The big medical aid heist? To replace my current lenses will cost R6,000 – of which #Bankmed will ONLY pay R1,500 – thus leaving me to pay R4,500 out of MY own pocket… writes Gauteng publicist and regular SAPeople contributor Georg Knoke. Some background: I’m on one of the highest levels of medical aid cover, […]

At a time he was meant to be celebrating his 26th birthday, Brandon* found himself with a bad cough and a tight chest that at times made speaking or breathing, a struggle. (*not his real name) It was just over two weeks after South Africa had gone into lockdown, when Brandon first started experiencing a […]

Slowly but surely the lockdown measures are being relaxed. It was inevitable; living under stay-at-home conditions was unsustainable. But make no mistake, it’s far from normal in our hospitals. A month ago we reported that Groote Schuur was on the brink, as Covid-19 cases escalated. At that point the hospital was running seven wards with […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Limpopo said in a statement Friday that it “strongly condemns” an attack on a farm in Eersteling, outside Polokwane, in South Africa, today. It is alleged that eight attackers, four of whom were armed, pulled off the robbery on Human du Preez’s farm through the window of the farm house… […]

PETA US has revealed findings from its investigation into the fate of birds used in the gruelling South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race (SAMDPR) that expose the enormous suffering, deaths, gambling, environmental violations, and potential financial crimes involved in the event. PETA US discovered that all the birds entered by Queen Elizabeth II, a long-time […]

Forty-four South Africans who are in transit at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, have been left stranded after the flight they had booked was incredulously not given permission to carry passengers. SAPeople has received so many desperate messages for help in the past week. A similar incident occurred last weekend at Frankfurt Airport in Germany when […]

South Africa’s number of positive Covid-19 cases has today – Thursday 18 June 2020 – surpassed the total number of cases in China, where the pandemic is believed to have begun. South Africa is now featured in the Top 20 list of countries with the most coronavirus cases in the world. SA Health Minister Dr […]

South Africa’s captive-bred lion industry will go down in history as one of the most shameful wildlife disasters ever created by humans on earth. While it continues to spiral into an increasingly corrupt trade, it drags down with it our country’s credibility as a reputable wildlife tourism destination… writes Environmental Writer Louzel Lombard Steyn. A […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng says it is deeply concerned about the rise of farm attacks in Onderstepoort, North of Tshwane in South Africa. This follows seven incidents of farm attacks in 24 hours within a 15-kilometre radius at the Onderstepoort smallholding farms. Cases of house robbery, attempted house robbery and attempted murder have been opened […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the following address at the Union Buildings in Tshwane, on South Africa’s response to the coronavirus pandemic: It is now just over 100 days since the first case of coronavirus was identified in South Africa. For 100 days we have been living in the shadow of one of the greatest threats […]

Supported by wealthy and powerful organisations like Safari Club International, the Dallas Safari Club and the National Rifle Association, and egged on by countless awards and record book listings, trophy hunters have gunned down 1.7 million wild animals in the past decade. Around 250,000 were endangered species. This is detailed in an alarming book, “Trophy […]

On Tuesday morning 16 June 2020, the anniversary of the 1976 Soweto Uprising, News24 published an article chronicling a timeline of the events that proved to be a turning-point in South Africa in the fight against apartheid. For one person in Groot Marico who read that article – community worker Santa van Bart – it […]

Sphamandla Khumalo tragically died in a fire that ripped through Malacca Road informal settlement in Redhill, Durban, in the early hours of Sunday morning. The fire has left about 150 people homeless. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said the fire was being investigated. It started at about 2am according to residents and took about […]

South Africans have been left reeling by a viral video showing a tragic incident near Grabouw, about an hour from Cape Town, in which a couple from Somerset West both lost their lives.They have been named as retired pharmacist Ben Wiid, 61, and his wife Riana, 58, a retired teacher. The video captures the heartbreaking […]

There are times of spectacular policy myopia – and promoting a revision to the Meat Safety Act by the South African government is surely one of these moments. In late February the government proposed adding over 90 local and non-indigenous species to the list of animals regulated under the Meat Safety Act. Prior to this […]

While the Eastern Cape is going through a health crisis, unable to deal with the COVID pandemic, the ANC’s “delusional” health MEC has been showing off 100 scooters that won’t be able to handle rural roads, according to the Demoractic Alliance. Instead of focusing on the crisis at hand, said Jane Cowley, DA Eastern Cape […]

The South African government has reiterated its commitment to improve its response to gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). This comes after another brutal murder this past weekend, following what President Cyril Ramaphosa had already described as South Africa’s “dark and shameful week”… where the country mourned what appeared to be a spike in violent murders […]

To coincide with the launch of his new book, an exposé of the “despicable” captive-bred lion industry in South Africa, UK businessman, philanthropist and former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, Lord Ashcroft has posted the video below which reveals some shocking truths about SA’s terrible trade. The new book – ‘Unfair Game’ – discloses […]

The driver of the 12-ton truck which ploughed at high speed into 10 vehicles at midday on Wednesday in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has appeared in court in South Africa, and been remanded in custody until 19 June for a bail hearing. The horrific and fatal crash into cars and pedestrians at an open-air market in Jozini, […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on all South Africans to end the culture of silence around gender-based violence and report perpetrators to the South African Police Service (SAPS). This comes as the body of a young woman was found dumped under a tree in Dobsonville, Soweto on Friday. Since South Africa entered coronavirus alert level […]

Four alleged poachers have been arrested in Uganda for the tragic death of a rare Silverback mountain gorilla, known as Rafiki. They claim it was self-defence. Rafiki belonged to the famous Nkuringo Gorilla group in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. At the time of his death the group had 17 members – one Silverback, three Blackbacks, […]

With the Cold Front that hit parts of South Africa this week, and the SA Weather Service warning of big swells… locals made their way to what has become a legendary spot for viewing big waves – Kalk Bay Harbour in the Western Cape. But one spectator got more than he bargained for, when mammoth […]

South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation says the torching of water tanks in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, is a “major setback” in efforts to provide water to desperate communities in need. The department is placing water tankers and tanks in communities around the country, including at schools, under Water Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s direction. […]

As predicted by the South African Weather Service (SAWS), parts of South Africa have been hit by an intense cold front yesterday and today (Wed and Thurs 10-11 June 2020). Many Capetonians awoke to a scene that looked like snow… but was in fact bucket-loads of hail. Whilst in other parts of the Western Cape, […]

According to the South African Airlines (SAA) website, repatriation tickets from Washington, USA to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg have increased in price by 133.3% from roughly R15 000 to R35 000 in under a week! A shocked volunteer, helping South Africans stranded in the US to get back home, contacted SAPeople on Wednesday […]