Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°16°CTCT30°17°PretoriaPTA31°17°DurbanDBN27°64%

Cape Town woman fined R250,000 for keeping 145 reptiles

Published

Jacqueline Hewett must pay the fine or serve four years in prison after her conviction for unlawfully possessing and keeping the reptiles. The court also bars her from getting a permit to keep wild animals in captivity in the Western Cape for five years.

Officials found the reptiles at a shop in Observatory and a home in Woodstock during an operation in 2023. Hewett was convicted of unlawful possession and keeping of all 145 animals.

CapeNature said the case shows the environmental risks of illegal wildlife trafficking. Spokesperson Luke Folb said escaped or deliberately released alien reptiles may form invasive populations. He said they can prey on indigenous species and compete for food and habitat.

Folb said the unlawful trade and keeping of reptiles can deplete wild populations. He also said it can bring diseases and parasites to indigenous wildlife.

Key facts

Who
Jacqueline Hewett (Woman convicted of unlawful possession and keeping of reptiles); Luke Folb (CapeNature spokesperson); CapeNature (Conservation authority that commented on the conviction)
What
Jacqueline Hewett was convicted for unlawfully possessing and keeping 145 reptiles, found at a shop in Observatory and a home in Woodstock during a 2023 operation. She was fined R250,000 or sentenced to four years' imprisonment, and the court barred her from obtaining a permit to acquire or keep wild animals in captivity in the Western Cape for five years.
When
28 October 2026
Where
Observatory, Woodstock, Cape Town
Status
Reported

Related stories

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll
  2. IEC says local election voting went largely smoothly
  3. IEC says about 12 million had voted by 5pm

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update