Sibiya Bail Hearing Rocked by Explosive Allegations of Grooming, Witness Interference

Suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya’s formal bail application was rocked by a series of explosive allegations on Thursday, including claims that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with a 16-year-old girl, that people close to him attempted to contact a complainant and that his lawyer’s actions may have helped him avoid arrest.

The Randburg Magistrates’ Court heard detailed evidence from the investigating officer as the State continued opposing bail for the 59-year-old senior police officer, whoREAD MORE

BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — A grinning “boy” in sleek VR goggles stretches out his arm, pointing a finger forward. The plant sculpture in central Beijing has become a popular photo spot, with visitors striking the same pose as the “boy” for the camera.

The sculpture is one of 10 themed floral displays installed along a roughly 6-km stretch of Chang’an Avenue, Beijing’s main east-west thoroughfare, ahead of the National Day holiday, which begins on Oct. 1. ItREAD MORE

A 27-year-old woman was found brutally killed in Lebotloane, Moretele, in the early hours of Thursday, just hours after President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on the escalating crisis of gender-based violence and femicide.

The woman was found lying in a pool of blood in the village on October 1, with police now searching for a suspect in connection with her death.

The killing has sent shockwaves through the Moretele community, with the municipality warning that theREAD MORE

BEIJING, Oct. 01 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called on the nation to forge ahead with firm confidence and take solid steps to achieve the great national rejuvenation.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a reception held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to celebrate the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’sREAD MORE

Speaking at the 25th SAAPAM Annual Conference in Durban, Prof Puleng LenkaBula called for a transformed, professional and accountable public service that puts communities at the centre of development.

Moving beyond diagnosing the challenges facing the public sector to actively addressing them is critical to strengthening South Africa’s public service, University of South Africa (Unisa) Principal and Vice-Chancellor Prof Puleng LenkaBula has said.

Delivering the welcome address at the opening of the 25th AnnualREAD MORE

Businessman Lawrence Chamurwa Mudzinganyama, whose confrontation with women at a Randburg restaurant sparked widespread public outrage after a video of the incident went viral, has appeared in court facing multiple criminal charges.

The Zimbabwean national, Mudzinganyama, 40, appeared before the Randburg Magistrates’ Court on Thursday following his arrest on September 20 in connection with the incident at Vlamo Restaurant.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) saidREAD MORE

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy will on Thursday officially launch South Africa’s 2026 October Transport Month campaign, with the country’s transport system, road safety and the performance of major transport entities set to come under scrutiny.

The launch takes place at the UNISA School of Business Leadership in Midrand, Gauteng, where Creecy will deliver the keynote address under the theme, “Progress in improving reliability, safety, sustainability and affordability of the transport system.”

The high-level event is being hostedREAD MORE

City Power has restored 45% of the electricity supply affected by the latest fire at its Central Substation, bringing power back to key parts of Johannesburg’s inner city earlier than initially anticipated.

The power utility said the milestone was reached by 7pm on Wednesday, September 30, after technical teams worked around the clock to repair damaged infrastructure and reconfigure the network.

City Power had previously indicated that restoring supply could take at least seven days following theREAD MORE

A former financial adviser who admitted diverting millions of rand belonging to Old Mutual clients into a company he controlled has been convicted of fraud and money laundering.

The Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday, 30 September 2026, found Farouk Khan (45) guilty on 16 counts of fraud and one count of money laundering.

Khan, a former employee and financial advisor at Alchemy Financial Services, an Old Mutual agency franchise, was arrested in September 2024 followingREAD MORE

More than 5,000 cases of alleged police misconduct were registered by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) in the 2025/26 financial year, including hundreds involving gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).

IPID registered 5,259 cases between April 2025 and March 2026, with assault and torture accounting for the largest share at 3,468 cases.

The figures were contained in IPID’s 2025/26 Annual Report, tabled in Parliament on Wednesday by Police Minister Firoz Cachalia.

The report also recorded 669READ MORE