Drizzly and warm (18° to 29°). Rain likely from 5pm. Light wind.
High
29°
Low
18°
Wind
17km/hgusts to 45 km/h
What to wear
T‑shirtUmbrella from 5pmHat
Strong sun 11am to 3pm. UV reaches 10. Wear sunscreen and keep to the shade around midday.
CTCT21°90%
Cape TownThursday
Drizzly and mild (16° to 21°). Rain likely from 1pm. Strong north-westerly wind.
High
21°
Low
16°
Wind · strong
21km/hgusts to 67 km/h
What to wear
Long sleevesRain jacket
UV stays below 8 today.
PretoriaPTA33°75%
PretoriaThursday
Wet and hot (20° to 33°). Rain likely from 6pm. Light wind.
High
33°
Low
20°
Wind
14km/hgusts to 37 km/h
What to wear
Light clothesUmbrella from 6pmHat
Strong sun 11am to 3pm. UV reaches 10. Wear sunscreen and keep to the shade around midday.
DurbanDBN30°20°
DurbanThursday
Foggy and hot (20° to 30°). No rain expected. Light wind.
High
30°
Low
20°
Wind
22km/hgusts to 47 km/h
What to wear
Light clothesHat
Strong sun 11am to 2pm. UV reaches 9. Wear sunscreen and keep to the shade around midday.
Crime: latest posts
PoliticsCrime
Madlanga Commission says Carrim broke his bail condition
The commission says businessman Suliman Carrim's attorneys did not report to it in person within 48 hours, as his R100,000 bail required. Spokesperson Jeremy Michaels said the attorneys only wrote to the commission about the bail judgment.
Read moreShow less
The Pretoria Magistrates' Court granted Carrim bail on Wednesday. The case is linked to his failure to appear before the commission to continue his testimony. He was charged with contempt.
Michaels said the bail condition required the attorneys to take the initiative and arrange Carrim's next appearance. The commission said the attorneys did not do this, so Carrim failed to comply.
Carrim remains in custody on a separate matter in Limpopo. He faces cross-border vehicle smuggling charges at the Musina Magistrates Court, where his bail application was postponed to 9 November.
Crime
Durban court limits March and March protests to 9 am to 4 pm
The Durban High Court granted the interim order on the government's application. It also bars marchers from carrying weapons or covering their faces. The government said the group failed to contain violence, intimidation and looting linked to its protests.
Read moreShow less
Judge Peter Olsen delivered the ruling in the Durban High Court on Friday. He said the interim order does not amount to a finding of wrongdoing by March and March or its leaders.
The government said violent marches took place in the Durban CBD, including outside the refugee reception centre on Moore Road. March and March has distanced itself from any violence and intimidation during its marches.
The final order will be argued in January 2027. The case returns to court on 18 January 2027. Respondents must file replying affidavits by 11 January.
Crime
Taxi feud delays staff and flights at Cape Town airport
Cape Town International Airport asked travellers to arrive four hours early for international flights and three hours early for domestic flights. Staff struggled to reach work on Friday morning, which caused longer security queues.
Read moreShow less
The airport said passengers face longer-than-usual queues at security screening. It blamed operational staffing constraints linked to the ongoing taxi-related unrest. The unrest follows a violent week-long feud between rival minibus taxi groups.
Some travellers complained that they missed flights because of the long queues. The airport also reported flight delays on Friday.
Crime
Security guard appears in court over alleged rape of girl, 14
A 35-year-old Fidelity Security guard, previously stationed at the Sebokeng magistrate's court, faces a rape charge. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says he raped the girl in the court's children's waiting room during a night shift in September.
Read moreShow less
The NPA says the man met the girl on Facebook and gave his age as 22. It alleges he let her onto the court premises and gave her alcohol. The NPA says he raped her when she refused sex.
The NPA also alleges that he gave the girl money to travel home at about 4am the next morning. Fidelity Security is contracted to the department of justice.
Police arrested the guard on 27 October. The case was postponed to 6 November for a bail application, and the state intends to oppose bail.
CrimePolitics
State seeks interdict against protest violence in Durban
The acting police minister and the KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner asked the Durban High Court to bar threats, assaults, looting and arson linked to protests. Proceedings stood down after the judge questioned what relief the state wanted before the 4 November municipal elections.
Read moreShow less
The judge asked whether the state wanted temporary limits ahead of the 4 November municipal elections or a broader, permanent interdict. The order sought would also bar intimidation and damage to property.
The government said it deployed more than 400 police officers in Durban, but that this failed to contain the violence, intimidation and looting. In court, the state said reactive policing no longer worked. It said officers often arrived after property was damaged and people were assaulted.
The state also said police were outnumbered and struggled to remove weapons from protesters. It said more people allegedly joined crowds armed with sticks and other objects. Protesters allegedly planned to set fire to the Home Affairs refugee reception centre on Moore Road in Durban.
Crime
Former IDAC head Andrea Johnson gets R10,000 bail
Johnson and former crime intelligence official Maj-Gen Feroz Khan each received R10,000 bail from the Pretoria magistrate's court on Friday. They face charges of defeating the ends of justice and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Read moreShow less
The two accused also face charges of contravening the National Prosecuting Authority Act. Johnson is the former head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC). Khan is a former senior crime intelligence official.
The court postponed the case to 2 February 2027. It ordered Johnson to surrender her passport.
CrimePolitics
Madlanga task team arrests former Idac head Andrea Johnson
Police arrested two people over an alleged assault on a SAPS brigadier in 2018, according to spokesperson Amanda van Wyk. She did not name them, but reports said one is a former major-general. The suspects face charges including defeating the ends of justice.
Read moreShow less
Van Wyk confirmed the arrests on Friday. She said the suspects will face charges including defeating the ends of justice and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The case goes back to 26 June 2018. Police said a former major-general allegedly assaulted a brigadier under his command, and the brigadier was injured.
Police also said one suspect, who worked for the National Prosecuting Authority at the time, allegedly interfered with the case. The case was reported at Silverton in Pretoria.
Police did not name Johnson. Reports said she was one of those arrested.
PoliticsCrime
Police say election plans are ready in all provinces
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said police are working to make the coming elections free, fair and peaceful. He spoke at a media briefing in KwaZulu-Natal with National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola on election readiness.
Read moreShow less
Cachalia said police have developed operational plans across all provinces. The briefing in KwaZulu-Natal dealt with the election readiness report for the province.
Cachalia said South Africans must have the chance to express their views at the ballot box without intimidation. He also said it is important that the outcome can be called free and fair.
Crime
Former IDAC head Andrea Johnson and Feroz Khan get R10 000 bail each
Johnson and Khan, a former Crime Intelligence officer, appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Friday on charges linked to a 2018 email about an assault docket. The matter was postponed to 2 February 2027 for further investigations.
Read moreShow less
Reports differ on the exact charges. One outlet said the charges are assault, defeating the ends of justice and contravening the NPA Act. Others spoke of defeating the ends of justice, and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Johnson faces a charge under the NPA Act.
The case relates to an email sent in 2018 from Johnson's private Gmail address. It disclosed the contents of an assault docket against Khan. The case against Johnson over the email was opened in 2022.
The NPA alleges that Johnson gave information to Khan that she was not supposed to give, so he could prepare. NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said prosecutors told the court the offence was not committed while Khan was on bail. He said bail was granted because it is a Schedule one offence.
CrimePolitics
Makwetla corruption case postponed to 19 March 2027
The Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court postponed the Bosasa-linked case against former Deputy Minister of Correctional Services Thabang Makwetla on Friday. The delay allows a centralisation certificate to be issued and a High Court trial date to be set.
Read moreShow less
The State alleges that Makwetla failed to declare home security upgrades that Bosasa provided in 2015. It says he should have declared them to Parliament. The State says this broke his ethical duty as a member of Parliament.
Henry Mamothame, spokesperson for the Independent Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), gave the details of the postponement. IDAC is the body prosecuting the case.
Crime
Judge dismisses Thulani Dlomo's bid to end R12 million fraud case
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria rejected a section 174 discharge application by the former State Security Agency operative on fraud, forgery and uttering counts. Judge Mashudu Munzhelele said she will give full reasons at the end of the trial.
Read moreShow less
Dlomo's lawyer, Advocate Muntu Sithole, asked the court to discharge the three counts and return a not-guilty plea. Sithole argued that the State can only prove its case if Dlomo takes the stand and incriminates himself. He also said the prosecution's evidence left nothing to find Dlomo guilty of.
Prosecutor Terry Motau said Dlomo, as head of the CDSO, was not authorised to sign the R12 million contract. The prosecution says the money was withdrawn for Operation Mayibuye and that only a portion went to the intended operation. It also says documents used to justify the payments were falsified.
The National Prosecuting Authority says Dlomo and co-accused Patrick Mshothola used a private company without its owner's knowledge. It says they paid the company R12 million in three tranches. The prosecution says the alleged owner denied signing the contract.
Judge Munzhelele said the defence was treating Dlomo's signature and involvement as a procurement issue. The trial is expected to run from 8 to 25 March 2027.
PoliticsCrime
Electoral Court dismisses DA case on single-name party lists
The court found that the practice is lawful and not in bad faith, so the lists of ActionSA, the EFF, the MK Party and GOOD stand for the 2026 local government elections. The DA's constitutional challenge is postponed indefinitely.
Read moreShow less
The Electoral Court ruled on Friday that the law allows single-name proportional representation lists. It also allows parties to add names after the election under Item 17. The court found the practice was not fraudulent, unconstitutional or unlawful. Judge Nobahle Mangcu-Lockwood presided, and Judge Lebogang Modiba and Professor Moses Phooko concurred.
The court heard the matter on 13 October. The DA argued that the four parties used Item 17 as a planned strategy to keep candidates hidden from voters until after the count. Opposing parties said the DA had used the same practice itself, including in the current elections.
The DA says it will argue its constitutional challenge before the Electoral Court. Mangcu-Lockwood wrote that a matter of such weight needs careful handling, not "a rushed jolt". DA federal council chairperson Ashor Sarupen said the ruling exposes a serious gap in electoral law.
GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron said the case was an attempt to brand four opposition parties as fraudsters. ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont called the case stillborn. He said granting the DA's request would have disenfranchised 25% of the electorate from council representation.
Crime
Cape Town airport recovers after taxi violence cuts staff numbers
Long security screening queues and 60 flight delays hit Cape Town International Airport on Friday. Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) said it is doing everything possible to prevent a repeat, and most affected passengers are now processed.
Read moreShow less
Reports said about half of the airport's staff could not get to work in some areas because they had no transport. The shortage is linked to ongoing deadly taxi violence in Cape Town. Operations are slowly returning to normal after hours of disruption.
Passengers had mixed views. One unnamed passenger said the airport should have been better prepared and that ACSA should have backup staff. An unnamed traveller said airport staff did what they could in difficult circumstances and that the disruption was out of their control.
Crime
SIU leaves Midrand property without Maumela's Bentley
The Special Investigating Unit went to a Midrand property on Friday to seize a luxury car linked to Hangwani Morgan Maumela, a Tembisa Hospital tender figure. The car was not there, so the team left. The unit had not yet commented.
Read moreShow less
The unit hoped to seize a Bentley Continental GT, one of the vehicles forfeited by Maumela. Reports said this was the target of the visit. The unit said it would revert later.
The vehicle is part of a final forfeiture order from the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, granted in July. The Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained the order. It covers four Lamborghinis and a Bentley Continental GT, among luxury assets worth hundreds of millions of rands.
PoliticsCrime
Police name 331 high-risk voting stations ahead of elections
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola said in Durban that the police service is operationally ready for the local government elections. Most of the high-risk stations are in KwaZulu-Natal, and Masemola said police will not tolerate political violence.
Read moreShow less
KwaZulu-Natal has 165 of the high-risk stations, the most of any province. Of these, 124 are in the eThekwini District. Gauteng has 119, including 75 in the Johannesburg district.
The Western Cape has 33, all in the City of Cape Town. Mpumalanga has 11. The Eastern Cape has three, all in the OR Tambo District.
Masemola said police have increased deployments, with specialised units on standby. He said the South African National Defence Force and the State Security Agency also support election security.
Masemola said two people were attacked and killed in connection with violent marches around Durban. He said 16 vehicles were burnt or damaged. The police service has a court application on marches in KwaZulu-Natal and awaits the court's decision.
Masemola said the application does not aim to stop lawful marches or the right to protest. He said it aims to ensure that people follow the law.
Crime
Police ask Durban High Court to stop March and March protests
The National Police Ministry and KwaZulu-Natal police leadership brought an urgent interdict application against the anti-immigration group. The court is expected to hear it on Friday, after violent demonstrations and clashes in Durban.
Read moreShow less
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and the KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner say recent demonstrations led to violence, road blockades and property damage. The application asks the court to stop further protest action by the group.
Authorities said unlawful conduct will not be tolerated.
Crime
Tshuma says he cannot remember signing plea deal
Ndodana Tshuma, accused of murdering his wife and two daughters in the UK, told the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Thursday that he cannot recall pleading guilty. His lawyer asked for a specialist medical assessment, and the state opposed it.
Read moreShow less
Tshuma is 46. He pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition and to contravening the Immigration Act. He said in court that he does not remember signing a plea and sentence agreement. One report said he blamed sleep deprivation.
The state said there is no evidence that Tshuma lacked the mental capacity to understand the proceedings. It argued that nothing justifies a state-ordered mental health assessment. The state asked that the plea and sentence agreement be finalised.
Tshuma is accused of killing his wife and two daughters in Bedford, Bedfordshire, in July. He faces three counts of murder in the UK. He is accused of entering South Africa illegally days later, and police arrested him in Kensington, east of Johannesburg, on 10 July.
The UK Crown Prosecution Service applied for his extradition. The matter returns to court on 10 November.
Crime
Western Cape seeks urgent court ruling on taxi routes
The Western Cape Mobility Department wants a court to settle disputed taxi operating rights after shootings between rival associations in Cape Town. Violence since 16 October has caused murders and attempted murders.
Read moreShow less
The department is also investigating alleged violations by taxi associations it has identified. Mobility Minister Isaac Sileku met the taxi industry in Cape Town on Thursday. He said: "We met with the taxi industry today because enough is enough."
Sileku said no dispute over routes or operating rights is worth a human life.
Johan Brandt, Commissioner of the City of Cape Town Safety and Security Directorate, said the city would make sure people get to work and back safely. He said the city supports the South African Police Service and that both would address the issues together.
PoliticsCrime
Cachalia starts process to appoint permanent Hawks head
Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia has started the process to appoint a permanent head of the Hawks, and KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi is being considered. Separately, the National Prosecuting Authority froze assets of Mpumalanga taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni.
Read moreShow less
The NPA's asset forfeiture unit obtained a preservation order against Sibanyoni and his co-accused in an extortion case. One co-accused is taxi fleet owner Oupa Sindane. The order freezes their assets.
Western Cape police said they will crack down on taxi violence in Cape Town. They said the killings will be met with the full force of the law.
In Spain, 68 people died in a high-speed rail collision. The country declared three days of mourning. Spain's transport minister said an error and inexplicable circumstances led to the crash.
CrimePolitics
State opposes Zuma-Sambudla bid to drop incitement charges
Prosecutor Mahendra Naidu told the Durban High Court on Thursday that the state has reasonable grounds to convict Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla. Judge Mbuzeni Mathenjwa adjourned the section 174 application and will rule next Friday.
Read moreShow less
Zuma-Sambudla, a former MK Party MP, faces charges of incitement to commit terrorism and public violence over her social media posts during the July 2021 unrest. She wants the court to discharge her under section 174. Naidu said the state presented a strong case, especially on count one, and that its witnesses gave strong testimony.
Naidu argued that the tweets became more escalating and must be read cumulatively. He said the charges are drafted the same way.
Her lawyer, Advocate Dali Mpofu, said the state's case is weak and must be discarded. He said state witnesses conceded that none of her posts amounted to incitement of violence. He also said the state targets her because she is the daughter of former president Jacob Zuma.
Mpofu called the state's evidence on her "We See You" tweets laughable. He said many people retweeted her posts but were not charged. Reports put the deaths in the July 2021 unrest at 354 and the damage at about R50bn.
TechCrime
Icasa proposes biometric checks for SIM cards to fight fraud
The Independent Communications Authority of SA has published draft regulations that would make mobile operators verify subscribers' biometric data, such as fingerprints. The rules aim to combat SIM-swap fraud and are open for public comment.
Read moreShow less
The draft is called the Numbering Plan Fifth Amendment Regulations, 2026. It would apply to new and existing subscribers. Operators would check biometric data when a number is activated or reactivated and when a SIM swap takes place.
Icasa councillor Dikeledi Catherine Mushi, who chairs the Numbering Resources Committee, defended the plan in an interview on The Money Show. She said Icasa had no choice but to introduce biometric verification. She said the authority must make sure every number has a person behind it.
Mushi said the authority chose a less disruptive option. In her words: "We could have chosen to completely overhaul the numbering plan regulations and say, 'let's press a restart button'."
She said biometric checks could verify a person within seconds, as with a fingerprint held by Home Affairs.
CrimePolitics
Home affairs arrests 3 more over Bothaville passport fraud
The arrests bring home affairs corruption arrests since July 2024 to 44, the department said on Thursday. It has also dismissed 98 officials. The suspects include two former officials and a member of the public.
Read moreShow less
The three suspects are accused of passport fraud at the Bothaville home affairs office in the Free State in 2023. Home affairs said 10 passport applications were processed fraudulently. The Counter Corruption Unit investigated the case with the Hawks.
The department said the fraud used weaknesses in outdated systems. Photographs were swapped to obtain South African passports. Home affairs said it has introduced biometric verification to close these loopholes.
The suspects appeared in the Bothaville magistrate's court on Monday. The case was postponed to 20 January 2027.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said: "Our approach is twofold: pursuing corruption without fear or favour, while using technology to eliminate opportunities for corruption in the first place,"
Crime
March and March leaders due in Durban High Court
Leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma and other leaders of the anti-illegal migration group are expected to respond to an interim interdict on Friday. The order restricts the group's weekly protests in parts of the Durban CBD.
Read moreShow less
The interdict bars threats, assaults, intimidation, looting, arson and property damage. It also bars forced business closures and blocking access to buildings. It covers the Department of Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre along Moore Road.
Ngobese-Zuma criticised the order. She said March and March was not involved in any violence and that the government will not silence the group. She said police from almost every province use tactics at Moore Road that she had never seen before.
In her words: "It’s going to set a bad precedent for the courts to interdict people without having heard their side of the story". Reports of plans to burn the Moore Road centre were unconfirmed.
CrimePolitics
Taxi and gang violence in Cape Town raises election fears
Two men were shot and taken to hospital at the Palm Taxi Rank in Delft on Wednesday, next to a voting station. Five people were gunned down at a braai in Lavender Hill on Saturday, days before the 4 November elections.
Read moreShow less
Sizakhele Dyantyi, the provincial police commissioner, linked the rise in taxi violence to route disputes between rival taxi associations. At a police briefing on Thursday she warned those stirring violence: "They will be dealt with harshly." Reports said one person was also gunned down earlier in the week at the same Delft rank.
Charles George, a community activist and pastor in Delft, said the violence makes voters question whether they can reach a voting station and get home safely. The ANC Dullah Omar region said the violence comes at a critical moment. It warned that the violence will intimidate voters if it goes unchecked.
Michael Hendrickse, the IEC provincial electoral officer, said police are assessing high-risk areas as part of election preparations. He said the commission remains concerned about crime that could affect voters' ability to reach voting stations.
Crime
Broken fences and river crossings feed border trade near Musina
A news feature describes goods smuggled to Zimbabwe through broken fences and across the Limpopo River. It says the trade sustains a large informal economy in Musina, about 10km from the Beitbridge border.
Read moreShow less
A man interviewed said he bought a solar pump in South Africa for R8,000. He said he was supposed to pay R2,500 in duty at the border. He said he negotiated and paid a customs officer R500, and got no receipt.
A woman interviewed said a truck load can earn R1,000. She said young men hide in bushes to watch for soldiers, and she pays them R50. Two soldiers at a roadblock said they now turn Zimbabweans around instead of detaining them.
Hermanus Schoeman owns a game farm on the border and has had to close it. He said many cattle that cross onto the farm have foot-and-mouth disease. He said South Africa cannot control the epidemic while animals keep crossing.
Schoeman said about 100 donkeys appeared on his farm the day after he put out lucerne. In his words: "As soon as it’s dry, donkeys and cows cross into the farm."
Crime
Court bars absent father from inheriting son's estate
The South Gauteng High Court found that a Johannesburg father who was absent for 29 years is unworthy to benefit from his son's estate. The estate is valued at more than R700,000, and the son died in 2021 without a will.
Read moreShow less
The court found that the father played virtually no role in his son's upbringing. The father did not oppose the application. The mother had asked the court to declare him a non-parent.
The judge refused that request but agreed that the father should not inherit. Legal practitioner Minenhle Khumalo explained the finding on radio. She said: "The court decided to say, no, he is still a parent, but he's not worthy to benefit from the estate."
Khumalo said such cases are very rare. She also said the ruling was unusual, but not unprecedented.
CrimePolitics
Masemola hands 1 087 new vehicles to high crime police stations
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola handed over the vehicles, worth R518 million, at the SAPS Academy in Benoni on Thursday. They go to 140 high-crime stations and specialised units, and 58 stay as a reserve fleet at Head Office.
Read moreShow less
Detective Services and Forensic Services get 739 vehicles. Another 200 go to the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences units. Visible Policing and Operations get 290 vehicles.
The Eastern Cape gets 163 vehicles and Gauteng gets 151. Mpumalanga gets 147, KwaZulu-Natal 135 and the Western Cape 113. The Free State gets 103, North West 84, Limpopo 79 and the Northern Cape 54.
Masemola said vehicle availability is crucial. He said that when mobility is compromised, communities face delayed responses and lose confidence in the police.
He also called for strict oversight of how the vehicles are managed. "These vehicles belong to the people of South Africa. They are not instruments of personal convenience or symbols of privilege."
Crime
Pastor and two co-accused face mental evaluations in Atteridgeville
Self-proclaimed pastor Caiphus Mkhwane, Tsako Makhubela and Amanda Mnguni appeared briefly in court on Thursday. They face rape and murder charges linked to attacks on a 43-year-old mother and her four-month-old baby. The case resumes next Friday.
Read moreShow less
Makhubela will go to Weskoppies Hospital for evaluation. A district surgeon will test Mkhwane and Mnguni. The three appeared in the Atteridgeville Magistrate's Court.
Mkhwane is 36 years old and faces charges of rape and murder. Makhubela is 25 and is accused of killing the baby. Mnguni is 32, is Mkhwane's wife and is accused of fraud.
Police and the prosecution allege that the group first conspired to kill the mother to claim funeral policy benefits. The suspects were arrested about three weeks ago.
PoliticsCrime
Mpshe concedes 2005 prosecution guidelines were unconstitutional
Former Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe told the TRC Cases Inquiry in Johannesburg that Anton Ackermann was right about the guidelines. Mpshe made the concession under cross-examination on his earlier evidence.
Read moreShow less
The 2005 guidelines of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) widened the criteria for prosecuting apartheid-era human rights abusers. Ackermann, head of the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit, argued that they were unconstitutional. He also said they amounted to a back door amnesty for people who had not applied to the original Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Mpshe relieved Ackermann of his role soon after his appointment in September 2007. Mpshe said he did this to protect Ackermann from stakeholders who did not want him to head the unit.
Mpshe said: "When I went through them myself then I realised that he may have had some merit on his attitude towards the guidelines".
PoliticsCrime
Ramaphosa condemns killings of councillor candidates in KwaZulu-Natal
Speaking in Magabheni in eThekwini on Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had tasked the police with pursuing those responsible for the political killings. The local government elections take place on 4 November.
Read moreShow less
Ramaphosa spoke to the media after a door-to-door campaign in Magabheni. He said the killings aim to destroy the efficacy of South Africa's democracy and roll back democratic gains. He said: "We condemn the killing of councillor candidates, whether serving or prospective, in the strongest terms."
Data from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, cited in the coverage, counts at least 42 people killed in suspected political assassinations since January 2026. The same period in 2025 saw 23 such killings. At least 10 people have died in political killings since the start of October.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli said in August that almost 18 councillors had been killed in the province since the 2021 local elections. He said eThekwini was the province's epicentre of political assassinations.
Ramaphosa also said the ANC will do extremely well and regain a majority in the eThekwini council. A poll of 1 000 registered voters by SABI Strategy Group modelled the MK Party at 43%, the DA at 30% and the ANC at 11%. He also spoke about anti-immigration unrest in Durban, after 510 SANDF members were deployed to KwaZulu-Natal.