October 2026

SANBS spokesperson Neelashan Govender said stocks have fallen below 3.4 days of the 5-day supply the service aims to maintain. He said: "over the last week, we’ve dropped to critical levels, and as of last week, we’ve dropped below 3.4 days."

Govender said KwaZulu-Natal relies on schools and universities for blood donations. He said blood stocks historically drop during exams and the holiday period.Share

Princess Faku chairs the ANC's Dr WB Rubusana region and has been Buffalo City mayor since March 2023. Ncedo Kumbaca, the other ANC frontrunner, is a former journalist and former Eastern Cape roads and transport spokesperson.

Mkhululi Dlevu is the EFF candidate. Mzwandile Vaaiboom stands for the MK Party and is a former ANC councillor. Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, the UDM deputy president, is the UDM candidate.

In the 2021 elections the ANC won 59.4% of the vote and 61 of 100 council seats. The EFF won 12.06%, up from 7.97% in 2016, and holds 12 seats. The DA holds 20 seats. The UDM has about 1% of the vote.

Dlevu said residents have been misled for more than 30 years and that the problem has moved beyond mismanagement to looting. He also argued that 80 law enforcement officers cannot serve 851,000 residents.

Vaaiboom said a criminal investigation over sewage flowing from Schornville into the Buffalo River names the mayor, speaker, city manager and accounting officers. Kwankwa blamed collapsing infrastructure on a lack of project management capacity and water engineers.Share

Ramaphosa, who is also ANC President, asked registered voters to use their democratic right in a peaceful and responsible way. He spoke in Durban, in the eThekwini municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.

He said: "Whatever our political differences, we should all be united in wanting municipalities that work, communities that are safe, and an economy that creates opportunities and jobs."Share

The firm has about 1,200 lawyers. Its leadership acted after a failed attempt to stop partners leaving. Reports said talks on a merger with Willkie Farr & Gallagher ended days earlier.

Some counts say around 40 partners left in 2026 before this week. Private equity partner Christopher Machera was one who moved, to Paul, Weiss. The firm said it will serve clients during the wind-down over the coming months.

An adviser to the firm said it believes it can wind down solvently. That would make it a dissolution, not a bankruptcy. Reports also said the firm brought in Brian Resnick, a bankruptcy partner at Davis Polk.Share

The JSE All Share index closed at 109,759 points on Wednesday, down 0.1%. The Top 40 index was little changed at 101,567, little changed.

The rand was little changed at R16.64 to the US dollar. Gold was at $4,060 an ounce, down 0.4%. Brent crude was at $110.32 a barrel, down 3.1%.Share

Professor Frank Tanser is the senior author, and Dr Elphas Okango is the lead author. Incidence fell from 3.32 to 1.49 new infections per 100 person-years. From 2019 to 2025, detectable viraemia rose by 9.6 percentage points, and incidence stayed flat or rose among adults aged 35 to 54. The study is peer-reviewed, but the cohort is rural and not nationally representative.Share

The fossil shows that the animal could swallow and suckle like a mammal. It fills a gap in how the throat features evolved that let mammals swallow as adults and suckle as babies. The details available to us do not name the research team or give the size of the animal, so this account is limited to the main finding.Share

The team used the method to find genetic differences between parasite populations. They say these differences help explain how the parasite spreads between humans and animals. Cryptosporidium is a common cause of diarrhoeal disease in children in South Africa and across Africa, so better tracking of its spread could matter for public health. Only a short summary of the study was available, so the sample sizes and detailed findings are not yet clear.Share

Claire Taylor, Senior Research and Policy Analyst at Gun Free SA, said that for every one conviction, four to five people are not convicted. She said the organisation welcomes the recoveries, but the low conviction rate cannot be ignored.

Taylor said: "And we need to hold people accountable by sending a strong message that illegal firearm possession is a serious offence".

The City said its Law Enforcement and Metro Police departments confiscated 61 firearms between July and September.Share

Molokomme said the tender system has collapsed and is the reason major cities such as Johannesburg are in a ruined state. He said tenders cost jobs. In his words, a contractor who wins a tender worth millions of rands employs two or three people and does not finish the work.

Molokomme said ending the tender system is the best step for South Africa and the city of Johannesburg. He said it would create work for many young people.

He said: "Tenders, the tender processes and the tender system has collapsed and that is in this way, first taking away the jobs."Share

Mabuza is 36 and Ngoma is 46. Both pleaded not guilty to all charges. The state is now presenting its evidence-in-chief, and the trial is scheduled to continue until 13 November.

The state alleges the killing happened on 11 March 2023. It says the accused approached a vehicle with Chiloane and another person inside. It says they told the occupants to drive to a bushy area and demanded money and his service firearm.

The state alleges the accused then shot Chiloane. It says they fled with a cellphone, money, a laptop and his firearm. Chiloane was the chief traffic officer of Bushbuckridge.Share

The petrol bomb was allegedly thrown in the early hours of Tuesday at the home of DA activist Sipho Sibiya. Sibiya said the attack was meant to intimidate Nyaqela. Nyaqela said the attackers mistook his neighbour's house for his.

Nyaqela said he and the DA do not trust the Dobsonville police officers, so no case was opened for the attack. Police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said an earlier intimidation case by Nyaqela was under investigation. He opened that case at Dobsonville police station on 23 October. Police have made no arrests.

DA mayoral candidate for Johannesburg Helen Zille called the incident outrageous. She said petrol attacks just days before elections raise valid suspicions about political motivation.Share

Chief Financial Officer Harold van den Broek spoke to analysts on a call on Wednesday, when the Dutch brewer reported third-quarter results. He said: "We are not making rash decisions on what to do, but we do have it under strategic review". He did not set out the options.

Heineken agreed to buy Distell Group in 2021 and completed the deal in 2023. The price was €2.2 billion, or R38 billion at the time. More than 5 400 employees from Distell and Namibia Breweries joined Heineken when the deal closed.

Heineken booked an impairment of €491 million on the South African business in 2023. Former chief executive Dolf van den Brink said Heineken dropped the ball on a couple of commercial elements. Heineken shares rose by as much as 2.2% on the trading update.Share

Lesedi Seforo of SAICA said the institute supports the principle of a fiscal anchor. He said it needs to be a fixed target, like inflation targeting, to give government something to work towards.

Dumisani Jantjies spoke for the Pan-African Institute for Fiscal and Policy Studies. He is a former head of Parliament's Budget Office. He said the anchor answers to Parliament, so Parliament's own budget office should assess it.

Jantjies said: "Parliament must be able to require a revised plan, not just receive explanations, which raises the question: who must assess this?" He said the role of the Financial and Fiscal Commission should remain one of intergovernmental oversight.

Treasury had suggested that the commission oversee the fiscal plan. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced the fiscal anchor when he tabled the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement.Share

The charges follow a protest on Monday by the South African Municipal Workers' Union over a dispute with the mayor. The protest turned violent. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole said protesters burnt tyres, blocked roads and obstructed traffic.

The NPA also alleged that a municipal truck driver was robbed of his cellphone. It said pallets taken from the damaged truck were set alight. Reports said protesters threw stones and bottles at police officers who were called to disperse the crowd.

The NPA said the right to protest must be exercised within the law. It said violence and property damage would be dealt with through the criminal justice system.Share

Ramaphosa defended the deployment of more than 500 soldiers in KwaZulu-Natal. It began on October 9 and is expected to run until the end of November, at a cost of more than R34 million. He said the deployment responds to requests from residents and provincial authorities. In his words: "It's not the army coming here to replace the police – they are here as a supportive element to the work being done by the police."

On a door-to-door campaign, Ramaphosa said plans are underway to address the water crisis in eThekwini. He said over 44% of households have water outages of two days or more. He said water trucks are a temporary measure.

Ramaphosa also said work is underway to reduce the cost of electricity for Magabheni residents. He said he expects the ANC to regain the majority on the metro council. The local government elections are on November 4.Share

Advocate Howard Varney, who represents the Calata Group, cross-examined Bester. Varney put it to him that the NPA had closed most of the dockets before they were removed in March 2004. He said police were free to investigate them and send them back to the NPA for decisions on prosecution.

Bester rejected that view and said the dockets were not in the domain of SAPS. He said he sealed about 10 boxes on the instruction of then national commissioner Jackie Selebi. Bester also denied that he identified seven cases in a 2006 SAPS audit report given to the Investigative Task Unit.

Varney also referred to the evidence of former prosecutor Chris Macadam. Macadam said the NPA position was that SAPS could take the dockets further and return them if the NPA needed to help. Allegations in that evidence said the NPA used the dockets to build a case against former president Thabo Mbeki and other senior ANC officials.

Bester explained why he thought a handover report was needed. He said: "I was tasked to safeguard those documents and dockets, and I deemed it my duty to see that every one was there".Share

Brazilian authorities notified South Africa of the first outbreak, in Santa Catarina, on 20 October. Brazil reported a third outbreak, at a poultry farm in Nova Erechim, on 27 October.

Veterinary health certificates agreed by the two countries allow trade to continue in fresh poultry meat, hatching eggs and day-old chicks. Trade stays subject to import requirements.Share

Ramaphosa spoke to the media during ANC campaign duties. He said the government is concerned by recent developments in the province. The protests have taken place in places including the Durban CBD.

Ramaphosa said the soldiers will not take over from the police. In his words: "It's not the army coming here to replace the police. They are here as a supportive element to the work that's being done by the police."

The deployment of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members is set to run until 31 November, according to the date given in the reports.Share

IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo said the commission will make over 600,000 home visits on 2 and 3 November. He said: "Remarkably, 80% of home visits are to voters over the age of 60." Women account for 74% of approved special votes.

The results centre in Midrand will receive, verify and announce results. Mamabolo said the commission added technological upgrades and independent audits. He said the audits found problems that the commission has since fixed, and that five political parties reviewed the system with no material findings.

The commission said 29.2 million voters are registered. It has bought 40,000 voter management devices and is bringing 14,000 more into use. About 888,000 staff will run voting at 23,000 voting stations.Share

The four Mozambicans and the Zimbabwean face charges of possession of gold-bearing materials and contravention of immigration law.

The Ethiopian suspect is a shop owner. He faces a charge of possession of counterfeit cigarettes.Share

Judge Mangcu-Lockwood ordered Smit to return hard copy records and delete protected information within 10 days. He must file an affidavit within 15 days to confirm this. He must also pay Nedbank's legal costs.

Nedbank dismissed Smit on 1 December 2022 for dishonest conduct. He joined Equi Pro Wealth in July 2024. Nedbank sent him a cease-and-desist letter on 6 September 2024 and reported his conduct to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority on 14 November 2024.

The court said Smit's conduct threatened clients' privacy and the bank's business interests. It said the public needed protection, including vulnerable and elderly people who could be targeted. Smit alleged the complaints against him were manufactured or prompted by bias, but the judge rejected this challenge.Share

The Maphephetheni Phase 3 Rural Housing Project is a government project in KwaZulu-Natal. Close to R7 million is allocated to it for the 2026/27 financial year. The Department of Human Settlements said it remains committed to ending mud houses, with a target of close to 7 000 nationally.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is due to visit KwaZulu-Natal on 29 October 2026. He will attend a milestone celebration for the Cornubia Integrated Human Settlements Project, the Presidency said.

Cornubia is expected to deliver 12 593 housing units through various programmes. Close to 3 000 fully subsidised units were delivered since the launch more than a decade ago. Another 146 units are under construction and should be complete by December 2026. The Presidency said the first group of 2022 flood survivors recently moved into permanent homes there.Share

The council gives strategic and policy advice to the Minister of Police and the National Commissioner of SAPS. Members also learnt about the Police Reset Agenda at the workshop. The 2012 National Development Plan recommended that the council be set up.

Cachalia said the council would support policing reform at a time of high crime levels. He said revelations from the Madlanga Commission have further eroded public confidence in the police. He also said the developments have deepened the trust deficit between the police and the communities they serve.

Cachalia told members: "A light has been cast on the darker side of policing and society."Share

The account averaged a return of slightly less than 2% per bet. It built its positions across 113,112 markets. One outlet put its gains at about $12.25 million, so the exact profit figure differs by report.

The analysis said other top-10 accounts made money from a small number of large bets, often above $1 million each. It also found that 68% of users who bet more than $100 lost money. About 4% of those users lost their entire principal.

Polymarket said it monitors large positions and screens sanctioned wallets. It also said it partners with firms such as Chainalysis.Share

Of the 868 626 applications, 800 382 came from prospective university students. Another 68 244 came from applicants who plan to attend TVET colleges. Female applicants made up 616 558, or 70.98%, and male applicants 252 068, or 29.02%.

Applicants who receive grants from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) numbered 653 778. Non-SASSA applicants numbered 214 848.

NSFAS said it does not expect any extension of the deadline. It said applications are free and that no person or organisation can guarantee funding. Manamela warned: "Don’t pay anyone to apply for NSFAS".Share

Funeka Soldaat, an activist and Makhaza community policing forum (CPF) member, said the march aimed to unite residents, government departments, law enforcement agencies and the broader safety cluster against gun violence. She said: "Behind every shooting is a human tragedy, a life lost, and a family left grieving."

Vuyo Khonkwane, also a Makhaza CPF member, said shootings have many causes. He said protection fee violence is one, but some people are shot because someone has a grudge against them.

Two shootings in September 2026 shaped the march. Three men were shot dead in a car in Town Two, Makhaza, on 16 September. Four men were shot dead in Site C on 26 September, three inside a vehicle and one outside.

Safe Suburb data shows Khayelitsha Police Station recorded 1,547 crimes from April to June 2026. It recorded 1,522 in the same period in 2025. Safe Suburb says the station is in the highest national bracket for violent incidents.Share

Members of the SAPS Presidential Protection Services were on foot patrol at Parliament when they noticed a suspicious person running in the garden. They stopped the man and arrested him. Tuynhuys lies in the parliamentary precinct, which is a National Key Point.

Vukubi said the man could not explain clearly how he got into the area. In his words: "When approached by police, the suspect could not give a clear explanation as to how he got inside the restricted area, hence the arrest".Share

Traders largely expect the Federal Reserve to leave rates unchanged. They have priced in an 84% chance of a December rate hike, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Oil prices rose by 1% on Wednesday.

ETM Analytics said the rand could weaken beyond R17.00 to the dollar if rising oil prices and pressure linked to the Fed persist.

On the Johannesburg market, the Top-40 index fell 0.2% in early trade. The yield on South Africa's 2035 government bond rose by 2 basis points to 8.6% in early deals.Share

Mahungela was found guilty in September of murdering Kirsten Kluyts, a Delta Park High School teacher. She was killed at a My Run event in Parkmore, Sandton, in October 2023. She was 34 and 14 weeks pregnant.

Judge Ian Cox convicted Mahungela and said the state had proved his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Mahungela defended himself in court. He maintained that the person in the CCTV footage was not him and called the identification mistaken.

Mahungela also claimed he found Kluyts's body and removed her clothes to remove his fingerprints from the scene. He referred to the country's gender-based violence crisis when he made the claim.Share