South African expat and US Talk Show host, Trevor Noah, has posted a warm tribute to the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, who passed away yesterday at the age of 76. Franklin, who had pancreatic cancer, was surrounded by her family and friends in Detroit. Noah recalled growing up in South Africa listening to Franklin […]

South Africa’s police watchdog has opened two cases of attempted murder following the disappearance of a Hout Bay fisherman during an anti-poaching operation on Saturday 11 August. Durick van Blerk, 26, was returning from illegally catching crayfish near Cape Point when police intercepted his boat, shooting out the engine. Van Blerk went missing, while his […]

South African expat and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who lives in the US, has revealed in a highly emotional interview with the New York Times the high price that he’s paid for his business success. In an interview where he reportedly “alternated between laughter and tears”, Musk described the intensity of running his businesses, and […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Members of South Africa’s AMCU mining union are ready to strike for a year if necessary and would bring the platinum belt to a standstill if Impala Platinum carries out plans to cut up to 13,400 jobs, the union’s president said on Thursday. Joseph Mathunjwa, who led a five-month strike in 2014, […]

JOHANNESBURG – The leader of South Africa’s far-left Economic Freedom Fighters, Julius Malema, has introduced a bill to nationalise the central bank, parliament said late on Thursday. The South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill would “make the state the sole holder of the shares in the bank” and “provide for the appointment of certain board […]

The Queen of Pop celebrated her 60th birthday on Thursday 16 August by proving she’s no longer a ‘Material Girl’. Instead of asking for gifts, Madonna asked friends and fans to rather donate to her Facebook fundraiser which is benefiting her Raising Malawi foundation. The non-profit Foundation aims to benefit vulnerable children in the southern African […]

At least two buildings caught fire in Johannesburg’s CBD today, Thursday 16 August 2018. The cause of fire is not yet known. Johannesburg Emergency Medical Service (EMS) reported about three hours ago from the scene of the first building’s fire, at the corner of Rissik and De Villiers. They said it was a structural fire […]

Aretha Franklin, the preacher’s daughter whose powerful voice made her the long-reigning “Queen of Soul” with such hit songs as “Respect” and “Chain of Fools,” died on Thursday at the age of 76, officials said. Franklin, who won 18 Grammys and had some 25 gold records, died at her home in Detroit surrounded by family […]

As poachers continue to relentlessly slaughter South Africa’s rhino to the brink of extinction, a novel approach is being executed to desperately try and turn the tide on poaching. Five white rhino have been transported from Johannesburg to Shanghai, China, where the demand for rhino horn is high. It’s hoped that by sending these rhino, […]

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has stepped up to assist a distressed South African citizen who went missing in Frankfurt, Germany, and has since been hospitalised. As reported by SAPeople over the weekend, Colleen Crossley (73) from Somerset West had been due to join a two-week tour of Europe when she […]

JOHANNESBURG – The chief executive of South Africa’s Transnet and two other senior officials have been told they will be suspended, the chairman of the state-owned logistics utility said on Wednesday, without giving a reason for the possible suspensions… although it follows allegations of corruption worth billions. Popo Molefe told talk radio station 702 that […]

JOHANNESBURG – A bill that would toughen anti-smoking legislation in South Africa has been submitted to parliament for review by lawmakers, a health ministry spokesman said on Wednesday, as a campaign against the proposed changes intensifies. The Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill would restrict smoking in public places, introduce plain packaging, […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today announced that it has launched legal action to challenge the loss of South Africa citizenship experienced by so many South Africans abroad when they apply for foreign citizenship. “No South African citizen should be deprived of their citizenship!” says the DA, and points out that the United Nations Declaration […]

JOHANNESBURG – The chairman of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress, Gwede Mantashe, was quoted as saying the state should take without compensation land from those who own more than 12,000 hectares, comments that sent the rand weaker.   More than two decades after the end of apartheid, white people still own most of South […]

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has acted swiftly and appointed Dr Silas Ramaite as Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), following yesterday’s ruling by the Constitutional Court on the “invalid” appointment of Adv. Shaun Abrahams. ConCourt declared Abrahams’ appointment as invalid and “unconstitutional” following the suspicious removal of his predecessor, Mxolisi Nxasana, with a […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Gold Fields said on Tuesday it plans to slash costs at its struggling South Deep mine, including cutting 1,100 jobs, or around 30 percent of its workforce. South Deep, the company’s last South African asset, has faced operational obstacles in a tough geological setting 3 km below the surface. The mine […]

Former policeman Mark Minnie, who co-authored the controversial expose on Magnus Malan, has been found dead on a friend’s smallholding just outside Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, according to local reports. Well known writer Marianne Thamm, who penned the foreword to the book, tweeted this morning: “Devastated by the news that Mark […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand plunged to a 2-year low against the dollar in early trade on Monday and government bonds weakened sharply as a renewed rout in the Turkish lira spread to other emerging market currencies. The rand slid more than 10 percent earlier in the day to hit a session low of […]

South Africa’s Constitutional Court has ruled Monday morning that the appointment of National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Shaun Abrahams, was “constitutionally invalid”, upholding a decision by the lower court that the NDPP boss had been improperly appointed after former President Jacob Zuma removed his predecessor, Mxolisi Nxasana. Abrahams and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) […]

The South African Constitutional Court is expected to rule this morning on whether the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Shaun Abrahams, should vacate his position. Last year, the North Gauteng High Court declared that former President Jacob Zuma acted unconstitutionally in terminating former prosecutions boss Mxolisi Nxasana and replacing him with Abrahams. The application […]

NAIROBI – A hippopotamus attacked and killed a Taiwanese tourist who was taking photographs on the shore of Lake Naivasha in Kenya, on Saturday evening. The male tourist was sadly pronounced dead on arrival at the Naivasha District Hospital. His colleague, who suffered minor bruises, survived the attack over the weekend, according to the Kenya […]

There was unrest in Hout Bay in the Western Cape of South Africa today, where multiple buildings in the harbour district were set alight by protesters. Photos on this page by Justin Sullivan… According to Justin it appeared that a vehicle and house in Hout Bay central were targeted. It’s believed that one of the […]

South African independent business organisation, Sakeliga says it is studying a list leaked to AfriForum of 195 properties identified for expropriation without compensation. Sakeliga says it will in the meantime continue with its PAIA (Promotion of Access to Information Act) application to obtain the list of 139 properties supposedly identified as “expropriation targets” by the […]

Afriforum has today published a list on its website of farms that are apparently identified by the South African government to be expropriated without compensation in the weeks to come. This follows the ruling ANC’s announcement earlier in the week that the party had identified 139 farms for this purpose. The list of farms was […]

A South African police reservist, Seth Baise, is struggling to find answers as to what happened to his mother Colleen Crossley, last weekend in Germany where she went missing, and has subsequently been hospitalised. He’s also battling to get in touch with DIRCO, despite their recently launched Travel Smart campaign, raising awareness about the assistance […]