Eskom has announced that Stage 3 and 4 load shedding (power cuts) will alternate across South Africa throughout the weekend and on Monday. The announcement came despite the power utility returning two units at Lethabo and Medupi Power Stations to service over the past 24 hours. Stage 3 will be implemented between 5am and 4pm while […]

The High Court in Johannesburg has ordered a financial services company to pay a client more than R800,000 stolen by fraudsters through email cybercrime. PSG Wealth Financial Planning has been ordered to pay a client more than R800,000 stolen by fraudsters through email cybercrime. The fraudsters had hacked a client’s email and requested via email for the […]

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has warned consumers against transacting with Manicaa, a scam operation online, purporting to be an online business. Acting National Consumer Commissioner, Thezi Mabuza, said the Commission has received several complaints from consumers alleging that they have purchased goods from Manicaa and did not receive their goods. “Others alleged that they […]

South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago has announced that the repurchase rate (repo rate) has reached 7.75% after the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) agreed to a 50 basis points increase. As a result, the prime interest rate will now move up to 11.25%. Kganyago announced this at a press briefing on Thursday […]

A luxury home paid for with Lottery money by actress Terry Pheto, star ofTsotsi and The Bold and the Beautiful, has been sold to an unidentified Johannesburg businessman for R3.9-million. The house, which was subject to a preservation order obtained by the National Prosecuting Authority’s Assets Forfeiture Unit, failed to attract any bids when it was put up for auction […]

Convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester, who escaped from prison on 3 May 2022, has been running a scam construction company called “Arum Properties” with celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana. The couple convinced several people to pay millions of rands for construction projects, but never delivered the goods. Clients of Arum Properties told GroundUp that soon […]

The Department of Health has expressed concern at the increasing number of locally acquired indigenous cholera cases following the four new cholera cases that were recorded over the last week in Gauteng. “Whilst there is an ongoing risk for imported cases following travel from other African countries currently experiencing cholera outbreaks (especially Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia […]

Eskom Acting Group Chief Executive CEO, Calib Cassim, has warned that the power utility will not tolerate acts of violence against any of its employees, after an Eskom employee was attacked and abducted earlier this month. He said: “We convey our sympathies to the employee and their family for the trauma they went through and […]

The Quinton van der Burgh Foundation (QVDB Foundation) and South African superstar Cassper Nyovest have reacted to a desperate need for clean drinkable water in the North West Province. Thanks to their initiative, Nyovest’s alma mater, Sol Plaatje Primary School in Mahikeng can now supply its 47 teachers and 1357 students with fresh drinking water. […]

It’s now more commonly known that alcohol and tobacco use make us ill. Less known is that just four industries account for at least one-third of global preventable deaths. These industries are: unhealthy processed food and drinks, fossil fuels, alcohol and tobacco. Collectively they cause 19 million deaths every year, according to a recent series […]

The State’s first witness in the R37.7 million Estina dairy farm tax fraud trial is expected to continue his testimony in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court today. This is another matter from the main R280 million Estina farm fraud and corruption case, which implicated the former Minister of Mineral Resources, Mosebenzi Zwane. National Prosecuting Authority Investigating […]

Many South Africans wonder why so many of us Zimbabweans came to be settled in their country, and wonder why we do not simply return to our homeland. This is my story – about my rural homestead in Zimbabwe that I felt forced to leave. I would like to go back and spend the rest […]

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has admitted that the ‘Facebook rapist’ Thabo Bester escaped from prison. Bester was serving a life sentence for rape and murder in Mangaung Correctional Centre, a maximum security prison operated by G4S, a multinational company. He was initially reported to have have set himself alight and died in a […]

The French presidency announced today that it has postponed King Charles III’s planned visit to France on Sunday, due to concerns about the ongoing protests in Paris over the pension reform (increasing the age of retirement from 62 to 64). President Emmanuel Macron said he would rather welcome the king “in conditions which reflect our friendly […]

Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco have issued a statement denying “malicious rumours” that they are separating. French Magazine ROYAUTÉ has claimed in a cover story that the couple – who married 12 years ago – are in the process of separation. The headline claimed that Charlene was leaving. The article itself is bizarre, […]

Convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester was running a multi-million rand scam business while serving a life sentence for rape and murder at Mangaung Correctional Centre. Convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester ran a glamorous media company from prison. 21st Century Media was made to look like a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox and was […]

During the height of the Covid pandemic, there was one outstanding leader holding political office in South Africa: Western Cape Premier Alan Winde. His messages were clear and science-based. He supported the provincial health department’s initiatives which involved making sure hospitals had the capacity to deal with the surges in Covid cases. Winde’s leadership is […]

World Athletics announced new DSD (differences in sex development) – or intersex – rules today that will affect South African athlete Caster Semenya. The sports body said it is also banning transgender women from competing in the female category at world ranking events, in order to “protect the female category”. From 31 March 2023, no […]

An alleged criminal at Canal Walk shopping centre in Cape Town, South Africa, was not only caught when he tried to escape, but has also found himself the brunt of many jokes on social media. Watch video below. TikTok user Faamz posted a video of the attempted escape, and subsequent take-down by Canal Walk security […]

Former president Jacob Zuma’s criminal prosecution of News24 reporter Karyn Maughan is a feeble attempt to intimidate her and through her, all journalists… write the GroundUp editors. Like anyone else, Zuma has the right under the Criminal Procedure Act to bring a private criminal prosecution if he considers himself the victim of a crime and […]

With Air BP announcing its exit from South African airports, the DA warns this could be the beginning of a wider disinvestment from SA, and blames the ANC government’s “fatal support for Russia” for triggering detrimental economic consequences for the country. The DA cites the ANC’s support of “continued aggression in Ukraine and refusal to […]

Lawyers for Human Rights has been inundated with calls for help from mostly immigrants who have been detained and cannot afford legal representation. Nearly a month ago the organisation launched its immigration detention hotline. Head of penal reform at the organisation, Nabeelah Mia, says they deal with an average of about 10 to 15 calls […]

South Africa’s national election is due next year. Usually the road to the national elections is characterised by a number of controversial voting campaigns… writes Godfrey Sigwela. Some political leaders like to visit churches, asking for the divine intervention in order to win the elections. While others choose to offer food parcels to attract votes. […]

Celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana’s possessions were being removed from her rented Hyde Park mansion on Tuesday when a quarrel broke out with the landlord. The landlord claimed that some of the things being removed from the building belonged to him. Last week, GroundUp published several reports linking Magudumana to escaped rapist and murderer Thabo Bester. […]

National Lotteries Commission (NLC) legal files including documents from litigation running into tens of millions of rands have gone missing, according to Trade, Industry and Competition (TIC) minister Ebrahim Patel, who has oversight of the Lottery. The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) used “enormous amounts” of public money to fight government oversight, Minister of Trade Industry and Competition […]