Pope Francis, in a dramatic gesture after an unprecedented retreat at the Vatican, knelt to kiss the feet of South Sudan’s previously warring leaders on Thursday as he urged them to not return to a civil war. Dropping to his knees, he appealed to the men – President Salva Kiir, his former deputy turned rebel […]

The latest research into the voting preferences of South Africans finds that trust in the country’s president is the single most important predictor of the potential party choices at the ballot. If voting behaviour follows suit this could be the key to understanding the success of the African National Congress (ANC) on election day, May […]

A Johannesburg Fire Department paramedic, Kim Williams, has penned a letter to all South Africa’s politicians with a plea to stop the blame game. Kim, who works mostly in the townships and squatter camps, told SAPeople she felt compelled to write this letter because she feels passionately for the communities she serves and the way […]

The Red Ants have demolished the first structures of a new land occupation near the N2 close to Reddam House school. On Monday, GroundUp reported that people had started marking out plots. On Tuesday evening, the first shacks were built. On Wednesday morning at about 8am, the Red Ants arrived with armed security to demolish seven […]

Violent protestors are blocking the N2 between Somerset West and Cape Town, as they carry out a “land grab” on a private piece of property, opposite a school in the area. As reported by SAPeople, the illegal land invasion began last Tuesday when people began knocking posts into the land to stake their claim on […]

Barney Mthombothi, former editor of the Financial Mail in South Africa, tweeted on Wednesday: “We’re waking up to a different country this morning. Something awful happened last night. Prompt and decisive action, not words, is required. In a word, leadership #GangsterState.” What happened is that a group of protesters, many wearing ANC gear, disrupted a […]

South African YouTuber Lasizwe (Dambuza) points out the differences between the EFF, DA and ANC (or FFE, DNA and NAC)… For the few who don’t possess good old fashioned South African humour, Lasizwe stresses: “This is a PARODY!” He also says he is not affiliated to any political party. WATCH The Difference Between the ANC, […]

Parents of children at a school in the Western Cape, South Africa, have been shocked to discover that an illegal land grab is apparently taking place across the road from their children’s school. The land grab is happening on the N2, in Somerset West, next to Gordon’s Bay. A mother, whose son is a learner […]

Newspaper reports in South Africa over the weekend claim that there is evidence that former President Jacob Zuma has been hiding millions of missing dollars -belonging to the late Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi – at his residence at Nkandla; and that he has now moved the money to the Kingdom of eSwatini (formerly Swaziland). Reports […]

A South African court has ruled that Mozambique’s former finance minister Manuel Chang can be extradited to the United States, where he is wanted on charges related to a $2 billion debt scandal, one of Chang’s lawyers said on Monday. The ruling will effectively serve as a recommendation for South Africa’s justice minister, who has […]

HARARE – Zimbabwe is to start paying compensation this year to thousands of white farmers who lost land under former president Robert Mugabe’s land reform nearly two decades ago, the government said, as it seeks to bring closure to a highly divisive issue. Two decades ago Mugabe’s government carried out at times violent evictions of […]

A group of Alexandra protesters has marched to the municipality regional offices in Sandton, in South Africa, where they are demanding to submit their memorandum to Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba. #AlexShutdown leader Sandile Mavundla says if the Mayor doesn’t come out to take their memorandum, they will sleep at the regional offices until he does. […]

PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron wants to declare April 7 as a national day of commemoration of the Rwandan genocide, his Elysee office said in a statement on Sunday. The presidency made the announcement as the Rwandan government started commemorations marking the 25th anniversary of the genocide against Tutsi and moderate Hutus, raising the […]

DA Gauteng Premier Candidate Solly Msimanga has issued an invitation for President Cyril Ramaphosa, Gauteng Premier David Makhura and former Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau to join him and current Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba at a townhall meeting to address the residents of Alexandra on Thursday 18 April 2019. Following the burning and riots in Alex […]

A foetus’ head is decapitated during childbirth at a hospital in Boksburg in South Africa. A woman’s uterus is removed without her consent during a routine procedure. Negligence in obstetrics and gynaecology wards at Gauteng state hospitals has the Department of Health crippled by claims for damages. With new cases still emerging, this week Carte Blanche […]

It was flying musical chairs at an SABC-hosted elections debate in Hout Bay, South Africa, on Friday morning as supporters of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Land Party and Black First Land First (BLF) got into a heated debate, apparently over proposed land reforms. Referring to the “horrific scenes” of chairs and other objects being […]

Eskom national spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe has resigned from possibly one of the country’s most nightmarish jobs – speaking on behalf of South Africa’s beleaguered power utility. In a tweet confirming his resignation on Friday, Phasiwe posted a picture saying “It is Finished”. He said: “I’d like to thank Eskom for entrusting me with the huge […]

Thousands of residents of Alexandra in Johannesburg shut down the township on Wednesday morning, demanding that Mayor Herman Mashaba address them on solutions to problems with overcrowding, water and electricity. Residents started blockading streets in Alexandra with burning tyres and garbage at about 5am. Protesters marched down London road, moving towards the N3 highway, and […]

Extreme weather events, such as Cyclone Idai that has recently devastated Beira, Mozambique, and Hurricane Harvey that hit Houston, USA, in 2017 are the types of climate extremes that cities increasingly have to prepare for. Cities, particularly those with extensive informal settlements in the developing world, are being hit hard by these new climatic realities. […]

Julius Malema’s firing of what looked like an assault rifle at the EFF’s five-year anniversary in July 2018, has set off imitators around South Africa, threatening public safety, claims civil rights organisation AfriForum. AfriForum cited three subsequent incidents involving firing shots in the air, all of which occurred in March 2019. In one, the owner […]

BEIRA, Mozambique – Hundreds of thousands of people are in need of food, water and shelter after Cyclone Idai battered Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. And, as of today (Tues), at least 843 people had been reported killed by the storm, the flooding it caused and heavy rains before it hit. View the factbox at the […]

A legendary charity swimmer has thrown his rubber cap and goggles in the ring, signing up for a “wild swim” to promote alternatives to heavy minerals mining on South Africa’s pristine Wild Coast. (See GroundUp articles on Xolobeni.) Stan Kozlowski, who has helped collect more than R12 million for conservation and other good causes over […]

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and Police Minister Bheki Cele will urgently meet on Monday with Heads of the Diplomatic Missions in South Africa following reports of attacks on foreign nationals. In a statement issued on Saturday, Sisulu expressed deep concern at the recent spate of violence and urged law enforcement officers to […]

On Carte Blanche this evening (Sunday 31 March) in South Africa, and available to stream from Tues 02 April for South Africans abroad in many countries. Cyclone Idai – Surviving the Aftermath With hundreds of people dead and the government of Mozambique grappling with the outbreak of waterborne diseases as they coordinate the delivery of […]

This post will serve as a reminder of how our lives were blighted by apartheid whose graffiti was everywhere. And I mean everywhere! Also every day! It was relentless… writes author Shadley Fataar. The pictures used to represent a small selection of the many signs we were exposed to on a daily basis. A picture is worth a thousand […]