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Protest at Nana's Farm closes N12 in Lenasia

Published

Both directions of the N12 are shut between K43 (Klipspruit Valley Road) and Abubakar Asvat Drive on Monday morning. The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) said officers are on site and the situation is highly tense.

The JMPD urged motorists to avoid the area. Spokesperson Xolani Fihla said: "The situation remains highly tense. Motorists are strictly urged to stay clear of the area for their safety."

Key facts

Who
Xolani Fihla (Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) spokesperson); Johannesburg Metro Police Department (police department controlling the situation on site); Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (police department coordinating traffic clearing); South African Police Service (joint operations partner with JMPD)
What
A protest at Nana's Farm led to road closures in both directions between K43 and Abubakar Asvat Drive in Lenasia, and motorists were urged to avoid the area. The JMPD said officers were on site and the situation remained highly tense.
When
26 October 2026
Where
Lenasia, Nana's Farm, Eldorado Park
Status
Reported

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.

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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.

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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.

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