Daily Dispatch
Court blow for metro officials in R21m Covid tender case
Two senior Buffalo City Metro officials implicated in alleged irregularities in a R21m Covid-19 housing tender may finally face disciplinary action after losing an urgent court bid to stop the process against them. The Makhanda high court this week...
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Battered Eastern Cape braces for more relentless rainfall
Heavy rain, gale-force winds and floodwaters battered parts of the Eastern Cape on Tuesday night and Wednesday, forcing dozens of schools to close, flooding homes and roads, triggering evacuations and disrupting flights. Gqeberha has been one of the...
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Airport chaos as bad weather, system upgrades delay flights
Hundreds of passengers were left stranded at the King Phalo Airport in Kugompo City on Tuesday after flights were cancelled, delayed or diverted amid bad weather and temporary navigation system constraints. Travellers missed key commitments, including...
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SIU visited Botha Sigcau building hours before blaze
The Special Investigating Unit said its investigators were inside the Botha Sigcau building in Mthatha hours before a fire gutted the 11-storey government complex, but says it cannot link its visit to the blaze while investigations into the cause are...
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BCM remains under financial cosh despite modest turnaround
The Buffalo City Metro remains under severe financial pressure, with a debtors’ book of almost R10bn and widening electricity losses, despite signs of improvement in its overall financial performance. The caution has been issued by an independent...
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Potential new Highgate massacre eyewitness raises survivors’ hopes
A possible new eyewitness has emerged in the decades-old Highgate Hotel massacre case, raising fresh hopes — and new questions — about one of the Eastern Cape’s most notorious apartheid-era killings. More than three decades after five people were shot...
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People of EC deserve more than symbolic gestures and political theatre
There is something profoundly unsettling about the enduring crisis of governance in the Eastern Cape, a province fondly known as the Home of Legends. Despite being the secondlargest province in SA by land area, it remains one of the poorest, most...
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Future of historic school shrouded in uncertainty
Sale of Southernwood property leaves hundreds of St Anne’s Primary pupils, staff in limbo The future of the historic St Anne’s Primary School in Southernwood is in doubt as the property it occupies has been sold to another school, leaving more than...
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E Cape in grip of youth crime crisis
Nearly 600 teenagers are being held in Eastern Cape juvenile correctional facilities for serious violent crimes including murder and rape, raising alarm over the scale and severity of youth offending in the province. Figures provided by the department...
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Gonubie landmark in eye of rezoning storm
A storm is brewing over a proposal to convert a Buffalo City Metro beachfront hotel into a mental wellness clinic. At the centre of the controversy is the future of the Bluewaters Hotel in Gonubie, which is on the market for more than R17m. Residents...
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Bid on the table for BCM to host Cosafa Cup
Buffalo City Metro could host the Cosafa Cup for the first time, with talks under way to bring the 14-nation regional football tournament — including Bafana Bafana — to Kugompo City. The potential bid hinges on intended discussions between BCM and the...
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Persistent water leak damaging Baby Lee Jegels beachfront facility
Residents and visitors have raised concern over a persistent water leak at the Leighandre “Baby Lee” Jegels Recreational Park, warning that it is damaging the multimillion-rand facility. The leak, which residents say has been an ongoing problem, has...
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Body of slain young woman returned home in wheelbarrow
The brutal slaying of a 26-year-old mother of two has left two families in grief and a close-knit community demanding answers. Fikiswa Madolwana, a mother of two children aged nine and six years, was killed at the weekend. Her body was buried in a...
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Community renews calls for justice as little Kenisha, 7, is laid to rest
Grief and anger have gripped Parkside residents, with renewed calls for justice, following the burial of seven-year-old Kenisha Thompson, with community members warning that children in the area remained at risk. Kenisha was raped and murdered, and...
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Malema slams magistrate, prosecutor after sentencing
EFF leader Julius Malema has escalated his fight to beyond the courtroom and is now gunning for the magistrate and prosecutor who convicted him as he prepares to challenge his five-year prison sentence. In a blistering attack after his sentencing,...
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Firearm case against Malema disrupts EFF’S election plans, party admits
The EFF has conceded that the ongoing firearm case against its leader Julius Malema could disrupt the party’s preparations for this year’s local government elections, regardless of the outcome of the court process. Party secretary-general Marshall...
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City braces for influx as Julius Malema’s fate hangs in balance
Thousands of EFF supporters are expected to descend on Kugompo City over the next two days as party leader Julius Malema returns to court for proceedings that could determine his political future. While the party says it will not bus in supporters...
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Child murder accused under scrutiny over 2017 cold case
The man accused of the kidnapping, rape and murder of seven-year-old Kenisha Thompson abandoned his bail application on Monday after it emerged that he was under scrutiny over a similar murder committed nine years ago. Police are investigating whether...
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Overgrown BCM cemeteries turned into crime hotspots
Families across Buffalo City say they are too afraid to visit the graves of their loved ones, as overgrown and poorly maintained cemeteries become crime hotspots where visitors risk being attacked. Across the metro, residents describe burial sites...
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Calls for new probe into former top cop’s death
A fresh bid for a “full and transparent” parliamentary inquiry into the death of former Eastern Cape top cop Lt-gen Sindile Mfazi has emerged, following explosive revelations about the circumstances surrounding his death and the investigations he was...
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ANC defectors spell out why they jumped ship
The three Buffalo City councillors who jumped ship from the ANC to join the Patriotic Alliance have accused the ruling party’s regional leadership of manipulation and interference, adding that service delivery was being compromised. In a shocking...
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New flashpoint in oil prospecting rights battle
The Eastern Cape government has been quietly pressing ahead with its ambitions to join the continent’s oil- and gas-producing club, with potential new mining operations along its coast viewed as its next economic pillar. This is despite resistance...
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Scores of mentally ill patients in jail cell limbo
More than 100 mentally ill patients in the Eastern Cape are being held in prisons despite being declared unfit to stand trial, as a shortage of beds in psychiatric wards leaves them in legal and medical limbo. Nationally, 3,415 state patients are...
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Protest over ‘Nigerian king’ erupts into violence in Buffalo City CBD
A peaceful march through the CBD turned violent on Monday as protesters objecting to foreign influence in Buffalo City Metro began smashing and setting fire to foreign-owned vehicles and businesses. Police used stun grenades and teargas to quell the...
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Eviction sword hangs over pensioners
A shortage of care facilities for the elderly in Kugompo City is leaving vulnerable pensioners with few options — with dozens now facing eviction from a retirement home set to close. At least 42 residents of Manor House, a retirement facility in...
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ANC defies court interdict to push ahead with E Cape conference
The ANC in the Eastern Cape will proceed with its highstakes provincial elective conference this weekend despite a high court interdict and threats of contempt of court proceedings. The party confirmed late on Thursday that it would go ahead with the...
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Botha Sigcau Building had been declared unsafe
The Botha Sigcau Building in Mthatha — gutted by fire on Tuesday night — had previously been declared unsafe for occupation, with officials warning of serious safety failures, including the impossibility of conducting fire drills. The historic...
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Households brace for fuel price misery
Households and businesses are bracing for a severe cost shock as South Africa faces what is expected to be the largest fuel price increase on record next week. Latest projections from the Central Energy Fund point to a hike of R5.62 per litre for 95...
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Legal showdown threatens to halt high-stakes E Cape ANC conference
A last-minute court bid threatens to derail the high-stakes battle for control of the Eastern Cape ANC and throw this weekend’s provincial elective conference into disarray. In a further twist, ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi late on...
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BCM’S libraries stand tall amid declining public services
Libraries in the Buffalo City Metro are emerging as some of the city’s most functional and accessible public assets, even as a lack of resources, security concerns and patchy operations affect services at some sites. These issues were brought into...
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Trashed, neglected amenities just days away from Easter weekend
Locked toilets, overgrown surroundings and used toilet paper scattered on the ground — this is the scene welcoming visitors and residents to busy local leisure spots this week. Bonza Bay Beach and the nearby Batting Bridge picnic site draw steady...
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Dairy farmer’s fury at state’s handling of disease outbreak
“Farmers are fighting to save their animals. Your department is still fighting paperwork.” Those are the words of Eastern Cape dairy farmer Edgar Brotherton, whose open letter to agriculture minister John Steenhuisen lays bare the devastating toll of...
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Taps run dry in large parts of metro
As the district swelters through a heatwave, residents across Kugompo City are enduring days — in some cases more than a week — without reliable water, forcing families to queue for tankers, rely on neighbours and consider using swimming pool water to...
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EC to roll out groundbreaking HIV prevention jab at 49 clinics
Thousands of Eastern Cape residents will soon be able to protect themselves against HIV with just two injections a year, as the provincial department of health begins rolling out a new long-acting prevention treatment aimed at reducing infections. The...
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R9bn boost to EC health, housing and education
The Eastern Cape government has committed more than R9bn towards public infrastructure projects, including upgrading schools, modernising hospitals and fixing roads. Delivering his budget speech in the Bhisho legislature on Friday, finance MEC...
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Fury over ANC man’s three-year ‘rent-free’ beachfront chalet stay
An Eastern Cape ANC councillor may find himself in hot water for allegedly living rentfree for the past three years in a beachfront chalet in Kugompo City. The chalet is situated in the Gonubie Caravan Park Resort, which is owned by the Buffalo City...
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Thousands object to name changes —‘but petitions don’t count’
Tens of thousands of objections have been lodged against plans to rename five Eastern Cape towns — but the South African Geographical Names Council says petitions and signature campaigns do not constitute formal objections. Sport, arts & culture...
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Eastern Cape intensifies fight against foot-and-mouth havoc
More than 90,000 cattle have been vaccinated in the Eastern Cape in a single week as authorities race to contain the highly contagious foot-andmouth disease (FMD), but some farmers say the rollout has yet to reach their herds. The outbreak has spread...
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Plan to convert old post office into council chambers
The 100-member Buffalo City Metro council, with its seat currently at the East London City Hall, could get a new home. The city is looking into acquiring an old, abandoned and slightly vandalised historic building in the city centre to possibly use as...
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IEC puts Faku, ANC under the microscope
Buffalo City Metro mayor Princess Faku and the Eastern Cape ANC are being investigated by the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) over allegations of misrepresentation and misuse of municipal resources for election purposes. They have strenuously denied...
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Fatal stabbing in teen fight triggers crackdown at Eastern Cape school
Authorities have announced random police searches, counselling programmes and intervention by community leaders at an Eastern Cape school after the fatal stabbing of a pupil during a fight linked to football rivalry. The measures were announced on...
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Abandoned Water World project set for R200m shot in the arm
The national government is set to inject an additional R200m into Buffalo City Metro’s troubled Water World Fun Park project, premier Oscar Mabuyane confirmed on Wednesday — despite more than R120m already spent on the stalled development. However,...
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Metro eyes homestays for World Cup rush
Buffalo City Metro mayor Princess Faku has called on the city’s homeowners to consider converting their homes to bedand-breakfast rentals to help meet accommodation demands ahead of the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup. Faku said the city’s accommodation...
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Eastern Cape looks to China to rescue motor industry
The Eastern Cape is turning to China in a high-stakes bid to secure the future of its automotive sector, as a R430m commercial vehicle investor prepares to establish operations at the East London Industrial Development Zone. The investment...
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Education a priority, with largest share of 2026/2027 budget
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has placed education at the centre of the 2026/2027 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF), with basic education emerging as a clear funding priority. For this MTEF, education (basic and higher departments) and...
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Move over, Black Mambas, here come the Wild Coast’s Green Griffons
Nine Eastern Cape women are doing a tough basic training course to become the first all-women squad of field rangers on the Wild Coast — and the first in the province. Based on the pioneering Black Mambas from the Greater Kruger National Park, the...
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Prepaid electricity sales disrupted by ‘cyber attack ’
Residents and businesses across several Eastern Cape municipalities, including Buffalo City, were unable to buy prepaid electricity over the weekend after a technical failure linked to an attempted cyber attack disrupted online vending systems. The...
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SCHOOL OF BROKEN DREAMS
Pupils at a dangerously dilapidated Eastern Cape high school lose at least two hours of precious time in the classroom each day because of limited space. With only seven classrooms available for 280 pupils, teachers at Lukhozi High School have little...
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New move to scrap Mdantsane’s apartheid-era ‘native units’
A long-running push to scrap Mdantsane’s apartheid-era “native unit” (NU) designations is back on the table, after the decision to officially rename East London to Kugompo City — along with changes to major roads, suburbs, a hospital and even the...
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Failing facilities threaten to sink metro’s winter games hosting bid
Buffalo City could lose out on hosting the Winter National School Sport Championships after national inspectors raised concerns about the state of sporting facilities during a site visit in East London this week. Officials from the national department...
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King Phalo Airport set for R450m lift-off
East London’s King Phalo Airport is set to undergo a R450m “modernisation” as part of a R22bn capital investment in airports across the country. The investment programme is being driven by Airports Company SA (Acsa). King Phalo Airport will celebrate...
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Private residence landlords accuse student leaders of extortion racket
Several landlords of private student accommodation across the Eastern Cape have alleged extortion by some student leaders, claiming they are being forced to pay monthly kickbacks to secure student placements in their residences. The landlords, who did...
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Games go on while BCM’S sports club facilities lie in ruins
The vandalised clubhouse at the United Cricket Club field in Buffalo Flats is the latest example of a pattern of decay and destruction that has plagued Buffalo City Metro’s public facilities for years. More than 200 primary school pupils competed at...
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SA to vaccinate 14-million cattle
President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that his government will vaccinate all the country’s cattle amid the biggest outbreak of foot-andmouth disease South Africa has experienced. Speaking during his State of the Nation Address on Thursday, Ramaphosa...
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Health must resume lump-sum payouts for medical negligence
The Eastern Cape department of health will in future have to resume paying the massive “once-and-for-all” lump sums it incurs as a result of medical negligence after the Supreme Court of Appeal on Wednesday ruled it must do so. At the centre of this...
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Kidd’s Beach private estate homeowners left high and dry
Despite paying their monthly bills, about 450 homeowners and businesses in a multimillion-rand property development in the Buffalo City Metro have gone nearly three months without a consistent water supply. Homeowners across the Kidd’s Beach private...
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Petition battle brews over East London’s new name
Two nonprofit organisations are hoping to obtain 8,000 signatures this week to challenge the renaming of East London to Kugompo City, which has been officially gazetted. The organisations are claiming no proper consultations were held despite numerous...
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Underfire BCM bosses sue to halt discipline
Three Buffalo City Metro administration bosses are taking the council to court to prevent it from taking disciplinary action against them over allegations of irregular procurement of temporary housing units during the Covid-19 pandemic. Six officials...
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Auction of BCM’S vehicles on hold — for now
Buffalo City Metro has managed to save part of its fleet of vehicles from going under the hammer just a week before they were set to be auctioned. On Thursday, the East London high court stymied moves by boxing promoter and former ANCYL hotshot Ayanda...
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Awaiting-trial prisoners slip through police custody gaps
Nearly half of the 167 awaitingtrial prisoners who have escaped from police custody in the Eastern Cape over the past four years are still at large — a situation experts and politicians warn is placing communities at serious risk. These figures...
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R900m shortfall sparks court battle as EC schools fight chronic underfunding
The Eastern Cape education department has shortchanged government schools out of billions of rands since 2020 and a civil society organisation and some schools based in Makhanda have had enough. The Makhanda Circle of Unity and school governing bodies...
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Probe flags 23 in R71m pool fiasco
Buffalo City Metro’s disciplinary board has recommended that action be taken against at least 23 current and former city officials in connection with the failed multimillion-rand Mdantsane swimming pool precinct. They are suspected of possible...
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The story of Kugompo: how a wave and a rock inspired EL's new name
The name Kugompo City, proposed as the new official name for East London, has roots that stretch back to the late 1800s. Bonisile Grey, who submitted the proposal, said Kugompo was the original name for the region, inspired by the sound of waves...
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Patients at risk at crumbling clinics
Healthcare facilities across the Buffalo City Metro and Chris Hani district are battling crumbling infrastructure, weak security and staff shortages that are undermining service delivery and putting the safety of patients at risk. The extent of the...
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Bye East London, hello Kugompo City
East London will officially become Kugompo City, while Graaff-reinet is to be renamed Robert Sobukwe Town. Sport, arts & culture minister Gayton Mckenzie has approved 21 more geographical name changes across SA. The changes, which follow nationwide...
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Admissions crisis at Eastern Cape universities
The future for many of the more than 44,000 Eastern Cape matriculants who achieved bachelor’s passes in their 2025 exams may not be at a university. The province’s four universities, and many others across SA, are struggling to keep up with the demand...
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Orcas chase great whites to EC waters
Great white sharks have migrated from Cape Town to the Eastern Cape coast, with high numbers reported in Chintsa Bay, researchers have found. Fifteen great whites were found in Chintsa Bay between January 17 and 19 by a fivemember team of Western Cape...
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Roads closed, buses roll in as Malema returns to court
East London roads have been cordoned off, with hundreds of EFF supporters from across the country shuttled to the city on Thursday, ahead of Julius Malema’s sentencing proceedings in the city’s regional court. Malema has been found guilty of charges...
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Unpaid hospital gas bills spark R360m lawsuit against state
The state faces a lawsuit from an essential national health service provider claiming R360m in unpaid invoices, some from eight years ago, adding to the departments’ troubles after the auditor-general recently flagged eight provinces for R24bn in...
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