First Take SA

The justice department has made it clear that it expects AbaThembu King Buyelakhaya Dalindyebo to present himself at Mthatha prison by the end of today to start serving his 12-year jail sentence. The king's family earlier hinted that he would not hand himself over. The ministry says it is considering a petition from his lawyer Yasmin Omar to reopen the case. However, it cannot reverse his bail con...

AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo is now left with under 8hours to hand himself over at the Mhatha Prison. If he does not arrive at the prison by midnight, he will be arrested. Justice ministry spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga says current bail conditions stand, despite the king's legal team having filed a petition to reopen his trial. Dalindyebo's younger brother Siganeko earlier said the king woul...

The Southern African Fraud Prevention Service has appealed to consumers to be aware of fraudsters trying to scam them of their money this festive season. The organisation says consumers must protect their personal information. We earlier spoke to the organisation's spokesperson Carol McLoughlin and I started by asking her how consumers can protect themselves against fraudsters.

The ANC says the recalling of President Jacob Zuma was never discussed in the Extended National Working Committee meeting held on Monday. Party leaders held a press briefing amidst calls that Zuma should resign following his move to sack former Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene. Zuma has since replaced David Van Rooyen with Pravin Gordhan, a move that was welcomed by the market. The party has also mo...

The tide is slowly turning for some South Africans as they start to become aware of their financial situation and how to deal with it. According to the MD of Dinehelo, Thoko Nchabeleng there has been a decline in the number of over-indebted South Africans. Dinehelo is a company that gives advice on financial wellness. However, many South Africans remain overly indebted. We spoke to Nchabeleng and...

South Africa's new Finance Minister David van Rooyen says he is facing a colossal assignment at a time when the economy is struggling. Van Rooyen who replaces the axed Nhalanhla Nene has issued a televised statement saying that he will focus on developing the country's economy for all people - not just the few. The Minister says his department will become more accessible to all the country's peopl...

Convicted murderer, Sindisiwe Manqele has broken down in the dock after she was found guilty of unlawfully and intentionally killing her rap star boyfriend, Flabba Hadebe. The High Court sitting in Randburg handed down judgment a short while ago. Acting Judge Solly Sithole also found that there was some premeditation to her actions. Manqele fatally stabbed Habedi at his Alexandra home in March thi...

The South African State Theatre in Pretoria recently announced the appointment of its new CEO, Dr. Sibongiseni Mkhize. Mkhize is a heavyweight in the arts, culture and heritage sector. Not only is he the former CEO of the Market Theatre Foundation in Johannesburg and Chief Director of Cultural Affairs at the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, he also spent five years as the...

KwaZulu Natal officials are continuing to monitor the situation in Tugela Ferry after the area was hit by a storm last night. Two people have reportedly died while scores have been injured. Homes, schools and other buildings have also been damaged. The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KwaZulu Natal has since deployed a disaster management team to assist those affect...

Chairperson of the Disciplinary Inquiry against SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng, Advocate Willem Edeling, says he will make a decision later on whether the media may have access to audio recordings of the witnesses' testimonies. The media have been barred from attending the proceedings in line with an application by the SABC's lawyers. They argued that media coverage of employees testimony could be pre...

Oscar Pistorius was released on ten thousand rand bail, with strict conditions, pending his leave to appeal his murder conviction in the Constitutional Court. Pistorius re-applied for bail after his culpable murder conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeal, and changed to murder. Pistorius murdered his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentyn's Day 2013, by firing four shots through...

In our "Tech Talk" feature this week........We all know of Wi-Fi - a system that uses antennaes to transmit radio signals which are received by mobile devices, enabling digital world interaction from anywhere in the physical world. But instead of using radio waves, what if we could use something else to allow us to access the internet. Something like light?

Police have defused tensions during a DA protest at the ANC's Western Cape office in the Cape Town CBD. DA leaders organised the protests against what they said was the ANC's cosy relations with gangsters. Meanwhile, the ANC in the Western Cape says it will proceed with plans to try and remove Helen Zille as the premier of the province. ANC spokesperson Cobus Grobler, alleges that Zille has abused...

Nigerian Televangelist T.B Joshua is expected to appear at the Lagos High Court today to answer to charges over the collapse of his six story guest house in September 2014. 85 South Africans were killed during the incident which led to many calling for action against Joshua. The Synagogue Church of all Nations has denied responsibility for the tragedy, blaming the incident on sabotage.

The Tlokwe Municipality independent candidates and COPE in the North West say the role, responsibility and credibility of the IEC during elections should be in question. The Constitutional court has found that eight by-elections which took place within the Tlokwe municipality in 2013 were not free and fair. The Independent candidates have expressed happiness after the Constitutional Court ruled in...

Pope Francis has arrived in Uganda on the second leg of his African tour. Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni and other dignitaries were at Kampala's international airport to welcoem the pontiff. Earlier, the head of the Catholic church wound up his tour of Kenya by addressing a packed Nairobi stadium. The Pope urged young Kenyan not to yield to the sweet lure of corruption, and urged them to help t...

The SABC says it will appeal the Western Cape High Court ruling that the permanent appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as the company's COO be set aside. The DA challenged Motsoeneng's appointment as permanent COO after the public protector found that he had lied about his qualifications and purged senior staff among others.

Most will remember Ricardo Groenewald for his smash-hit, 'I love you Daddy' but many, will remember him for not only influencing his immediate community but a whole generation. The 43-year old succumbed to stage four lymphatic cancer midweek at Cape Town's Tygerberg hospital. The childhood star of the 1980's became a house hold name with his unique voice and moves on the stage. He also shared the...

Some of Pikitup's striking workers have returned to work with at least one depot fully operational again. However, striking workers are still blockading the company's landfill sites. Pikitup managing director Amanda Nair says armed security personnel is on its way to the landfill sites to make them accessible again.

While the National carrier SAA finds itself in yet another financial debacle, its leadership remains confident that all will be well. Treasury has warned SAA that the decision to restructure a previous deal with Airbus could result in financial instability. The SAA board argues that the restructured lease will save SAA money and reduce the currency risk. Despite the impasse, the board chairperson...

Striking members of trade union NEHAWU have left the Parliamentary precinct after riot police entered it. This as chief whips of political parties were earlier locked in a meeting to seek the way forward on how the National Assembly proceedings should continue. Striking members of trade union NEHAWU occupied the public gallery of the chamber. This is the second time that the union members are stri...

The Food and Allied Workers Union, FAWU, has joined teachers union SADTU in endorsing Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa for the position of ANC president in 2017. The latest move points to a strong indication that the trade union federation COSATU will throw its weight behind Ramaphosa to succeed Jacob Zuma as the country's Head of State in 2018. The ANC Women's and Youth leagues have declared thei...

When people say a name is bigger than the face, Dj Ganyani believes this could not be more true than when referring to himself. Having been in the music industry for over 20 years, the house DJ says he still comes across people who don't believe him when he introduces himself at DJ Ganyani. Our producer Asanda Ntame caught with him and started by asking him whether he is aware of his footprint in...

South African Airways has suspended its chief commercial officer Sylvain Bosc. It is reported that a forensic investigation by ENSafrica into various allegations were received through the Deloittes Tip Offs hotline. The airline says the tip-off allegation had enough substance to suggest that Bosc "doctored the numbers for Abu Dhabi to favour the opening of this route and sold SAA out". The goal wa...

The investigation into the Paris terror attacks is said to be focusing on a Belgian man of Moroccan decent as the possible master mind. He has been named as Abdelhamid Abaaoud. French authorities have identified two more of the attackers. Sami Amimour is said to have been one of the suicide bombers at the Bataclan concert hall.