Hawks Arrest Master’s Office Official in R11 million Deceased-Estates Scandal

An employee of the Office of the Master of the High Court is expected to appear before the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday following his arrest in connection with an alleged R11 million fraud involving 15 deceased estates.

The Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team, working alongside the SAPS Provincial Tactical Response Team, arrested the 53-year-old official, who works as an estate controller, on Tuesday.

His arrest marks a significant development in the widening investigation, which has already seen suspendedREAD MORE

The Department of Home Affairs has launched the first phase of a new Digital Asylum System aimed at reducing lengthy processing delays, clearing decades-old backlogs and tightening controls against the abuse of South Africa’s asylum process.

The online platform, which is currently being tested, will allow individuals seeking asylum to register their intention to apply digitally by submitting personal information, facial biometrics and supporting documents.

The department said public registration would begin after its next scheduled software release this comingREAD MORE

Former president Thabo Mbeki has thrown his weight behind calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to step down, saying his resignation would be an appropriate response if reports that he had offered to leave office were true.

Mbeki has also questioned the continued leadership of the ANC’s Top Seven, suggesting that the party’s senior leadership should consider resigning and take responsibility for what he described as a catastrophic period for the organisation and the country.

The Top Seven leaders are Ramaphosa,READ MORE

The System Operator’s new ten-year outlook says South Africa can get through the 2030 coal exit without new gas. Read the assumptions, and the cliff is still there. It’s three years further down the road, and it rests on promises nobody has kept yet.

On 30 October, the National Transmission Company of South Africa published its Medium-Term System Adequacy Outlook. For the first time, it looks ten years ahead, to 2036. The headline is good, and much of it isREAD MORE

Alleged crime kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala is expected to face even tougher questions when he returns to the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday after making explosive allegations about investigators who allegedly wanted him to implicate senior South African Police Service (SAPS) officials.

During his first day of testimony on Monday, the controversial businessman claimed that officials from the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) approached him while he was detained at the C-Max correctional facility in Kokstad, seeking his cooperation in buildingREAD MORE

Ten people have appeared in the Douglas District Court in the Northern Cape facing charges relating to the alleged destruction of Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) election material and obstruction of electoral officials during the 2026 Local Government Elections.

Danfrid Morolong, Bennert Hendricks, Abrich Niewenhuizen, Velaphi Makabe, Tevin Katz, Godwin Leukes, Zenobia Smit, Jennifer Lovern, Elemery Jacobs and Douglas Njiji made their first court appearance on Monday.

They face charges of contravening sections 71(1) and 73(2) of the LocalREAD MORE

Nine Zimbabwean nationals arrested over an alleged attempt to travel from South Africa to participate in the Russia-Ukraine war are expected back in court this week as authorities investigate the circumstances surrounding their alleged involvement in the conflict.

The suspects appeared in two separate Gauteng magistrates’ courts following their arrest during an intelligence-driven operation on Sunday, November 8.

Five of the accused, identified as Weight Mudhanyane, 23, Javangwe Munyaradzi, 41, Wesley Sothole, 24, Abel Muchenje, 40, and Knowledge Ndunduma, 46,READ MORE

The dye is now cast. South Africa’s 2026 local government elections have come and gone. The votes have been counted and the final results declared.

The elections have delivered a clear and unmistakable message: no political party has secured an overwhelming mandate across most municipalities, and coalition governance is once again the defining feature of our democratic landscape. What now remains is the hard business of governing.

As coalition negotiations intensify across municipalities, two factors must guide the national conversation.READ MORE

Nine foreign nationals have been arrested at OR Tambo International Airport and a hotel in Bruma, east of Johannesburg, over an alleged attempt to leave South Africa to participate in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The suspects, aged between 20 and 26, were arrested on Sunday night following an intelligence-driven operation involving the Hawks, Interpol and several local and international law enforcement agencies.

According to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), the suspects were allegedly preparing to board flights out ofREAD MORE

More than half a million rand worth of dagga has been seized by police in Malamulele, Limpopo, following the arrest of a 55-year-old man suspected of dealing in drugs.

The dagga, estimated to be worth R662 400 on the street, was discovered during a joint police operation along the R81 road at Ximuwini (Baobab tree) on Sunday morning.

Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba’s statement issued on Monday indicated that Police officers stopped and searched a red SUV at approximatelyREAD MORE