Police in Johannesburg are on high alert after taxi leader Molefe Moekeletsi was shot dead in Marlboro on Thursday afternoon. Moekeletsi, chair of the Alexandra Taxi Association and a director at ABC Transport, died with one bodyguard at the scene. A second bodyguard and a passing motorist were hospitalized with serious injuries. Investigators said the attackers fled in a white Ford Ranger after abandoning a BMW X5 in Alexandra. Authorities asked hospitals and clinics to report patients with bullet wounds as part of the search. The killing is recorded by police as the thirty-ninth taxi-related violent incident this year, with 65 arrests across those cases.
Witnesses reported a daylight ambush. The abandoned BMW had blood on the...
Ekurhuleni Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza said Thursday he has received an internal report on alleged misconduct by Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi and that council processes are underway. Mkhwanazi could face precautionary suspension as the city weighs claims that he helped supply blue lights for the private vehicles of businessman Vusimuzi Cat Matlala. The case follows an urgent motion that pressed for action amid concern about criminal influence in law enforcement in a city of more than 3.5 million residents.
The motion alleges Mkhwanazi arranged the transfer of municipal vehicles to Matlala and enabled blue light fittings. KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi...
Deputy President Paul Mashatile welcomed a KwaZulu-Natal High Court ruling that found former ANC leader and Nobel laureate Chief Albert Luthuli died from assault injuries at the hands of apartheid police, not from a train strike. Judge Nompumelelo Hadebe issued the judgment on Oct. 30, 2025, overturning a 1967 inquest. The National Prosecuting Authority had reopened the case in April 2025 after years of pressure from the family and activists. The court cited forensic findings that Luthuli’s wounds matched blunt force trauma, along with testimony from relatives, experts, and investigators who said the scene appeared staged.
The judgment named several individuals tied to the cover-up, noted that most are deceased or untraceable, and...
A detective testifying at the Madlanga Commission on Oct. 30, 2025, said attempted murder accused Vusimuzi Cat Matlala described paying R80,000 to Major General Richard Shibiri, the national head of organized crime. The account, drawn from a four-hour recording made with Matlala’s consent after his May 14 arrest, also alleged regular payments to senior police figures and funds directed to political events. Shibiri remains in his post. Commission evidence is set for forensic review against bank records and contracts.
The testimony placed Matlala at the center of a network of alleged payoffs tied to protection and interference in cases. Claims referenced suspended Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, a Crime Intelligence...
The family of cousins Tshiamo Moramaga, 22, and Baleseng Moramaga, 21, will bury them Saturday in Luckau village outside Groblersdal after a shooting in Mamelodi East last weekend. A third victim, Desmond Senong, survived and is in the hospital. Police arrested Tebogo Mnisi, 38, who appeared in the Mamelodi Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, abandoned his bail bid, and remains in custody. Investigators say the attack appears linked to a personal dispute, and the inquiry continues.
Mnisi, reported to have dated one victim, faces two counts of premeditated murder, attempted murder, and possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition. The cousins were found Sunday morning with multiple gunshot wounds, according to police. The case has...
The African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal ordered Councilor Sphile Mdaka to resign as deputy mayor of Umkhanyakude with immediate effect, saying his election on Oct. 30, 2025, was not approved by the party and did not reflect its mandate. The directive follows his ouster as mayor on Oct. 3 in a no-confidence vote driven by the Inkatha Freedom Party and National Freedom Party, exposing strains in the province’s Government of Provincial Unity, formed after the May 2024 election produced no majority.
The party praised Mdaka’s prior efforts to stabilize the municipality but said accepting the deputy post undermined accountability. Umkhanyakude, on the border with Mozambique and Eswatini, has battled service failures and financial...
President Donald Trump set a record low refugee ceiling for fiscal 2026 at 7,500 and directed priority to Afrikaners from South Africa and others described as victims of illegal or unjust discrimination. The determination, signed Sept. 30, 2025, marks a sharp cut from the 125,000 level under President Joe Biden in 2024. A White House memo ties the limit to tighter vetting and resettlement priorities and cites executive orders such as 14204.
Advocacy groups call the plan discriminatory and say it sidelines people fleeing major conflicts. In South Africa, responses are split. AfriForum says the move recognizes attacks on farmers, while government officials reject claims of white genocide. Police data cite about 50 farm murders a year, a...
The African National Congress welcomed a KwaZulu-Natal High Court ruling in Pietermaritzburg that found former ANC President General Chief Albert Luthuli was beaten to death by apartheid police in 1967, not killed by a train. In a judgment dated Oct. 30, 2025, Judge Nompumelelo Hadebe set aside the 1967 inquest and held that security branch officers, acting with South African Railway Company staff, murdered Luthuli and staged the scene. The National Prosecuting Authority reopened the inquest in April 2025. Deputy President Paul Mashatile praised the decision and urged a full search for the truth.
The court cited expert findings that Luthuli’s injuries matched severe blunt force trauma, not a rail impact, along with testimony from...
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party has asked for a meeting with National Freedom Party President Ivan Barnes to discuss a planned vote of no confidence in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, a move that could reshape the province’s fragile coalition. In a letter dated Oct. 29, 2025, MK Secretary General Bongani Mncwango called for coordination to oppose the Inkatha Freedom Party-led administration and cited shared aims of social justice, inclusive governance, and economic emancipation.
Tensions have risen inside the Government of Provincial Unity, formed after the May 2024 election produced no majority. The NFP holds one pivotal seat, and party splits threaten the alliance. The motion targets Premier Thami Ntuli, and if it passes, MK could seek to...
