Ten teenage boys believed to be victims of human trafficking were rescued in a coordinated law enforcement operation in Johannesburg, while a 47-year-old foreign national was arrested and is expected to appear in court this week. According to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks), the rescue on Tuesday followed a joint operation involving Fox Security, the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), SAPS Mondeor and the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit specialising in trafficking in persons. The incident…

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation has confirmed an investigation into the circumstances surrounding 17 South African men reportedly taken to the Ukraine Russia conflict zone, following cases opened by two daughters of former President Jacob Zuma. The first enquiry was lodged at the Sandton Police Station by Nkosazana Zuma Mncube, and the second was opened on Sunday 24 November 2025 by Duduzile Zuma. Both raised concerns about the whereabouts and movement of the men. In a statement issued on…

A Tembisa Hospital official and a Hawks sergeant appeared briefly in the Pretoria Magistrates Court on Monday, where they face corruption charges linked to an ongoing investigation into alleged wrongdoing at the hospital. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the two accused, Zacharia Chisele, 53, and Sergeant Papi Tsie, 41, are jointly charged with corruption following an alleged attempt to interfere with a current investigation. According to the NPA, the incident happened on 23 November 2025 when the pair met…

City Power has welcomed the Johannesburg High Court’s decision to postpone its urgent application against the Hawks to Friday, describing it as a necessary step to ensure fairness and legal compliance. The case arises from what City Power calls the “unlawful execution of a search warrant” by the Hawks’ Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) on 17 September 2025. The municipal utility is seeking an urgent interdict to suspend the execution of that warrant until the court hears full arguments…

A showdown is expected to unfold today in the High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Local Division, Johannesburg) as City Power takes on senior government ministers and police officials. The case, brought by the City of Johannesburg’s electricity utility, City Power, against the Police Minister, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, and several other respondents, in what insiders describe as an attempt to protect the entity from political interference. According to court papers seen by African Times, the Police…

City Power has moved swiftly to dispel what it terms “misleading and sensational” reports circulating in the media regarding a visit by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), commonly known as the Hawks, to its head office earlier this week. Contrary to media claims suggesting that the Hawks “raided” City Power’s offices and confiscated documents and equipment, the municipal electricity utility has clarified that no such raid occurred. In an official statement issued by Isaac Mangena, General Manager for…

The former Chief Justice has lashed out at the Hawks, saying he had no similar faith in them as he had with the former Scorpions. Raymond Zondo says the Scorpions were very effective, and the corrupt lot in the country feared them, and corruption was largely contained. He then lamented the decision of the ANC, which was taken in 2007 in Polokwane, to disband them and replace them with the Hawks. Zondo was speaking in Johannesburg at an anti-corruption event…

The Municipal Manager of the Maluti-a-Phofung (MAP) local municipality has distanced himself from a multi-million contract that was first flagged by the Office of the Auditor-General (AG) and later investigated by the Hawks. Advocate Matthews Mofokeng says the tender was not issued under his watch as it was awarded before he took office. He has since referred all questions about the ongoing probe to the Hawks. “On the issue of Hawks investigation on Mavro matter,it is a tender that was…

The Hawks in Limpopo have arrested Global strake security former director and two former payroll administrators for allegedly creating 33 fraudulent invoices that amounted to R6.3 million on Wednesday, 19 May 2025. According to the Hawks provincial spokesperson Lethunya Mmuroa, the trio of former employees of the security company based in Mokopane, allegedly submitted fraudulent invoices and claimed funds from the Anglo-American Platinum mine for security services that were not rendered. The fraudulent activity is said to have happened between…

The Pretoria High Court in north Gauteng is in the spotlight after the Hawks raided it to gather evidence against an official under investigation for suspected fraud and corruption. Late yesterday, May 13, the elite crime-fighting unit pounced on the office of a court official who is accused of issuing fraudulent notices of motion to illegal immigrants currently staying in South Africa. It is alleged that the said employee has been issuing fraudulent notices of motion to undocumented foreign nationals…