Ongoing

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

Numsa leaders and regional bosses suspend each other

Published

Regional leaders of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) said at a media briefing that they suspended general secretary Irvin Jim and president Andrew Chirwa. The move followed the national office bearers' suspension of the regional leaders the previous week.

The regional leaders said their special national executive committee took the decision. They named charges of dereliction of duty, conduct that brings the union into disrepute, gross violations of the Numsa constitution and wasteful expenditure. Mbuso Ngubane, a national office bearer, is also among those suspended.

The regional leaders said the national office bearers imposed their suspensions without proper constitutional authority, and that those suspensions must be lifted. They also said the central committee meeting of 23 October was properly constituted and that its decisions remain valid and binding. They said the union's recovery cannot come through factional manoeuvres, intimidation or the undermining of elected structures.

Jim and Chirwa said in a letter that the national office bearers remain the legitimate leadership. The national office bearers said their own special national executive committee resolved to suspend the regional leaders, pending investigations into alleged misconduct. Numsa national spokesperson Mbali Ngwenda was approached for comment.

Reports said the power struggle threatens the credibility of the union. Numsa had about 360,000 members at its peak, before Cosatu expelled it in November 2014.

Key facts

Who
Irvin Jim (General secretary of Numsa, suspended by regional leaders); Andrew Chirwa (President of Numsa, suspended by regional leaders); Mbuso Ngubane (Numsa national office bearer, suspended by regional leaders); Andile Bloko (Numsa regional leader)
What
Numsa's national office bearers suspended regional leaders, who then announced they had suspended the national office bearers, including general secretary Irvin Jim and president Andrew Chirwa. The dispute centres on constitutional authority and internal processes, with the union's leadership described as in limbo.
When
4 November 2026
Where
South Africa
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