Sowetan

A DISORDER WEEK OF

A vehicle transporting school children bursting into flames; a bakkie crashing into a bus ferrying 109 pupils; 60 vehicles impounded; and the driver behind the deadly scholar transport crash in the Vaal charged with 14 murders. These are the troubling...

New ticketing system hiccups

Spectators who attended Tuesday’s league fixture between Kaizer Chiefs and Golden Arrows at FNB Stadium couldn’t hide their frustration at the venue’s new ticketing system, with many calling for it to be scrapped as they fear the delays it caused could...

ZAMA-ZAMA 600 FLEE HOMES TERROR,

Violence and extortion by zama-zamas forced more than 400 families to flee the Sporong informal settlement in Randfontein to a community hall, where they now live under cramped and unhygienic conditions. Thirteen days ago, more than 600 people left...

CATASTROPHE

The body of 45-year-old Esther Mathenjwa, who was swept away in a stream on Wednesday night, has been recovered by community members in Msholozi village outside Mbombela in Mpumalanga. Mathenjwa was returning home at about 9pm when she was overpowered...

HEROES BEHIND MATRIC SUCCESS

Lerato Ramabodu is on cloud nine after nailing another 100% pass rate in physical science for his matric class of 2025. This is a feat he has achieved since 2017 when he started teaching the subject. Ramabodu, 31, was born in Phomolong near Hennenman...

FAMILIES PUSHED TO THE BRINK

CYRIL FLIES INTO SERVICE DELIVERY MESS

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday questioned his team on whether the homes he was made to visit during his door-to-door in Rustenburg were not told what to say to him prior to his arrival. Although he said it in jest, Ramaphosa – confronted with...

‘Don’t worry, US will not invade SA’

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has a tense relationship with US president Donald Trump over the claims of a “white genocide” in SA, says he’s not worried about any possible invasion by the US. This comes after the US conducted a military strike...

RAMAPHOSA UNSCATHED EMERGES

President Cyril Ramaphosa used the closing session of the ANC’s national general council (NGC) to defend the party’s decision to continue the government of national unity (GNU), warning that elements within the coalition were attempting to dilute the...

SANDLANA'S 3 IDs LEAP OF FAITH

Mike Sandlana, the leader of a faction of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) – whose nationality is also a subject of police investigation – has three dubious IDs, one registered on a date that does not exist. These revelations were...

DUMPSITE ALEX’S CARS, BODIES FOR

Bodies, an abandoned Ferrari, and a money safe left behind by criminals. These are some of the peculiar discoveries previously made at the notorious rubbish dumping site in Alexandra, where a vehicle linked to Witness D’s killing was found this...

HOW LAWYER SCAMMED HOMEBUYERS

A disbarred lawyer who is accused of scamming prospective home buyers of their hard-earned money is now facing five more charges related to fraud and is said to be a person of interest in at least 20 other cases. Emoldah Manamela, a former...

IN THE KNOW, ON THE MOVE

The South African men’s team, the Blitzbok, celebrate winning the men’s final of the HSBC SVNS Cape Town at DHL Stadium yesterday. SA narrowly beat Argentina 21-19 in the final.

President Ramaphosa Rand Water commended

President Ramaphosa commended Rand Water for its "excellent, proficient, and effective work," and congratulated the team for creating 871 jobs and training 2,000 community members in construction and other skills #TellingTheRandWaterGreatStories

HOW MKHWANAZI GAVE CAT FREE PASS

Suspended Ekurhuleni metro police department (EMPD) deputy chief Brig Julius Mkhwanazi has admitted to the Madlanga commission he entered into an agreement with attempted murder accused and tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala without any...

Suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu, chats with his legal team led by Adv Tembeka Ngcukaitobi at the Madlanga commission in Pretoria.

Suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu started his testimony at the Madlanga commission yesterday by saying he has never been accused of corruption until July 6. On that Sunday morning, Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, in a media briefieng, told the nation...

TWO FAMILIES’ DREAMS SHATTERED

Plans were afoot for slain Const Maselelo Montja to conclude lobola negotiations on December 6, where there would be celebration and joy. His family and that of his partner had planned that after negotiations were finalised, there would be a huge...

CYRIL CALLS TRUMP BLUFF ON G20

“We must make it clear that South Africa is one of the founding members of the G20, and South Africa is therefore a member of the G20 in its own name and right. We will continue to participate as a full, active and constructive member of the...

ADMITS, DENIES, FORGETS

“No, no, no. I can’t remember. If that’s what you say. I don’t agree.” These words of denial, disagreement and claims of amnesia themed tenderpreneur and attempted murder accused Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s testimony at the ad hoc committee probing...

CAT LOOK DRAGGED WHAT THE IN

Tenderpreneur and attempted murder accused Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has accused Bheki Cele of lying and claimed he had given the former police minister R500,000 in cash. Matlala told the parliamentary ad hoc committee sitting at Kgosi Mampuru II...

FIGHT VICTIM’S IN FLOODWATERS 15-HOUR

One of the divers who rescued a woman after she spent more than 12 hours clinging to a branch of a tree in an overflowing Free State river says she was barely hanging on, with her entire body submerged and only her face above the water. Phuthaditjhaba...

‘MOM, WE’RE LOSING HOPE’

“We are getting by, even though it’s painful, but hope is starting to disappear.” This is part of a voice note that an MK Party military training recruit sent to his 69-year-old mother, Phumla Zuma, on WhatsApp after finding himself being deployed in...

TEEN TAKES OWN LIFE AFTER ABUSE

A grieving Mpumalanga father has been left with unanswered questions after his 16-year-old daughter took her life shortly after telling him that she had just been sexually assaulted. In addition to having to deal with his daughter’s suicide, he ended...

‘YOU‘RE FIT, CAN BE MAKOTI’

“You are fit and you would make a perfect makoti for my family.” This is what a grade 10 teacher allegedly told one of his pupils repeatedly during class at Boksburg High School in Ekurhuleni last year. The comments led to the teacher’s dismal...

MKHWANAZI’S SHIELD CRUMBLES

Almost a year after Ekurhuleni police boss Brig Julius Mkhwanazi was charged with dishonesty and entering into questionable deals with tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, a report commissioned by the metro whitewashed the serious charges he was...

HOW FIRE WIPED OUT TEEN’S FAMILY

Hours after a fire ravaged his home, killing his parents and three siblings, the 19-year-old sole survivor spent yesterday morning sifting through the ashes trying to salvage whatever he could from the rubble that once was his family home. Among the...

SURGE IN POLITICAL KILLINGS

In the days leading up to his killing, KwaZulu-Natal’s Mandeni councillor Phendukani Mabhida had written a letter to the council alleging corruption. He would later receive a threatening call, warning him his days were numbered. In the letter which...

EMFULENI SEWAGE SPILL THREAT TO JOBS

A collapsed sewer line is threatening operations of businesses in Emfuleni in the Vaal with one owner revealing this week that he stands to lose his chicken franchise license owing to poor hygienic conditions in the premises where he operates. The...

BABY LABOUR DIES ROOM FROM FALL

A Soweto mother is demanding justice after her newborn baby died just nine days after she gave birth, claiming it was due to negligence by clinic staff. Phumla Gubudela alleges that a nurse at Zola Clinic instructed her to stand up during the last...

MOGOTSI’S STAGE FRIGHT

It was just after 9pm on Monday night when a couple sitting outside their home in Vosloorus witnessed a red Chevrolet travelling at high speed suddenly went off the road and screeched to a halt in an open space. Moments later, the sole occupant of the...

PAROLEE DEMANDS TAXIS PAY ‘PROTECTION FEE’

A convicted criminal on parole has been accused of extorting taxi drivers in Bronkhorstspruit, a town 50km east of Pretoria, and making them pay R30 for every load of passengers they pick up at the taxi rank. The taxi drivers, who are members of the...

World Cup heartbreak for Proteas

India beat SA by 52 runs to win the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup final last night, writing their way into the history books by winning their first title. Chasing 299, SA looked in contention at one stage, but Deepti Sharma’s breakthrough sparked a...

WORKER ELECTRICAL SHOCK SPARKS HOSPITAL PROTEST

Fed-up kitchen staff at the Sebokeng Hospital in Gauteng downed tools yesterday after one of their colleagues was shocked allegedly by an exposed live electrical wire while washing pots. Their protest forced the hospital CEO, Dr Peter Motlhaoleng, and...

UNHOLY HEIST

A day before robbers pulled an audicious robbery at the Bryanston Methodist Church, worshippers had gathered for a Rhona service Malihambe! — a thanksgiving where congregants pledged thousands of rands in offerings. This is according to insiders who...

R310M RANK GETS INCOMPLETE R46M

After spending R310.7m for building a double storey taxi rank that remains unusable 14 years later, the Limpopo government has committed another R46.9m for its completion. The facility in the Thohoyandou CBD, billed a “game-changer that would enhance...

42 STAFF TO TEST 29 000 GUNS

Because of the staggering backlog of ballistic testing staff, it took police over a year to link five guns to nearly 30 serious crimes, including more than 20 murders, two attempted murders and four cash-in-transit robberies. The murders include that...

Queen Qhawe takes crown for kids with learning difficulties

Qhawekazi Mazaleni from Gonubie, East London, was crowned Miss SA at the weekend. In her first interview as the titleholder, she speaks to Sowetan about her plans: Sowetan: How was it like waking up this morning (Sunday)? Mazaleni: It only started to...

CELE LINKS MATLALA TO MCHUNU’S PRESIDENTIAL BID

ANC succession battles have been thrust into the centre of allegations of corruption among the police’s top brass. This comes after former police minister Bheki Cele revealed that his successor Senzo Mchunu’s political ambitions to become ANC...

SHUT LESUFI DOWN WAS AMAPANYAZA PUSHED TO

The now dissolved Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens (CPW), also known as Amapanyaza, did not have powers to exercise police work. The Gauteng government acted outside the law in establishing the law enforcement unit. This is the view of the Public...

MENTAL HEALTH TOLL SPARKS TEACHER EXODUS

At least 60 Gauteng educators cited mental health issues for taking early retirement between 2023 and 2024, while 1,599 across SA quit early due to ill-health and stress during the same period. The Gauteng education department said at least 261...

OFFERED ‘TOP COP US ENVELOPES’

A police officer has told the Madlanga commission that a top Gauteng cop told him and his two colleagues there were “envelopes” for them to not oppose bail in the case of suspects accused of killing Vereeniging engineer Armand swart. Testifying...

JOBURG STREET TRADE CLAMPDOWN

The City of Johannesburg is cracking down on non-compliant traders in the inner city in an effort to enforce by-laws. So far, about 2,000 informal traders have heeded the city’s call to acquire trading permits since registration began two weeks...

WHY HAD TASK TO GO TEAM

The political killings task team (PKTT) had to be disbanded because the ministry of police could not keep funding a unit that was only operating in one corner of the country while people were being murdered all over SA. This is according to suspended...

HUNGER STALKS GAUTENG PUPILS

Thousands of pupils are without food at Gauteng schools because of a bungle in the delivery of supplies and nonpayment of contractors by the provincial department of education. One of nine schools in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni is now considering suspending...

Ex-RAF boss spent R150k a month on car, security

A rental BMW 5 Series, R150,000 a month towards a private security detail, and hotel accommodation – these are among perks allegedly enjoyed by former Road Accident Fund (RAF) CEO Collins Letsoalo. Testifying before the standing committee on public...

‘SPEEDING AND OVERLOADED’

One of the people who survived the Limpopo bus crash that claimed 42 lives says moments before the accident, the driver had been speeding and narrowly escaped a head-on collision. “I saw it with my own eyes. The bus was travelling at high speed and he...

GAUTENG’S STARVING CHILDREN SHAME

More than 200 cases of children battling malnutrition have been recorded in children at a clinic in Olievenhoutbosch Extension 13, though there is a food bank 40km away, which distributes up to 700 food parcels daily. These 224 cases are the highest...

DAGGERS DRAWN

The chief of staff of suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu says members of a political killings task team who were sent to his home by Lt-Gen Fannie Masemola assaulted his brother in a case of mistaken identity. Cedric Nkabinde revealed this at a...

‘AMAPANYAZA ARE ILLEGAL’

The formation of the Gauteng crime prevention wardens, commonly known as amapanyaza, two years ago, was illegal and should never have happened. This is according to KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who told an ad hoc...

PLAN TO PUSH R370 EARNERS TO BUSINESS

The government is considering repurposing the social relief of distress (SRD) grant, with a proposal to pay out a lump sum to recipients who prefer to start businesses as part of a strategy to promote entrepreneurship. This ambitious proposal is one...

Bayede! SCA confirms King Misuzulu as rightful heir

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has validated the recognition of Misuzulu kaZwelithini as the Zulu king. In a judgment delivered yesterday, the court ruled that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recognition of Misuzulu as king was lawful. It also rejected...

Protesters took to the streets of Lenasia,

The department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) has sent a specialist team to Israel to negotiate release of six detained SA activists. In a short statement yesterday afternoon, ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said: “Today, our...

ON ‘UN ISRAEL’ MUST ACT

● Ndaba Mandela says family is lobbying Israel’s allies in the US to secure release of campaigners including Mandla Mandela

IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF THE END?

Should EFF leader Julius Malema – who has been found guilty of discharging a rifle during a rally in the Eastern Cape – be sentenced to more than a year’s imprisonment without an option of a fine, he will be removed as an MP. Section 47 of the...

Mokoena saga: Safa ‘not worried about losing points’

Confirming they’d received a letter from Fifa notifying them that the global football governing body had opened a probe into the fielding of ineligible Teboho Mokoena, Safa CEO Lydia Monyepao has insisted the association “wasn’t really concerned” about...

OVER CATFIGHT MILLIONS DD’S

A bitter legal battle over David Mabuza’s R44m pension has laid bare an ugly family feud littered with allegations that his widow committed fraud by obtaining a marriage certificate after his death. This is contained in papers by Emunah Silinda — who...

MOMENT OF TRUTH

KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has filed a R5m defamation lawsuit against forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan and has demanded that he retract allegations made against him. Mkhwanazi, who is expected to take the stand on...

'PRAISING DA IS SABOTAGE TO ANC’

SA is trapped in a negative cycle in which subdued growth and weak investor confidence push the Reserve Bank to keep interest rates high to attract capital inflows, ratings agency Moody’s warns. Those high rates, in turn, stifle domestic investment,...

GAUTENG SHACK CRISIS

There are almost 1,000 informal settlements in three Gauteng metros, and officials are battling to curb the scourge of mushrooming shacks. Tshwane has recorded the highest number, with 502 informal settlements, followed by Johannesburg with 352 and...

PIRATES ON THE BRINK OF HISTORY

Guest houses in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, are calling for more sporting events in the city because they give their businesses a welcome boost. Tomorrow, MTN8 defending champions Orlando Pirates go up against Stellenbosch FC at the sold-out Mbombela...

ANGER OVER 3 HOURS A DAY SCHOOL

Pupils at the new Tshepong Secondary School in Evaton, in the Vaal, only get three hours of lessons a day due to the lack of water, sanitation and electricity. While normal secondary school day lasts up to six hours, Tshepong pupils spend half the...

Road to World Cup: one foot in

Bafana Bafana are three points away from confirming their place at next year’s Fifa World Cup after playing to a 1-1 draw with Nigeria here last night. With two games remaining against Zimbabwe and Rwanda, both at home, a win will be enough to see...

Let’s finish it off, Bafana

With Bafana Bafana in spitting distance of qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, coach Hugo Broos wants them to go all out for a win when they host Nigeria at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein this evening (6pm). Bafana will qualify for the World...

WORKERS IN PANIC OVER JOB CUTS

Ten thousand people lost their jobs in SA’s engineering sector in the past six years – an average of five employees a day. The National Employers’ Association of SA (Neasa) said poor economic conditions and unaffordable wage rates have cut membership...

Storm over Monare’s isiphandla ’red card’

Confusion and controversy reign in the PSL over isiphandla, a traditional bracelet crafted from skin of a ceremonial goat. After some players had been allowed to take to the field wearing it in Betway Premiership matches, last week a referee bizarrely...

HOW SUSPECT HEIST TRICKED COPS

As police raided a property believed to be a safe house for cash-in-transit (CIT) robbers, one man jumped barefoot over the wall and into a neighbour’s yard and quickly hid a gun in a dog’s kennel. He then pretended to be a concerned neighbour as he...

4 DODGY PAYMENTS AND A FUNERAL

Exactly an hour and three minutes before murder and attempted murder accused Tiego Floyd Mabusela’s mother died, businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala transferred R100,000 into Mabusela’s daughter’s bank account. This was revealed by state prosecutor...

KWANELE!

● Judge says society is sick and tired of the violence against children as killer and rapist of Amantle (6) gets two life sentences ● Two more charges of murder involving kids added to woman accused in Bontle’s (6) killing, as mom expresses frustration...

FIGHT TO HELP ABANDONED BABIES

Organisations rescuing abandoned babies are fighting to keep their doors open after the government threatened to shut them and remove children from their care. Baby Savers SA, under which rescue organisations such as Door of Hope fall, secured a...

E-HAILING DRIVER’S FAMILY STILL AWAITS HIS REMAINS

It has been 16 days since e-hailing driver Mthokozisi Mvelase was shot and set alight in his vehicle at Maponya Mall in Soweto, and his family has not received his remains. His mother has not yet accepted that he is dead. The family said they had been...

LAWYER BANNED FOR RAF THIEVING

Joburg lawyer Arnold Mkhabela, notorious for stealing from his clients who were mostly Road Accident Fund (RAF) claimants, has been banned from practicing as a lawyer. The Pretoria high court found last week that Mkhabela was not a fit and proper...

Back to custody...

A police officer gives crime suspect Vusimuzi "Cat” Matlala a hand as he climbs into a police vehicle outside the Alexandra magistrate’s court yesterday. Among other charges, Matlala is accused of the attempted murder of his ex-lover and TV...