Julius Malema is not heading to prison just yet. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader has reportedly secured another crucial legal lifeline after the Eastern Cape High Court in Makhanda granted him leave to appeal both his conviction and his effective five-year prison sentence arising from the controversial Mdantsane firearm case. The ruling on Monday means Malema can now take aim at the very conviction that put him on course for a lengthy prison term, not merely challenge the punishment…

A journey of solidarity that still links two nations LOBATSE, Botswana — The story of Mozambique’s liberation is inseparable from the solidarity extended by neighbouring countries across Southern Africa, and few places embody that history as vividly as Botswana. As Mozambique and Botswana seek to deepen their economic and commercial ties, President Daniel Chapo has used a visit to the Samora Machel Museum in Lobatse to recall the historic bonds forged during the liberation struggle — and to underline their…

Police and soldiers have arrested 121 suspected illegal miners and recovered five firearms during a major Operation Prosper/Karabo crackdown in Mphahla village, within the Fochville policing precinct on the West Rand. The operation, conducted in the early hours of Tuesday, involved various units of the South African Police Service (SAPS), the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), Department of Home Affairs immigration officers and Sibanye-Stillwater’s tactical security team. The operation began at about…

The bail hearing of suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya has been postponed to Thursday, October 1, after the State asked for additional time to respond to evidence presented by a defence witness. Sibiya, 59, appeared in the Randburg Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday for his second appearance since his arrest last week on five charges, including rape, human trafficking, promoting the sexual grooming of a child and two counts of sexual grooming of a child. He remains in…

Nigeria’s Presidency has turned to South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa in its increasingly forceful defence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s prolonged stay outside the country and his absence from the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, says there is no cause for alarm over the President’s whereabouts, insisting that Tinubu is “hale and hearty” and has been carrying out official duties while on a working vacation in Europe. But in defending…

A state social worker has told the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court that convicted child sex offender Iain Wares should be sentenced to direct imprisonment, arguing that the seriousness of his crimes and their impact on children cannot be adequately addressed through a suspended sentence or house arrest. Wares appeared in Wynberg Magistrate’s Court, Eastern Cape, on Monday for pre-sentencing proceedings, where State social worker Phumzile Sithole gave evidence on the appropriate sentence. Her evidence differed from that of a social worker…

Suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya is expected to return to the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for a formal bail application after the State indicated it would oppose his release in a case involving allegations of rape, human trafficking and the sexual grooming of a child. The 59-year-old senior police officer was arrested on 21 September and made his first appearance in the same court the following day. He faces five charges, including rape, trafficking in persons,…

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Tuesday convene a virtual meeting of the African Union High-Level Ad Hoc Committee on South Sudan, known as the C5, as regional leaders assess progress towards peace and the country’s planned elections in December. Ramaphosa, who chairs the C5, will bring together representatives of the five-member committee and member states of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to take stock of developments since the C5 Plus Summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 15 February.…

The Gauteng e-Panic Button has become the centre of a growing dispute over cybersecurity, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) calling for an investigation into a reported data breach while the provincial Department of e-Government insists that no residents’ personal information was compromised. The DA says it will report the matter to the Information Regulator of South Africa and wants an investigation into whether the incident breached the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), how the exposure occurred and how the…

The multimillion-rand fraud case involving suspended Polokwane attorney Charlotte Tibana and her husband, Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) officer Peter “Gagash” Nonyane, has drawn comparisons with one of South Africa’s most notorious financial scandals involving former Mamelodi Sundowns boss Zola Mahobe and his lover, Tebello “Snowy” Moshoeshoe. The parallel lies not in the legal details of the cases, but in a recurring feature of high-value financial crime investigations: money allegedly flowing into luxury vehicles, businesses and an extravagant lifestyle. Mahobe’s…