Crime: latest posts

Mncube is one of five accused in the trial over the murder of former Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa. State Prosecutor Ronnie Sibanda is questioning him.

The state says cellphone records and shared contacts link Mncube to accused number two, Ntanzi. Mncube rejects this. He says Ntanzi's number does not appear in his call records, which he says supports his version.

Under cross-examination, Mncube said: "I only know accused four and five because I know them." Testimony also named Lungisani Ndwandwe as someone Ntanzi called.

Meyiwa was murdered in October 2014.Share

Dyantyi spoke on Sunday at the launch of the provincial operations centre of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). She said police are being deployed to specific hotspots. Police assured South Africans of a safe and secure environment in which to vote.

Dyantyi said the operational plan has the approval of NatJoints. She told the launch: "The operational plan has already been approved; hence, I have also mentioned that we did get the thumbs up because we had presented our plan to the NatJoints."Share

Van der Merwe was known as Witness D at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. He was killed in a drive-by shooting outside his Brakpan home. Sotheni is a former South African Police Service Special Task Force member.

The state said three cellphones were found on a catwalk behind Sotheni's cell during a search at the correctional facility. It alleged that one of the phones was linked directly to him. The state also said preliminary investigations suggest he had communicated with someone outside the facility.

The state asked the court for more time to finish its investigation.Share

Ntuli said he is confident the elections will take place without incident. He said police are deployed and will be ready. He added that the army is deployed to complement the work of police.

Gauteng has 119 high-risk voting stations. In KwaZulu-Natal, eThekwini has 124 of them. uThukela has 16, Amajuba has 13, Zululand has 11 and Ugu has one.

Ntuli said: "At a government level, we have done everything to ensure that we safeguard the days of the elections."Share

Judge Modiba Shongwe delivered the judgment in Bloemfontein on Friday. He said forcing someone to stand for public office against their wishes could undermine their dignity. In the judgment he said: "The EFF cannot coerce the applicant without his consent to stand for office as ward candidate against his will".

Tshikila is a former EFF member and a local leader in KwaMaqoma, in the Eastern Cape. He said he had already left the party when it submitted his name. He also said he never signed a nomination form or gave permission to use his name, and he believes the documents were submitted fraudulently.

Tshikila said he found out on September 16 that he was standing for a party he no longer belonged to. EFF Eastern Cape regional coordinator Veronica Mente gave a different account. She said the person accepted the nomination but withdrew after the period for changes with the IEC had closed. She also said party records show his membership was active.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) must make sure voters cannot cast ballots for him. IEC deputy head of communications David Mandaha is the commission's spokesperson on the matter.Share

Chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo spoke at a press briefing at the national results centre on Sunday. The ballots were reprinted after a Constitutional Court ruling on 15 October. The court ordered the reinstatement of 181 ANC candidates who missed the candidate-list deadline. The relief was extended to 32 other parties, which affected ballots in 107 municipalities.

More than 2.6 million voters are approved to cast special votes over two days. Of these, 678 525 are approved for home visits, and KwaZulu-Natal has the most visits at 143 000. Nearly 2 million voters are approved to vote at voting stations, and Gauteng has the most, at 391 000. The commission deployed 127 000 electoral officials for home visits and special voting.

Mamabolo said weather forecasts show a high possibility of rain in parts of KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga over the next two days. He said voters who miss the home visit are not disenfranchised. They can still vote at their voting station on 4 November.

The commission accredited 117 domestic observer groups. About 15 African electoral commissions take part in its international visitors programme.Share

Matlala and his co-accused face charges of orchestrating three alleged failed assassination attempts. The state says the attempts happened between August 2022 and January 2024. It says the targets were Tebogo Thobejane, Joe Sibanyoni and Seunkie Mokubung, who is known as DJ Vettys.

The trial within a trial concerns evidence from the 2024 arrest of alleged hitman Musa Kekana. The court must decide whether that evidence is admissible. Kekana was arrested in 2024 over the murder of Armand Swart.

The state says Kekana tailored his evidence. It says it found several discrepancies between his affidavits in the trial within a trial and his submissions in his 2024 bail application.Share

NATJOINTS Chairperson Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili spoke at a media briefing at the NATJOINTS Coordinating Centre in Tshwane on Sunday. She said defiance of the ban would be a crime. Her words were: "No campaigning or political persuasion is permitted on Voting Day."

Demonstrations are also banned within 100 metres of voting stations. The ban covers voting, counting and the announcement of results.

NATJOINTS said enough law enforcement personnel are deployed in all provinces. It said intelligence assessments and identified threats shaped the security plans. The aim, it said, is to protect life, property and the constitutional rights of all South Africans.

The briefing also covered a Durban High Court interim order on protests in KwaZulu-Natal. Special voting takes place on Monday and Tuesday, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa stated that it is ready.Share

The three accused are Imanuwela David, Froliana Joseph and Ndilinasho Joseph. Froliana Joseph is a former domestic worker at the game farm. They face charges of theft, conspiracy to commit theft, money laundering and housebreaking.

Former intelligence boss Arthur Fraser opened a criminal case against Ramaphosa in June 2022. Fraser claims that Ramaphosa did not declare the foreign currency to the Reserve Bank. He also claims that Ramaphosa used improper methods to retrieve the stolen money.Share

Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, co-chairperson of Natjoints, briefed the media in Pretoria on Sunday night. Gauteng had the most murders with 7, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 6 and the Western Cape with 3. The Eastern Cape had 2, and the Free State and North West had 1 each.

Police arrested 48 suspects in election-related cases. Of the 139 cases, 69 are under investigation, 8 went to the senior public prosecutor and 25 are in court. The Electoral Act offences were the largest group with 72 cases and 22 arrests.

Mosikili said no marches or protests will be allowed and that they will count as a crime. Reports said Natjoints has identified 331 high-risk voting stations, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. She said police capacity is adequate to respond to these risks.

Mosikili said campaigning ends at midnight on Tuesday. She said heightened election security will not suspend ordinary policing. SANDF Lieutenant General Siphiwe Lucky Sangweni said the defence force has aircraft to move voting materials and officials if bad weather blocks roads.Share

The principal reportedly stepped in when a grade 6 learner was attacked near the school premises. The suspect, a former learner, allegedly carried out the attack. These details are allegations and have not been tested.

George Themba, the SADTU provincial secretary in the North-West, called on the Department of Education to make schools safe. He said: "We feel that our members are no longer safe in our schools".Share

Department spokesperson Howard Ndaba said the teacher acted swiftly to protect herself. The teacher has received psychosocial support. The matter was reported to the school governing body and its disciplinary committee on 29 October.

The disciplinary hearing will start at 9am on 5 November. Police are investigating the criminal case that the department says was opened.

Free State education MEC MJ Maboya condemned the incident in a statement. He said: "We will not tolerate the abuse of teachers in our schools." He added that teachers should be able to work without fearing for their safety.Share

Committee chairperson Thebe Khumalo spoke in a statement ahead of the elections. He said: "no political contest is worth a single life lost and no political difference justifies violence, intimidation or the destruction of community relations."

The committee said law enforcement visibility should be a priority at the high-risk stations and areas. A related article refers to 331 high-risk voting stations that the South African Police Service (SAPS) identified for the municipal polls.Share

Kekana spoke at a media briefing hosted by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi on gender-based violence and femicide. He said police plans work with local traffic police, private security companies and the SANDF soldiers deployed in the province. He said all high-risk stations get special planning, resources and guarding.

Johannesburg has 75 of the high-risk stations in Gauteng. Ekurhuleni has 23 and Tshwane has 14. The West Rand has three and Sedibeng has one.

Nationwide, police have named 331 voting stations as high-risk. The eThekwini metro in KwaZulu-Natal has 124 of them. National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola said the week before that the SAPS is ready to ensure safe, secure and peaceful elections.Share

The committee issued its statement on Sunday, ahead of the Local Government Elections on 4 November 2026. It said: "no political contest is worth a single life lost and no political difference justifies violence, intimidation or the destruction of community relations".

Approved special votes will be cast on 2 and 3 November 2026. The Electoral Commission approved 2 655 067 special vote applications for these elections. That is a 131% increase on the 1 147 759 approved for the 2021 elections.

The South African Local Government Association urged registered voters to make the election a priority. The statement also highlighted coordination between the Electoral Commission and law enforcement.Share

Reports said the bodies of the women were dumped across Ekurhuleni. Places named include Kempton Park, Tembisa, Springs and Kwa-Thema. The province's action plan includes tighter monitoring of police stations, audits and a crackdown on unlicensed liquor outlets.

The briefing follows a directive from President Cyril Ramaphosa to address attacks on women. Ramaphosa announced a four-point national intervention plan to tackle gender-based violence.

Provincial measures named include a 60-day audit of unresolved cases involving women and children. They also include 90-day recovery plans for priority cases and steps to process forensic backlogs.Share

The NAACP brought the lawsuit. It claims that xAI violated the Clean Air Act through pollution from its data center.

The claim is the NAACP's allegation in the lawsuit. The judge has not ruled on whether it is true.Share

The US District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed the case with prejudice. The ruling ends Trump's pursuit of the refiled defamation suit. Gayles wrote that the paper's investigation was thoughtful and detailed.

Trump's lawyers argued that the paper should have dropped the story after he denied involvement with Epstein. The judge rejected the case as a whole. He wrote: "As with his first attempt, he has failed,"Share

Malema said he received the list three days earlier. He claimed the State Security Agency (SSA) used public money to infiltrate the EFF and Fees Must Fall. He said the aim was to divide the party and win members back to the ANC.

Malema also claimed there were efforts to collapse the EFF and place it under the leadership of Jacob Zuma and the MK Party. He said advocate Dali Mpofu proposed that the EFF dissolve and regroup under Zuma. Malema said this happened at a meeting of opposition parties that Zuma convened before the May 2024 election.

The allegations come up in a theft and fraud trial in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. The accused are former SSA members Patrick Mshothola and Thulani Dlomo. Evidence in court says former state security minister David Mahlobo instructed the payout of the R12 million, including R160 000 to an official in his office.

Malema told the crowd: "They failed. We defeated them. The EFF remains intact."Share

Ventersdorp police made the arrests after an investigation into the attack at a farm in Syferfontein. North West police commissioner Lieutenant General Peter Adams welcomed the arrests in a statement on Saturday night. Captain Bonita Dry leads the investigation.

Police said three masked gunmen allegedly tied up a farmworker and then attacked Marx. Marx remains in hospital in Potchefstroom. Reports said the farmworker's call for help by cellphone may have saved his life.

Ian Cameron, chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Police, congratulated the investigation team. He said the team needed continued operational and specialist support to trace the remaining suspect. Cameron also said: "The contribution of local farm watches deserves particular recognition alongside the work of SAPS."Share

Robert Wiggins, a researcher at What Security in the United Kingdom, found the password in the app's code. The database held customer names, emails, dates of birth, phone numbers and other data. Wiggins said an attacker could also have used the password to change customer data.

Dine Brands, which owns Applebee's, said its security team started an investigation. A spokesperson said the team has not currently found evidence of unauthorized access.

Applebee's had at least 8.5 million rewards members as of last year.Share

Cachalia said the job had to be advertised twice because there was no suitable candidate. He said he wanted someone dynamic and strategic, who the public appreciates.

The minister said he wanted a person able to take the fight to the cartels. He said he believes his decision was the right one.Share

NPA spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole said the prosecution is satisfied that it has enough evidence. He said the case has reasonable prospects of success.

Mohlatlole said the charges follow an alleged incident involving an e-hailing driver in Edenvale. He said the defence has indicated that it intends to take its representations to the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP).Share

Mncube testified under cross-examination by state prosecutor Dr Ronnie Sibanda on Thursday. He said witnesses described the intruder who shot Meyiwa as having dreadlocks reaching the neck. He said the state describes the killer as light in complexion, which he says does not fit that evidence.

Mncube is one of five accused on trial for the murder of Meyiwa, the former Bafana Bafana captain. Meyiwa was killed in October 2014. Mncube was expected to continue testifying on Friday.Share

Thompson sits in the Northern District of California. Her order expires on 16 November. The United States holds its midterm election on 3 November.

The Justice Department had sought to set aside the ballots of more than 20,000 California voters, saying they might not be citizens. A federal judge rejected that move on Wednesday and called it brazen pre-election interference.

Critics say the administration of President Donald Trump is trying to cast doubt on election results. The order says the defendants "shall not threaten, intimidate or coerce state or local elections officials or workers" over the processing of ballots.Share

The court set bail at R10 000 for each of the two accused. Johnson is the former head of IDAC. Khan was a deputy in crime intelligence before he was dismissed.

Other news on the same day concerned the 4 November municipal elections. The South African Police Service identified 331 high-risk voting stations across the country. A High Court bid over protests in Durban also referred to the election date.Share

The State alleges that in July two of Carrim's employees, Mike Phiri and Ibrahim Zakes, tried to drive two vehicles out of the Beitbridge Border Post. The State says the vehicles were still under finance and that the employees used fraudulent documents. It also alleges that Carrim helped them get the papers.

Carrim, who is 49, was due to join the two men in the dock. He was expected to apply for bail. He remains in custody, although he was granted R100,000 bail in another matter.Share

Binance said about $3bn of the stolen assets had been frozen so far. Tether froze $1.57bn and Circle froze more than $800m. Binance did not mention the status of the remaining $3.3bn.

Binance said an initial investigation suggested the breach may have started with a hacked laptop belonging to an engineer. Co-founder Yi He said the exchange would cover all hacking losses. Binance said user funds remain safe and that it expects to resume withdrawals in the next 48 hours.

Binance.US and Coinbase said they were not affected. Analysts said the attack could make investors rethink the risks of owning digital assets. Tim Sun, a senior researcher at HashKey Group, said it may further dampen risk appetite.

Bitcoin fell to a six-week low of $76,368 and ether to a two-month low of $2,178. Binance has 335-million registered users worldwide.Share

The order bans violence, intimidation, looting, property damage, weapons and face coverings at March and March demonstrations. The police said they needed to preserve police manpower to maintain public safety and secure the elections.

The parties return to court on 18 January to argue a final order. Movement leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma urged supporters to "respect the court's decision but to go out in their numbers to vote".Share

Makoba spoke at a media briefing with Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia and National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola. He said no marches will be allowed on election day.

Recent violent demonstrations in Durban led police to apply for a court order against disruptive demonstrations. Two marches are planned between 2 and 4 November, Makoba said. He said they will take place on Monday and Tuesday, not on Wednesday.

Makoba said: "the law limits such rights of demonstration, particularly on election day". Police and other law enforcement agencies say they are ready to secure the elections.Share