In a verdict that underscores the severe human and financial toll of sophisticated financial crime, the Bloemfontein High Court has sentenced Sello Cedric Pinkoane (52) to an effective 14 years’ direct imprisonment for orchestrating a multi-million rand fraud that systematically stripped an elderly businesswoman of her life’s savings. Pinkoane was convicted on multiple counts of fraud, uttering…
In a dramatic and emotionally charged turn in one of South Africa’s most sensational criminal cases, Zolile Sekeleni, the father of celebrity aesthetician Dr. Nandipha Magudumana, delivered a courtroom defence that sought to radically reframe his daughter’s role. Testifying in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court amidst ongoing litigation surrounding the audacious May 2022 prison escape of…
In a grim and shocking conclusion to a case that had already horrified a nation, the body of the 39-year-old man wanted in connection with the brutal stabbing deaths of five people, including his 32-year-old partner, was discovered hanged from a tree on Monday in a secluded area of Umzinto on the KZN South Coast….
In a strategic move to solidify one of the Global South’s most consequential scientific partnerships, South Africa and China have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand their Young Scientists Exchange Programme (YSEP) significantly. The agreement, finalised during a high-level bilateral meeting in Beijing this week, aims to catalyse cross-border research collaboration, accelerate…
In his most direct and politically charged address on national identity and social cohesion to date, President Cyril Ramaphosa used the platform of the ANC’s National General Council at the Birchwood Hotel on Monday, 8 December 2025, to launch a robust counter-offensive against what he termed “manufactured and dangerous myths” of the systematic persecution of…
In a significant escalation of the political and legal battle over one of South Africa’s most dysfunctional municipalities, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Free State has formally and unequivocally endorsed a high-stakes court application seeking to carve up the embattled Maluti-a-Phofung (MaP) Local Municipality. The move signals a strategic shift from political criticism to active…
In a decisive legal victory for inventor Nkosana Makate, the Johannesburg High Court on Monday dismissed an urgent application by Black Rock Mining (Pty) Ltd to freeze 40% of his long-awaited, multimillion-rand settlement from Vodacom. Acting Judge Don Mahon ruled that the mining firm had failed to provide any convincing evidence that Makate would dissipate…
The Polokwane Magistrate’s Court has ordered controversial musician and performer Lehlogonolo “Shebeshxt” Chauke to remain in custody, denying his bail application following a tense hearing on Monday. The ruling marks a significant setback for the 30-year-old artist, who now faces spending the entirety of the festive season and beyond behind bars as he awaits trial on a…
The deep-seated internal fissures within the African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng have erupted into a public and vitriolic war of words, with a prominent branch secretary launching a blistering defence of the party’s regional leadership against what he terms a campaign of “divisive and dangerous” xenophobic attacks. Steve Mahopo, the Secretary of the influential…
A terrifying new crime trend is sweeping through Limpopo, turning the trusted community savings system of stokvels into a life-threatening risk for members. This alarming reality was violently underscored in the early hours of Saturday, 6 December 2025, when two armed men forced their way into the home of a 55-year-old woman in Nkowankowa and made off…
