – gave the go-ahead for […]

The Presidency announced Friday morning that the National Day of Prayer that was to take place today, at Absa Stadium in Durban, has been postponed. No reasons were given. The Day of Prayer and launch of Africa Month was to be addressed by President Jacob Zuma with religious leaders officiating as well in leading prayers […]

Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula announced Monday that he has revoked the right of Athletics South Africa (ASA), Cricket SA (CSA), Netball SA (NSA) and SA Rugby Union (SARU) to host international tournaments because of their failure to reach the agreed transformation targets. He said the measures are to speed up transformation which is vital morally and […]

Watch the full versions of Al Jazeera’s interviews with South African opposition leaders Julius Malema (EFF) and Mmusi Maimane (Democratic Alliance) which have been making headlines in the press over the past few days. In his interview with ‘Talk to Al Jazeera’, Malema talks about being ready to remove the Zuma ANC government by force if necessary, going as […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has revealed that the directors of VFS, the company which processes – and profits – from foreigners’ visa applications to visit South Africa, are allegedly President Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane Zuma and Rajesh Gupta (one of the Gupta brothers). The Shadow Minister of Home Affairs, Haniff Hoosen, exposed the directors’ names in parliament yesterday. […]

“We will run out of patience very soon and we will remove this government through the barrel of a gun” if the African National Congress continues to respond violently to peaceful protests, Julius Malema apparently tells Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull in Sunday’s episode of Talk To Al Jazeera. Malema at the same time said that […]

Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan has urged African leaders to leave when their mandated time is up and to avoid excluding opposing voices (which can lead to elections contributing to conflicts on the continent). The renowned international diplomat was speaking at the fifth Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa, an event which provides a platform for current and […]

In breaking news Tuesday, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has announced that Ghaleb Cachalia, son of struggle stalwarts Amina and Yusuf Cachalia, has been unveiled as their Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate. In a statement today, Cachalia said he “gratefully accepts” the DA nomination and is ready to bring change to Ekurhuleni (the East Rand region of Gauteng) in […]

If you weren’t one of the millions of South Africans who managed to register to vote over the two registration weekends, it’s not too late! But hurry, before the 2016 Municipal Election is proclaimed. Speaking to SAPeople, the Electoral Commission (IEC) has also answered some of the questions voters had after the sms which was sent out last week […]

Now that the balance of power has irrevocably turned against President Jacob Zuma, we should be less concerned with exactly when he’s going to resign than with under what circumstances and with how we’re going to clean up the mess afterwards. The ANC, opposition parties and civil society should start preparing an exit strategy for […]

Following the announcement of their resignation from their South African company Oakbay Investments and Oakbay Resources and Energy on Friday, it has emerged that the Guptas allegedly fled South Africa on Thursday evening. It has been reported in local press this morning that the Gupta brothers, Ajay and Atal, were seen leaving South Africa with “mountains of luggage” […]

South Africa’s corruption crisis is making world news, with expats as far away as Thailand being able to watch President Jacob Zuma’s entire speech (with subtitles for Thai) regarding the Nkandla #PayBackTheMoney issue. It’s come as a welcome break for Trevor Noah on The Daily Show – being able to talk about his own South African […]

In late March 2016 struggle veteran Ahmed Kathrada congratulated the Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, on Facebook for “being vindicated by today’s findings at ‪#‎ConCourt‬”; and then penned a letter – that he says was “painful” to write – to the president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, calling on him to step down. The letter went […]

When President Jacob Zuma apologised but failed to resign tonight, South Africans waited for the ANC party to fire him, but in a press conference this evening ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said it was a unanimous decision that Zuma should stay in office. “The president humbled himself and apologised to the nation,” says Mantashe, adding that calls […]

The erstwhile Russian KGB called it dezinformatsiya and spent a large amount of energy and resources on it: the distribution of false information, malicious rumours, fabricated intelligence reports and forged documents, letters and photographs. The aim was to disrupt and discredit opponents, to deceive and obscure and to influence public opinion. Dezinformatsiya came straight from […]

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has responded to questions sent to him by the SA Police Hawks division, apparently regarding a so-called rogue unit in the SA Revenue Service (SARS) during Gordhan’s term as head of SARS. In a statement, issued today by the Ministry of Finance, Gordhan replied (full statement below): I have responded to the […]