News24 South Africa

At least 42 people serving as ward councillors, political party campaigners, members of civic organisations and traditional leaders have been murdered in suspected political assassinations since the beginning of the year.

The government is proposing amendments to the Executive Members’ Ethics Act (EMEA) that would address two legal absurdities that have been on the statute books for 28 years: the president receives Public Protector reports about his own conduct, and he can report himself to the Public Protector.

Four teachers recognised at the National Teaching Awards share how they are shaping young minds, from weekend classes to breathing exercises.

The DA’s federal executive erupted into a bitter internal showdown over “bogus doctor” Abdulkader Elyas on Wednesday night, with senior party heavyweights – including federal leader Geordin Hill-Lewis – trying to shield him from the full force of a sanction recommended by the party’s own federal legal commission.

Lex Libertas says its new film, Crossed Out: Confronting Persecution in South Africa, is intended to help international audiences understand “what is happening in South Africa, why it is happening and what can be done about it”.

The Political Killings Task Team has arrested a mayor, a municipal manager, and a chief financial officer of a Western Cape municipality in connection with alleged corruption involving a security contract.

The Democratic Alliance has responded to papers filed by the Electoral Commission of SA in the party’s legal challenge to the proportional representation list of four others, by accusing the commission of failing to remain neutral in the matter.

The Mpumalanga High Court has set aside the conviction and warrant of arrest against advocate Mkhuseli Ntaba, a prosecutor who was found in contempt of court in the Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni case.

A former deputy director of finance at the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, Grace Mokoka, is facing charges in connection with an alleged R1.35 million fraud scheme involving funds intended to support a community land restitution project in Mpumalanga.

Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka has found that former Ekurhuleni city manager Dr Imogen Mashazi engaged in improper conduct by appointing an unqualified candidate to a senior metro police post with a salary package of up to R1.9 million per annum.

A Free State teacher who sometimes uses her own salary to ensure her pupils are treated equally in the classroom has been named South Africa’s Best Teacher at the National Teaching Awards in Johannesburg.

Suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya allegedly initiated a drinking game of “dare or double dare” and demanded that an 18-year-old girl twerk for him before he allegedly raped her while she was unconscious, the investigating officer has told the Randburg Magistrate’s Court.

Six of 12 Special Forces soldiers accused of the murder of Hawks Lieutenant-Colonel Frans Mathipa are yet to file an application challenging the Randburg Magistrates’ Court decision to revoke their bail, even though their legal team indicated that they intended to do so.

The SA Maritime Safety Authority has launched a preliminary enquiry into the fatal incident involving the tug Umkhuseli, after three bodies were recovered and two people remain missing following a rescue operation about 47 nautical miles south of Mossel Bay.

The family of Ann Hoffman, the fourth victim to succumb to her injuries after four men opened fire and peppered bullets into the three deceased on Tuesday night in Blombos Street, Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain, is mourning her death. All three men died at the scene, while Hoffman was transported to Groote Schuur Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday morning.

An Eastern Cape government-subsidised bus company says it has lost over 180 buses in the past 17 years to arson, largely at the hands of bakkie-turned-taxi operators.

A man accused of a sustained spree of rape and robbery at Glebelands Hostel in Umlazi was due to go on trial this week.

False job offers remain the leading gateway in the human trafficking of South Africans, with young professionals increasingly targeted for cyber scam compounds in Southeast Asia, where they face violence, debt bondage, and forced criminality.

A copper bell that has rung out across Bethelsdorp for more than two centuries, marking worship, mourning, and the rhythm of community life, has been stolen from the grounds of one of South Africa’s heritage sites.

It will take a domestic worker earning minimum wage two years to earn what one of South Africa’s highest-paid CEOs earns in just one day. This is among the findings of a report by Oxfam South Africa, released on Thursday, that shows the richest 1% hold 54.9% of national wealth, and the richest 10% hold 85.7%.