After the excitement of South Africans abroad voting last week, locals get their turn tomorrow to Make their Mark. Here are some answers in plain English for all those who may have questions about Election Day. Many of those who go to the polls tomorrow to vote for the first time will be too young to […]

It’s unusual for one writer to write about another, but a post on my Facebook page last night grabbed my attention. My FB friend and tweetpal Jani Allan posted a recent interview with someone called Glen Larmer on New Zealand’s RadioLive. So why am I writing about her? SAPeople readers will be familiar with Jani’s […]

American singer-songwriter Pharrel William’s hit “Happy”has spawned so many different versions of Happy-ness around the world from China to Cape Town…with the latest city to join in being Johannesburg. But now there’s another version that’s going viral -starring a bunch of dogs and a very serious and talented cat! The producers of the Johannesburg Happy version were given […]

A backlash has already begun to President Jacob Zuma’s latest claims that the Nkandla upgrades were a necessary security measure after his house was burned and his wife was raped. At an ANC breakfast this morning, the South African President made the revelation that his wife had been raped over ten years ago at his […]

It was a huge day for South Africans around the world on Wednesday 30 April 2014 when the country’s expats had their turn to vote for South Africa. For many it was an emotional experience that even touched the people back home. Here is a collection of just some of the comments, pictures and videos […]

The excitement and pressure is mounting now for South Africans in South Africa to make an effort to vote this coming Wednesday. Many have already indicated that after witnessing the effort that expats went to to get to voting stations that were often many hours’ drive (even flights) away from them…they are now determined to […]

SAPeople sent an email to all the political parties contesting the 2014 South African Elections, offering each the opportunity to tell us why South Africa should vote for them. So far we have heard back from one (see below)…We look forward to hearing from the others, and will print their 550-words or less as soon as […]

CNN seems determined to make those of us far from South Africa’s autumn sunshine even more homesick than we were. It has published a list of top 10 sensational wine farms. Journalist Claire Hu notes on CNN that “I’ve spent a decade visiting the most famous vineyards around the world. For sheer beauty, the winelands of […]

Highveld 94.7 is at it again. This week radio presenter Darren Simpson phoned SANRAL to complain about a genuine e-tolls bill that demanded almost half-a-million rand to be paid. Darren phoned the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) call center and, as you can hear, the operator was not very impressed. (To be fair, Darren barely […]

Finance minister Pravin Gordhan has promised a continued focus on Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) when the African National Congress (ANC) is returned to power after this month’s general elections. The ANC is expected to win a sizeable majority again this year, as it has done in every election since 1994. Even the most optimistic opposition […]

A Cape-Town video production house created a video called “Sh*t South Africans Say” back in 2012… which gets resurrected annually and goes viral all over again. The video captures all the usual suspects from ‘eish‘ and ‘kif‘ to ‘boet‘ and ‘just now’, but also includes another phrase some South Africans are prone to saying: “guess […]

The response to this year’s general elections from South Africans living abroad has been, in a word, underwhelming. As reported by SAPeople this morning the authorities have hardly gone out of their way to make it easy for its far flung citizenry to exercise their democratic rights and this may be partly responsible for the […]

Right now, the little town of Bedford in the Eastern Cape is frantically a-bustle under its normal serene exterior. The Old Gaol is being festooned. Various kitchens around town are being tarted up. Wine is being ordered in. Guest house duvets are being fluffed. The newly-renovated Duke of Bedford Hotel is looking too grand for […]

Tomorrow South Africans overseas will get their opportunity to vote in the South African elections; but it’s come with a lot of frustration, heartache and pain…amidst accusations of apathy Disappointingly, only a little over 26,000 expats have registered to vote. If all of these people turn up tomorrow to vote, they would only be able […]

Taking Stock, a South African documentary exploring the “conflicted connections between business and family, community, and country” is within touching distance of getting made. The Kickstarter-funded project needs to raise just a further $150 within the next three days. The documentary will be filmed over June this year and will take an in-depth look into the life […]

Freedom Day meant a lot to a LOT of South Africans today. Twenty years of freedom and democracy, joy and heartache. Here, a few South Africans share their feelings… Message from Lawrence Hilton: I wrote a blog two years ago to celebrate Freedom Day and my Mom’s life called Happy Freedom Day! Out the blue […]

Congratulations to expat Jan Greeff for officially making it into the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest consecutive barbecue marathon by an individual. Jan, who hails from Stellenbosch, began his braai master attempt at 7am on Thursday morning and is still at it right now, as he aims to set the new record […]

A moving South African rendition of ‘Everybody Hurts’ has been uploaded to YouTube, featuring footage of many of the local children in the Port Elizabeth vicinity who will be helped by the album’s sales. The album is an initiative of Ocean Rock Entertainment which was started in 2011 to support the Eastern Cape music and […]

The virtual noise of digital media surrounding the Oscar Pistorius murder trial after 25 long days of testimony, has diminished since Judge Thokozile Masipa granted Advocate Gerrie Nel’s request for a postponement until May 5. Taking a break from proceedings, the legal teams have time to review what’s ensued to date and to regroup. Oscar’s […]

I placed my foot with sheer terror on what I perceived to be a shifting and sliding mass of gulping sinking sand…and to my utter surprise I found that I was not swallowed whole. I discovered that although this landscape was a totally new terrain, it was firm underfoot. I wasn’t sure where the path […]

For many of us, the mere thought of running a 56-km ultra-marathon is exhausting. For Eduline Mutize it’s a challenge she feels compelled to do…twice! Eduline plans to run today’s Two Oceans once for herself, and once for the millions of orphans in the country – to give them a voice. The 28-year-old  runner did […]

Well-known South African morning radio host and King of Pranksters, Darren ‘Whackhead’ Simpson, was heavily pranked this week in Johannesburg! Darren is notorious for his telephone pranks and gags, and is renowned for sometimes going over the top in his efforts to prank his team members at Highveld 94.7. On Wednesday they got him back. […]

A fabulous new South African romantic comedy opened in local movie theaters today…and is reportedly a must-see! The film’s called ‘Konfetti’ and is touted as a film for everyone, about a “wedding so mal, it’s perfect”. It’s based on Louw Venter’s play “The Best Man’s Speech”, and he will be at the Waterfront in person […]

South African columnist Jani Allan’s open letter to Oscar Pistorius has gone viral and brought the once famous Sunday Times  journalist back into the spotlight after a decade of silence. Jani’s letter to Pistorius references her infamous relationship (or non-relationship) with Eugene Terre’blanche…and compares the character of the late leader of the AWB with that of […]

It was a day of surprises on Tuesday in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria where the usual suspects were gathered for the Oscar Pistorius murder trial. Chief Prosecutor Gerrie Nel abruptly ended his cross-examination of the defendant, and Defence Advocate Barry Roux spent a mere nine minutes in re-examination. Nel had given nothing away at the start […]