As the first of two storms made landfall in Cape Town late on Friday, dozens of informal settlement residents were left with waterlogged homes, causing damage to furniture items and other belongings. In Khunqu informal settlements in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, resident Ntomboxolo Mpolweni said they reported the flooding to their PR councillor to no avail. […]

An investigation by Jean le Roux for an international group that exposes disinformation online has unmasked a councillor for the Economic Freedom Fighters as the person behind the racist Twitter account of @TracyZille, which he apparently used to steer Internet traffic to three sites for monetary gain. He was named as Anthony Matumba of the […]

Due to an increase in plant breakdowns, Eskom has begun implementing Stage 2 load shedding since midday on Friday. “The load shedding has been caused by an increase in plant breakdowns exceeding 3000MW of capacity. While five generation units were taken off the grid last and this morning, a breakdown at the Matimba power station […]

The devastating reality of COVID-19 continues to batter the country as South Africa reported a record of 13 674 new cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 238 339 infections. Gauteng, which is now the epicentre, also hit new highs in daily cases, with 6 531 additional infections in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, 129 people lost their […]

The ANC government of the Eastern Cape’s “delusional” project to put 100 1920s-style scooters on the roads to deal with COVID-19, launched with much fanfare last month, is under investigation. The so-called Scooter Scandal, or Scootergate, was launched by Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize in June, who said, “These multi-purpose units are extremely versatile and […]

Eskom has warned residents of possible load shedding in South Africa on Thursday evening, which is also likely to persist throughout the weekend as demand for electricity peaks during a cold front. The power utility has since urged the public to reduce electricity usage. “While Eskom is working hard to return generating units to service, […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his sadness and extended condolences at the passing of Regent of the Royal House of the amaRharhabe Queen Noloyiso Sandile. “We join the Great Place of Mngqesha and amaRharhabe in mourning her passing; at the same time we pay tribute to her for her deep and unwavering commitment to the […]

With over 75 000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, Gauteng has overtaken the Western Cape as the epicentre with the highest number of infections, the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize said. As of Wednesday, the number of infections grew by 8 810 bringing to 224 665 the confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in South Africa. Unfortunately, 100 more […]

The body of missing Cape Town trail runner Ken Stephen has been found on Table Mountain in South Africa. According to Johan Marais – Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) spokesperson – the man’s wallet, car keys and the clothes he was wearing confirmed his identity. He was found beneath Africa Face, and it’s believed that […]

Cape Town volunteers and rescue personnel are scouring Table Mountain, South Africa, today in a desperate search for 36-year-old Ken Stephen who went missing during a solo run or hike on Monday. An overwhelming number of volunteers answered calls for assistance today in finding Ken before overnight conditions become too unbearable. UPDATE: Sadly Ken Stephen’s […]

A corner restaurant in Johannesburg well known for its brunches and its name, Pablo Eggs-Go-Bar, has become the latest victim in the food industry of an economy devastated by the COVID pandemic. Other well-known restaurants, especially in Cape Town, like the popular Jason Bakery on Bree Street, Karen Dudley’s very popular The Kitchen in Woodstock […]

Glenn Sandler, 36, worked as a business intelligence analyst for Capitec. He lived with his fiancée, was able to work remotely, and, as the son of a doctor and a pharmacist, was careful to take precautions against catching Covid-19. He had no chronic conditions known to make Covid-19 cases worse. But when he caught the […]

The Democratic Alliance has said it would refer a number of social media posts that seemingly glorify farm murders and attacks to the South African Human Rights Commission to investigate for hate speech. Diane Kohler Barnard, Shadow Minister of State Security, said the DA had made an undertaking to report what it believed to be […]

The mayor of Johannesburg, Geoff Makhubo, has been accused by his predecessor Herman Mashaba of giving himself a raise while cutting the budgets of numerous urgently needed services in the city. “This proposed budget is nothing short of a disaster for the residents of Johannesburg, and promises the complete collapse of service delivery infrastructure,” said […]

The Competition Tribunal has slapped pharmacy group, Dis-Chem, with a R1.2 million fine for excessively overpricing surgical masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes after the company was found guilty following complaints registered by the public. The Tribunal found that Dis-Chem contravened the Competition Act for charging excessive prices for three types of surgical face […]

North West Premier Job Mokgoro has expressed condolences at the passing of the province’s Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs MEC, Gordon Kegakilwe, who on Monday succumbed to a short but serious COVID-19-related illness. Kegakilwe was admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia on Sunday afternoon at the Vryburg Private Hospital. Upon admission, the MEC was immediately […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it is in possession of what appears to be a government document that describes the Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity for the “macro re-organisation of the state”, and proposes to make the Command Council system a model for government beyond the lockdown, and could see South Africa’s nine provinces scrapped. […]

A British Falklands war hero, who was well known in South Africa as being part of the ‘Dagga Couple’, has been shot dead on his small holding in South Africa, bravely defending his partner from a gang of four armed robbers. Retired Royal Navy sailor Julian Stobbs, 59, was shot a number of times in […]

South Africa has now recorded a confirmed 196,759 Covid-19 cases, as of 5 July 2020, according to SA’s Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize… and with 8,773 new cases recorded overnight, it is likely that in the next 24 hours the South African stats will surpass 200,000. Dr Mkhize said: “Regrettably, we report a further 173 […]

Several hardhitting videos on Twitter by businessman and global speaker Vusi Thembekwayo have gone viral, with him blaming ANC government corruption for the devastation the country now faces and saying that South Africa could otherwise have survived the COVID pandemic.  The videos originated from one longer video he had filmed live on Facebook Watch on […]

A teenage schoolgirl in South Africa, Anika de Beer, tragically died on Tuesday in an aircraft she was flying solo, just days before her 17th birthday… which is tomorrow. This was her second solo flight. Just recently Anika’s delighted mum Rika and dad Andries had presented their daughter with a traditional bottle of champagne after […]

South Africa recorded its highest number of COVID-19 cases in one day, as 8 735 people tested positive, bringing the national total to 168 061. In addition to the new cases, 95 more deaths were recorded on Thursday. Of the 95 COVID-19 related deaths, 12 are from the Eastern Cape, 38 from Gauteng, 16 from KwaZulu-Natal and […]

As positive cases of coronavirus peak in South Africa – with another 8,735 recorded on Thursday and 95 deaths, the country’s social media users have increasingly been urging each other to wear masks. This comes as Texas is making world headlines with a similar number of cases – over 8,000 on Wednesday – and introducing […]

“I was in my room washing. I asked them for one minute. Then they threw me outside.” Bulelani Qolani described how on Wednesday he was dragged naked from his home by City of Cape Town law enforcement officers sent to demolish shacks at a site called eThembeni, near Empolweni, in Khayelitsha. The video of Qolani […]

The Ministry of Environmental Resources, Conservation and Tourism in Botswana has issued a press release about the recent mysterious deaths of elephants in the areas around Seronga. Since March 2020, National Park Rescue reports 356 elephant deaths of which the Botswana government said 275 elephant carcasses have been verified. Investigations into the unexplained deaths of […]