Fannie Masemola a Free Man, Ready to Return to Work as Charges Are Withdrawn

Staff Writer — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 08:44:28 +0000

National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola is a free man after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) withdrew the four charges against him at the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. Masemola faced four charges of contravening the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) in connection with the controversial SAPS-Medicare24 tender involving businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. The charges were withdrawn after National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Advocate Andy Mothibi reviewed the case and concluded that there were no reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution. The NPA said Mothibi considered the evidence gathered by the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), a Case Assessment Panel report and an assessment by independent senior counsel before instructing that the charges be withdrawn. According to the NPA, its prosecution policy requires that there be reasonable prospects of success before a matter is enrolled for trial. “Enrolling a case for prosecution where evidence is not sufficient to sustain

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Fifth Woman’s Body Found Near Kempton Park Highway

Staff Writer — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:48:00 +0000

Fear and anger are mounting across Kempton Park following the discovery of a fifth woman’s body near the R21 freeway on Monday morning. The South African Police Service (SAPS) has established a specialised multidisciplinary task team to investigate the deaths and determine whether there is a connection between the cases. The latest victim was found partially clothed with visible signs of physical trauma along the R21 corridor near Olifantsfontein. Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said preliminary indications are that the woman was murdered elsewhere before her body was dumped at the scene. The latest discovery brings to five the number of women whose bodies have been recovered from isolated areas around Kempton Park and nearby Rhodesfield since mid-July. July 15: The body of a 37-year-old woman, who was naked and bound with cable ties, was discovered in an open field near the R21. Police arrested a male suspect two days

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You Can’t Break Up With Your Family

Liso Donaldson — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 09:19:14 +0000

Realising there is a problem versus accepting that there is a problem are, unfortunately, two very different things. Living with someone in active addiction will have you circling the five stages of grief more times than you can count. From my lived experience, you cannot help someone who firstly does not see that they have a problem, and secondly does not want to get help or change. Loving someone in active addiction can look like hiding cash in odd places, hoping that they won’t find it. It can look like constantly checking their phone, changing your banking passwords and making sure of their whereabouts every day. It can look like taking them to the police station to be questioned by a detective over a missing phone, and watching that questioning turn into an arrest because despite their claims of not knowing what happened to the phone, there is video footage

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We Need to Talk About Our Situationship With the ANC

Liso Donaldson — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 20:00:16 +0000

Is it possible to be in a situationship with the government? I hate to admit it but I think so. The local government elections are coming up on the 4th of November 2026 and although this is not a national election and the ruling party may not change until 2029 and even then that’s a hard ‘may’, there is a link to be made between what happens locally to what it can signal nationally. To that end, the ruling party, the ANC, reminds me of a long lost ex. The one who did you so dirty that sometimes, when you remember him, you actually can’t help but laugh and shake your head in disbelief. The one who treated you so well in the beginning and then suddenly switched up on you. The one you never blocked so every now and then he pops up with grand promises and gestures, telling

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Country Music Legend Dolly Parton Dies at 80

Staff Writer — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 19:53:14 +0000

Dolly Parton, the iconic singer, songwriter, actress, and global humanitarian whose distinct soprano voice and larger-than-life personality defined country music for over six decades, has passed away at the age of 80. Her death was officially announced Tuesday morning by her head of security via Instagram. It is reported that Parton passed away at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where she had been admitted early Friday morning following complications from kidney and autoimmune issues. Born in a rural, single-room cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, Parton rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most successful and universally beloved figures in entertainment history. Throughout her career, she sold more than 100 million records worldwide, penned over 3,000 songs, and achieved 25 Billboard country No. 1 hits. Her timeless classics, including “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “9 to 5,” resonated across genres and generations. Her

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South Africa’s AI Reset Should Start With Frontline Judgment

Gleb Tsipursky — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 05:45:59 +0000

South Africa’s public AI debate has already shown why credibility matters. When policy documents, chatbots, or automated systems contain errors, the technical mistake quickly becomes a trust problem. The answer cannot be to promise that humans remain in the loop while leaving the loop undefined. The Stanford Digital Economy Lab’s August update gives this problem a sharper edge. Employment for workers ages 22 to 25 in highly AI-exposed occupations was about 19% below the path implied by less-exposed occupations by June 2026, compared with 15% in the July 2025 data vintage. The adjustment appeared mainly through reduced hiring rather than separations. That is not an economy-wide job-loss estimate. It is a warning about what can happen to the first rung of selected career ladders when routine work is automated faster than new learning work is designed. A frontline judgment plan would make the human role concrete before a public system

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Two-Time World Boxing Champion Zolani Tete Shot Dead Outside His Home in Mdantsane

Staff Writer — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:04:51 +0000

Former two-division world champion boxer Zolani “Last Born” Tete was shot and killed in an ambush outside his home in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, on Friday evening, August 21, 2026. He was 38. According to Eastern Cape police, Tete was sitting in his car with a 27-year-old female passenger, waiting for the gate to his residence in the NU17 area to open, when two armed suspects wearing balaclavas emerged from another vehicle and opened fire with multiple shots. In an attempt to escape, Tete drove into the yard but succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The woman sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was hospitalized; her condition was not immediately detailed beyond remaining under medical care. It is reported that the shooting occurred in the early evening, around 18:30. The suspects fled, and police launched a murder and attempted murder investigation. The motive remains unclear. On Saturday, August 22, Eastern Cape

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How a Neighborhood Becomes Known for Its Food Scene

Steve Conway — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 19:12:06 +0000

Some neighborhoods become destinations in their own right. People might initially visit for the architecture, shopping or nightlife, but over time, food becomes one of the main reasons to make the journey. That reputation rarely comes from a single fashionable restaurant. A genuine food neighborhood develops through a mixture of distinctive businesses, different cuisines, local loyalty and places people repeatedly recommend to others. So, what actually turns an ordinary collection of streets into somewhere known for eating well? It Usually Starts With a Few Places Worth Travelling For Food scenes need early anchors. These are the restaurants, cafés, bakeries or pubs that persuade people to visit an area even when they have no other reason to be there. They do not necessarily need to be expensive or critically acclaimed. What matters is that they offer something distinctive enough to generate recommendations. Once several businesses begin attracting customers from outside the

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UPDATE: Preliminary Findings Suggest St Stithians Schoolgirl Was Murdered, Boyfriend Died by Suicide

Staff Writer — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 11:09:39 +0000

Mpumalanga police have released preliminary findings in the deaths of two teenagers connected to St Stithians College, whose bodies were found together at a lodge in Sabie on Monday, 3 August 2026. Cameron Waldeck-Cooks, 17, a Grade 11 pupil at St Stithians Girls’ College, and her boyfriend Ethan Coetzee, 19, a 2025 matriculant of St Stithians Boys’ College, were discovered by a cleaner in the same bedroom at the Waterval Self-Catering Holiday Home. According to preliminary findings, as reported by TimesLIVE, Cameron may have been strangled, while Ethan may have taken his own life, possibly by way of a drug overdose. Police have stressed the overdose has not yet been confirmed, and further forensic processes are under way as authorities work to establish the full circumstances. An inquest docket remains open, with a postmortem examination expected to help determine the official cause of death. This is a shift from earlier

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Two St Stithians College Students Found Dead at Mpumalanga Lodge

Staff Writer — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 02:12:04 +0000

Johannesburg’s St Stithians College is mourning the deaths of two young people connected to the school after their bodies were discovered together in a room at a lodge in Sabie, Mpumalanga, on Monday, 3 August 2026. The deceased have been identified as Cameron Waldeck-Cooks, 17, a Grade 11 pupil at St Stithians Girls’ College, and Ethan Coetzee, 19, who matriculated from St Stithians Boys’ College in 2025. They were allegedly found in the same bedroom at the Waterval Self-Catering Holiday Home. Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo confirmed that an inquest docket has been opened to investigate the circumstances of the deaths, with a postmortem examination expected to help determine the cause. Police have indicated there is currently no evidence of foul play, though the investigation remains ongoing. Following the news, rumours surfaced on Facebook suggesting the deaths were caused by a gas leak from a heater inside the room.

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