First Take SA

Uhuru Kenyatta has been declared the winner of the re-run presidential elections. This despite that voting did not take place in 25 constituencies following violent disruptions. Opposition leader Raila Odinga, withdrew from the presidential election rerun and is now demanding fresh elections within 90 days. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to our correspondent in Kenya, Sarah Kimani

Labour union, BEMAWU, has issued a notice to strike to the SABC board today. The union says there has been no communication from the SABC board to curb the impending strike. SABC workers are demanding a ten percent increase. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to BEMAWU President, Hannes Du Buisson

Thousands of people have participated in Black Monday protests against farm killings countrywide. South Africans were encouraged to wear black to show solidarity against the rising number of farm attacks and violent crimes in South Africa. Reports indicate that there have been over 340 attacks and at least 65 murders on farms in 2017. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Omri van Zyl, executive director of A...

German software giant SAP has admitted paying money to get contracts from state-owned companies in South Africa. The company has voluntarily disclosed information on the situation in its South Africa business to American authorities responsible for enforcing the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. A Gupta-controlled company apparently helped SAP to secure the Transnet deal in return for around 100-m...

The lawyer representing the office of the public protector, Advocate Maleka, has told the high court in Pretoria that there is no rational basis to set aside remedial actions in the STATE OF CAPTURE REPORT. This is in the wake of an earlier argument by lawyers representing president Jacob Zuma that the public protector has no powers to instruct him to establish a commission of inquiry. President Z...

Police Minister Fikile Mbalula has warned farmers to be careful not to employ undocumented and unregistered foreigners for the purpose of cheap labour. Mbalula says its makes it difficult to trace some of those undocumented foreigners if they commit farm attacks. He spoke in Parliament during a briefing on the release of the 206/2017 crime statistics. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Dr. Chandré Gould ,...

Former World Trade Organisation General Secretary Pascal Lamy will this evening deliver a lecture on the theme "Globalization and the danger of the commons: Can the world achieve shared Prosperity?". The lecture, a partnership between the Mapungubwe Institure for Strategic Reflection and the University of Johannesburg, will take place at the latter's campus at 7pm this evening. Tsepiso Makwetla sp...

Russia's embassy in South Africa has dismissed reports by the Sunday Times newspaper, that Russian president Vladimir Puttin, had a hand in President Jacob Zuma's Cabinet reshuffle. The newspaper at the weekend reported that a Russian delegation reportedly coerced President Zuma into appointing David Mahlobo as the Minister of Energy last week, to ensure that the nuclear deal is realised. In a sta...

The victim of the coffin assault incident, Rethabile Mlotshwa says his offenders should get a harsh sentence for the crime they committed against him. The Middleburg High Court in Mpumalanga found Theo Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen guilty on six of seven charges - including assault, attempted murder, kidnap and intimidation. Mlotshwa has been testifying at the sentencing of the two men who forced...

The National Prosecuting Authority has given President Jacob Zuma until November 30 to make submissions before it decides whether to reinstate the corruption charges against him. The NPA says any further representations by Zuma should relate to issues not previously considered by authorities. The Supreme Court of Appeal last Friday upheld a High Court ruling to reinstate the charges. They were set...

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has expressed his deep sadness at the death of his spokesperson Joe Maila. The minister says the circumstances around his death are unclear at this stage. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.

On our Open Mic feature: Tsepiso Makwetla speaks to Grammy Award-winning Beninese singer-songwriter and activist, Angélique Kidjo.

The Presidency has reacted to the spytapes ruling by saying it hopes the NPA will now reconsider President Jacob Zuma's submissions - especially in the light of recent revelations about the integrity of an audit report which underpins the prosecution. The Presidency says in a statement that it had a anticipated the Supreme Court of Appeal's ruling in Bloemfontein. The SCA dismissed with costs the...

The Department of National treasury is in Washington DC, for the 2017 International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group's annual meeting. The delegation from treasury plans to use the meetings to attract international investors in a bid to boost the country's economic growth. The IMF has since cut South Africa's economic growth forecast for 2017, to 0-point-7 percent. The fund has cited polit...

The High Court in Pretoria today ruled that anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol was pushed from John Vorster Square. The court ruled that Timol's death while in police custody was not suicide as previously indicated. Timol died in police custody in the 1970's after being tortured by police. Timol's family says the ruling is important to all those who suffered political detention. The NPA agreed to...

Kenya's government has banned protests in main city centres, citing lawlessness during opposition rallies against the electoral commission. The ban comes a day after thousands of opposition supporters held demonstrations in opposition leader Raila Odinga's strongholds demanding reforms ahead of repeat polls later this month. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Uhuru Kenyatta's spokesperson Manoah Esipisu

In commemoration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, The Reach for Recovery project aims to raise funds to purchase silicone breast prostheses for thousands of disadvantaged South African breast cancer survivors. The Reach for Recovery says thousands of rands are dedicated annually to breast cancer research, but that money does not directly assist survivors. The Power of Pink in conjunction with Rea...

Six police officers have been taken to hospital after they were attacked by a group of men, during a drug raid at a house in Vanderbijlpark, south of Johannesburg. A video of the incident has since gone viral on social media. A dead body was found during the raid. According to Gauteng Police spokesperson Kay Makhubele says officers were following up on information about a suspected drug den, when...

Time now for our arts and culture feature and today we speak to actress Thuso Mbedu who has recently scored a nomination for "best performance by an actress" in the 2017 International Emmy Awards. The 23-year-old actress has been nominated for her role as young heroine Winnie in Mzansi Magic drama Is'thunzi. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Thuso Mbedu

The KwaZulu-Natal government says it is still assessing the damage caused by storms that caused havoc in the province. The death toll from Tuesday's devastating storm in KwaZulu-Natal has now risen to fourteen. Most of the deaths occurred in areas in and around Durban. Forty-two schools were damaged - including nine high schools. The strong wind and heavy rain also caused damage at many health car...

The Gauteng Health Department Chief Director for Planning, Molefi Mosenogi says he believes the deaths of 118 mentally-ill patients could have been prevented had then Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu been a qualified health professional. Mosenogi was testifying in Life Esidimeni arbitration hearings in Parktown, Johannesburg. Now of the stand os the Director General for the National Department Health, M...

About 54 learners have allegedly been sexually assaulted by a scholar patroller, at AB Xuma Primary School, In Orlando East of Soweto. The matter was reported to the Orlando Police Station and the patroller has since been arrested. The pupils range from the age of 6-12 years. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Steve Mabona, Spokesperson for the Gauteng Department of Education

Liberians are currently voting to elect a successor to Africa's first female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. A total of 20 presidential candidates are running to succeed Sirleaf. The main contenders in the race to succeed her are Ex-football star George Weah and Vice-President Joseph Boakai. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Ibrahim Nyei, a Political Analyst, In Liberia

Heavy rains have caused havoc in KwaZulu-Natal resulting in some major roads being closed for hours. Two people have died in the Nquthu Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal. One person was struck by lightning, while another drowned trying to cross a flooded river. The South African Weather Service has warned that the adverse conditions are likely to continue into tomorrow. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke...

To mark the World Mental Health Day the Crazy for Walking Initiative, has launched a campaign in which they've walked from Pretoria to Cape Town to raise awarenesss and also the de-stigmatisation of mental health. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Crazy For Walking Project CEO, Francois Louw