An undisclosed number of lions attacked and killed a 21-year-old woman at a private game reserve near Bela Bela in the Limpopo province of South Africa, on Thursday afternoon. The woman has been identified as Swane van Wyk (although several local reports named her as Swans van Wyke), an animal lover who worked with lions […]

Heavy rains have fallen over parts of South Africa resulting in chaos and flooding (in the West Rand particularly), but also bringing much needed water, relief and hope to parts of the country which have been suffering during one of the longest droughts in SA’s history. Watch here as water can be seen filling up […]

RIP Beautiful, gentle Yaz… writes her friend and colleague Dr Veruschka Josè-Bryant.  Dr Yasmin Ibrahim was my Anaesthetist and friend for many years. Our team (at Fourways Life Hospital in Sandton, Johannesburg) is devastated. We condemn her senseless murder and are deeply upset. I have delayed writing this post – the pain and anger at […]

Western Cape YouTuber Adam Spires posted a video last week appearing to expose the pollution being washed into the Atlantic Ocean in iconic Cape Town. Spire’s aerial footage (which he calls “shocking”) seems to show sewage pouring into the ocean of one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world… BUT, according to the […]

Jacob Zuma’s so-called ‘sick note’ has generated more than just an arrest warrant for the former SA President. It’s also triggered headlines internationally, and jokes and memes on social media. South Africans always, always have humour! Here’s Zuma’s ‘sick note’ provided in court – which, complete with altered dates, is in itself humorous without needing […]

The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) says it intends to lay criminal charges against freelance journalist Raymond Joseph and GroundUp over an ongoing investigation into alleged fraud and corruption involving multimillion-rand Lottery grants. The threats were made in two separate letters from the NLC’s lawyers, Malatji and Co, which were received by email on Thursday and […]

A video of a man claiming to be ‘Black Jesus’ and his female companion, walking along a Johannesburg street, has been going viral in South Africa over the past 24 hours. Both are not wearing a stitch of clothing. A female driver who appears to have filmed the incident can be heard asking the couple: […]

Many South Africans who were kept in the dark over the weekend – while Eskom implemented Stage 2 rotational loadshedding – were hoping the week ahead looked brighter. But Eskom has announced on Sunday evening that the Stage 2 loadshedding will continue until Thursday! The only respite will be three hours each morning… but only […]

The Health Department has activated an emergency operations centre to deal with the global outbreak of the Coronavirus. “The emergency centre was activated last night and is now currently operational. We are busy building up the staff numbers but from last night, activities have started,” said Health Minister Zweli Mkhize as he detailed the country’s […]

Dr Yasmin Ibrahim was a brilliant anaesthesiologist. She was also a cancer survivor and philanthropist; a true friend and the youngest of a large family who were so proud of her achievements. Tributes from friends, family and colleagues have described the amazing qualities of Dr Ibrahim (45), a practising Specialist Anaesthesiologist in Johannesburg, whose life […]

Botswana registered its first ever suspected case of corona virus on Thursday, 30 January 2020. The suspected case was registered at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport upon arrival using Ethiopian Airways from China, the Botswana Government said in a press statement. “The suspect case is still under isolation at Block 8 Clinic and investigations are […]

Eskom CEO, Andre de Ruyter, today warned South Africans of more “intensive loadshedding” to come as the power utility battles to come to grips with the country’s energy crisis. But there is a plan and light at the end of the tunnel! Eskom will be changing its maintenance philosophy and will “enter into a long-term […]

A giraffe from Africa – destined for a breeding centre at Thailand’s biggest safari park – has tragically died after making a desperate bid for freedom. The 5 to 7 metre high giraffe had escaped shortly after landing at Bangkok’s main airport, along with a smaller giraffe (4 metres)… but authorities were only able to […]

As WHO declares the new Coronavirus a global health emergency, this message is going viral in South Africa. Source unknown (let us know if you know!), but sent to us by several SAPeople readers living in SA: Virus breaks out in China: China races to build hospitals in 6 days. (See video at bottom of […]

Following the advice of the Emergency Committee today (30 January 2020), the WHO Director-General has declared the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. In China, more than 7700 cases have been confirmed, and 170 people have died. Over 120 have recovered and been discharged from hospital. There are 82 […]

In listing 32 wild animal species as farm animals under the Animal Improvement Act in 2019, the Department of Agriculture went against the recommendations of the government’s own scientific authority. The scientific report on wildlife breeding was called for by the former Minister of Environmental Affairs (DEFF) and authored by 14 of the country’s top wildlife scientists. […]

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has condemned the senseless killing of Joburg anaesthetist, Dr Yasmin Ibrahim, who was allegedly shot and killed by her partner before shooting and killing himself a few days ago. “This is extremely distressing and disturbing news. Dr Ibrahim’s death again highlights the high level of gender-based violence in our […]

It could be romantic cande-lit dinners and baths for South Africans tonight, as Eskom says its power system is “under stress” this morning, Thursday 30 January 2020, and the country faces the risk of load shedding this evening. The power utility issued a power alert this morning, revealing that it is using diesel generators currently […]

Many South African citizens in China are apparently trapped in Wuhan, the centre of the Coronavirus outbreak, because of a “state of dysfunction” at the South African Embassy, according to the DA’s international body, DA Abroad. Phones are going unanswered. Unclear directions are being given. And there’s no Ambassador at the helm. Wuhan City – […]

Thousands of trophy hunters from around the world will gather next week in Nevada, USA for the world’s largest trophy hunt convention, held by Safari Club International, at which “trophy hunter” Donald Trump Jr. is also scheduled to speak, according to Humane Society International, Africa. One of the hunts up for bid is apparently a […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the Chairperson of the Trade and Industry Portfolio Committee, Duma Nkosi requesting that an urgent committee meeting is held to get to the bottom of the corruption scandal which has consumed the National Lottery Commission (NLC) and threatens to derail it. This follows further allegations by GroundUp that […]

A company in which the wife of the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the National Lotteries Commission is a director received R4.8 million from the Lottery in 2017. The grant was awarded to Zibsimanzi, a non-profit company. This was within months of Rebotile Malomane, the mother of three of NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba’s children, being […]

It’s the tennis match in South Africa that everyone’s excited about. Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal in Cape Town on 7 February. It’s due to break a world record. Tickets sold out within minutes. But it looks like someone at a shopping mall in Cape Town got a little confused when creating a banner to […]

The South African National Health Department says while there is no cause for panic with the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus in China, it has beefed up surveillance at the SA’s ports of entry. “South Africans are assured that measures are in place to detect, manage and contain any cases of Novel Coronavirus should it […]

Firefighters are currently working to suppress a fire which broke out in the Noordhoek Wetlands area in Cape Town, South Africa, on Monday. Working on Fire confirmed its crew has been despatched to assist the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service and the SANParks – Table Mountain National Park. Issuing a ‘fire alert’ […]