The Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has launched a court application in the Pietermaritzburg High Court to force a security company to cough up money it allegedly failed to bank as directed. The state-owned nature conservation entity has also opened a case of theft with the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Hluhluwe, northern KwaZulu-Natal. The court action and the latter case stem from an alleged theft that was committed by the security company and its employees while it was contracted to…

Yet another prayer has been organised for the embattled Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, as he prepares for his return to the Madlanga Commission and salvages his teetering political career. This is the third prayer for Mchunu within a space of three months. The first prayer was held in Mpumalanga province, but he did not attend the event, although he had authorised it after he was asked to do so by the organisers. The second one was held at his…

The Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, one of the biggest state-owned nature conservation entities in the country, says it had to fire three of its top executives to cleanse and stabilise itself after years of turbulence and rampant looting. This was revealed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the entity, Sihle Mkhize, during a media presentation at the flagship Hluhluwe-Imfolozi game reserve, the oldest park in the country, on Tuesday. Mkhize said when he took over a few years ago, he…

The Uthukela District Municipality has scored a legal victory against RASP Consultants after the Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled that the company should hand over the control of the bank account back to the municipality. The court victory came after almost three weeks of uncertainty, after the bank account was attached when the municipality failed to honour a debt payment plan that was sanctioned by the court. That led the municipality to use the bank account of the Uthukela Development Agency…

In what appears to be an act of usurping the powers of the Zulu King, the Ingonyama Trust Board has partitioned the chiefdom of the Cele clan in Umzumbe in southern KwaZulu-Natal and given it to the Radebe clan, which is fighting for kingship in the province. The decision of the Ingonyama Trust Board, which oversees tribal land in KwaZulu-Natal, is contained in a letter that was obtained by the African Times, which is dated 27 February 2026. In the…

Former eThekwini Deputy Mayor and Durban businessman Philani “PG” Mavundla has welcomed revelations that a corruption report by forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan and Sarah Jane-Trent, which led to Transnet cancelling a multi-billion-rand joint venture in the Durban Harbour in 2018, was fabricated. Mavundla says he feels vindicated that the truth has finally emerged, seven (07) years after the report caused the collapse of a partnership between Italian construction firm CMC Di Ravena and the eMtateni Consortium. Speaking to African Times, Mavundla…

The former Deputy City Manager of eThekwini Municipality and a former confidant of former eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede, has dumped the ANC and joined the Umkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP). Phillip Sithole, who first gained prominence by turning Durban Tourism around and moulding it into a force to be reckoned with and later as the Deputy City Manager for Economic Development and Planning, joined the Jacob Zuma-led party today. Sithole left the city three years ago when his contract expired, and…

The Deputy Mayor of the corruption and scandals-prone Umswathi Local Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands has been reported to authorities after she allegedly applied for an administrative position within the same municipality. Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that the deputy mayor, Nokuthula Mdunge, who is a member of the African National Congress (ANC), first took part in the council process that restructured the organogram of the municipality and then created the dubious position of Manager for Intergovernmental…

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the National Freedom Party (NFP) have agreed to attend a joint meeting of the so-called “black and progressive political parties” to discuss plans for a coalition government that will see the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) ousted in KwaZulu-Natal. The African National Congress (ANC), which holds 17 of the 80 seats in the provincial legislature, is still mum, and early indications suggest that without the approval from Luthuli House, they…

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) has signalled its intention to step in and stabilise the troubled Uthukela District Municipality. The intended move is contained in a letter written by the Minister of CoGTA, Velenkosini Hlabisa and sent to the MEC of CoGTA in KwaZulu-Natal, Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi. Hlabisa said he had to intervene after the Northern KZN Chamber of Business, which is anchored in Ladysmith, asked to step in and avert the pending disaster in the…