South African musician David Scott – aka The Kiffness – has released his latest music video, a “sokkie treffer” called ‘Mevrou’ (watch below)… and his Afrikaans teacher from High School (Mevrou du Toit) has contacted him nogal! (See her message at the bottom of the page.) Dave said that following the success of The Kiffness’ […]

NB Publishers and Media 24 have issued the following press releases regarding the publication of the book The Lost Boys of Bird Island: Press Release – 3 March 2020 In the book The Lost Boys of Bird Island and its translated version, Die seuns van Bird Island, statements are made which may suggest that Mr […]

The South African Police Service (SAPS) in Lebowakgomo outside Polokwane are appealing to members of the community to assist with information that can assist in locating missing teenager, 15-year-old Motlatso Rachel Maditsi from Lebowakgomo Zone A. The teenager is a learner at Derek Kobe Secondary school in Zone B and she was reportedly last seen […]

The Office of the Military Ombud has found that the official conduct of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members was improper, irregular and in contravention of the Code of Conduct, Operational Orders and Rules of Engagement in their interaction with the Khosa family and other members of the public in Alexandra during the lockdown. […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape says it welcomes the life sentences handed down to four of the five accused, and eighteen years for the fifth accused, in the murder trial of DA councillor, Johannes Baatjies, and his business partner Jeffrey Shuping Nouse who were shot dead in 2016, just hours before Baatjies […]

The inspirational story of South Africa’s young Paralympic star, Ntando Mahlangu, is featured in the Netflix documentary ‘Rising Phoenix’ which launches on 26 August. ‘Rising Phoenix’ is a ground-breaking movie about the Paralympic Movement, which will showcase in over 190 countries on Netflix. Featuring Paralympians from across the world, ‘Rising Phoenix’ tells the extraordinary story […]

Mvuleni Mapu, Acting City Manager of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, was arrested at his home on charges of fraud and corruption in the early hours of Friday morning. According to the Hawks the charges against Mapu are based on actions within the Municipality’s department of human settlements, […]

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has recently revealed the racial divide in COVID-19 deaths, with Blacks and Coloureds more likely to succumb to the disease in South Africa. “Race is for the first time reported to have an association with in-hospital mortality, with a higher risk of mortality in individuals who were Black […]

Eskom are once again implementing stage 2 load shedding in South Africa – it kicked off at 9am this morning and is due to last until 10pm this evening… as the power grid remains constrained. “While Eskom teams have today and yesterday successfully returned three-generation units to service, a further three units tripped, two of […]

South Africans are reeling today after the tragic death of  six children and three adults in what was meant to be a happy family get-away near Kgalagadi Trans-Frontier Park. The nine people – including one entire family – perished in a devastating fire at luxurious Blinkwater Lodge in the Northern Cape. All the deceased were […]

It’s been bitterly cold in Cape Town today with howling winds… and perhaps even snow. A video is going viral on WhatsApp showing people on Table Mountain picking up snow from the pathway. Watch below. (Update: watch snow in South Africa and Lesotho today, 18 August 2020.) The guy filming what seems like snow can […]

The sound of Thandeka Ngobeni crying could be heard in the background despite the loud clunking and banging noises as shacks around her were being demolished on Monday morning in Gauteng, South Africa. The attempts by dozens of families to occupy land near the Heidelberg highway in Tsakane’s extension 11 were stopped on Monday. The […]

Researchers have found evidence in a KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) cave, in South Africa, that back at the dawn of the human species – over 200,000 years ago – people prepared beds for themselves to sleep on, according to a study published in Science magainze. Wits University in Johannesburg says in a news release that the researchers […]

Not everyone’s impressed by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Saturday evening, in his address to the nation, that South Africa will move into Lockdown Level 2 with many regulations relaxed, including a lift on the ban on cigarettes and alcohol, and the opening of borders for inter-provincial travel. While some rejoiced – and looked forward […]

Following one of the longest lockdowns in the world, South Africans are rejoicing after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced tonight the country is moving to Lockdown Level 2 on Monday at midnight, removing nearly all restrictions. This means that economic activity can resume. The bans on the sale of tobacco and alcohol are lifted, and liquor […]

Former DA Mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, has announced that his new political party will be launched on 29 August… while former DA Leader Mmusi Maimane has also spoken out about the new kind of leadership required in South Africa. Maimane, who now leads One South Africa Movement – a grassroots activist movement aiming to unite a […]

My name is Jayne Fraser*, and I’m reaching out to SAPeople readers as I am facing a crossroads in my life. I live in Cape Town with my husband and younger daughter, Suzi. Suzi graduated last year and is concentrating on her career in the arts. My eldest daughter, Marianne lives in the city where […]

Social media has been going crazy in the past 24 hours, sharing a video of what is said to be a fireworks display for the Tokyo Olympics in Japan. The message – copied and pasted by most people – announces very movingly that since the Olympics had to be postponed to 2021 because of the […]

Talk Radio Station 702 has today announced that it will be bidding farewell to well-known radio presenter, Joanne Joseph – who hosts The Afternoon Drive – on 28 August. Joanne joined 702 in May 2018, returning to her radio roots after a number of years hosting TV news shows with the SABC and eNCA, 702 […]

Police in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, have cautioned community members of Umthwalume to not walk alone, nor be lured anywhere by strangers… as fears grow that a serial killer is on the loose in the area, after another two bodies were discovered this week. Five decomposed bodies of young women – including two sisters – have […]

The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) says there are hopeful signs that the Coronavirus pandemic may have reached its peak in all the provinces by the end of July 2020. This comes as welcome news to South Africans who are praying, crossing fingers and holding thumbs that Ramaphosa will announce soon – now now […]

WESTERN CAPE – Police in Kraaifontein, South Africa, are seeking the assistance of the public to trace 22-year-old Sindiswa Rum who was last seen on Tuesday morning leaving the Nyanga police station where she is employed as a constable. UPDATE Thursday 13 Aug: SAPS says that “the missing Sindiswa Rum has been found late last […]

Johannesburg (CNN) — Even for 2020, with its once-in-a-generation global pandemic and the countless travel bans that have followed, this rescue mission seems a bit far-fetched. To get around 100 South Africans and a couple of dozen Zimbabwean students out of China, it would take Air Zimbabwe’s only functioning aircraft, and diplomatic channels in embassies […]

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen says it is high time for President Cyril Ramaphosa to “grow a spine, stand up to his party and start putting South Africa first”, in his party’s call for the South African president to end hard lockdown immediately and end the “irrational bans on tobacco and alcohol”. In a […]

The Aalwynhof Old Age Home in the Karoo town of Aberdeen in the Eastern Cape is one of hundreds across the province which have not received their usual subsidy from the government since March. The home, which looks after 35 elderly people, has run out of money and may soon be unable to buy food […]