Update@Noon

The University of the Free State has condemned the attacks on students at the University of the Free State and the Maluti TVET College. The victims were shot and killed during an attack at their off campus residence. Police say the attackers, wearing balaclavas, demanded cash, laptops and cellphones from the students. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to our reporter Ismael Modiba and first asked him the deve...

 The movement #Paythegrants is picketing at the Department of Social Development and SASSA, unhappy with all the glitches in the grant system, especially the R350 Covid relief grant. The movement wants SASSA to improve the system to ensure all beneficiaries get their monthly payments without hiccups. The say the system failures are compromising millions of desperate South Africans, especially...

The new South African Airways flights have returned to the skies after being grounded since last year. This as, the Takatso Consortium, SAA's preferred strategic equity partner has made it clear that it is not yet involved in the management, funding, or relaunch of the airline. The consortium says it is still negotiating with the government around the share purchase agreement for 51% of SAA, which...

Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe's request for his matter to be heard by a judge in another division has been dismissed by Deputy Judge President of the High Court in Johannesburg Roland Sutherland. The court briefly heard the first part of Hlophe's urgent review application. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to reporter, Mercedes Besent...

The Limpopo High Court  has on Friday ruled in favour of the late Michael Komape's family to compels the provincial education department to provide a detailed list of schools with pit toilets along with plans to eradicate them. Michael drowned in a pit toilet in 2014 at the age of 5. The case has thrown a spotlight on pit toilets across the country. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Basic Department o...

An investigation by the Maverick Citizen has uncovered that a small, unknown company, operating under two names has scored contracts worth hundreds of millions of rand from the South African Police Service (SAPS). According the report, Red Roses Africa, has no traceable history of supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) products; but managed to get more that 500-million rand paid for supplyi...

 The Judicial Service Commission is meeting on Monday on whether or not to recommend the suspension of Judge Hlophe or not. Hlophe has given the JSC, speaker of the national assembly President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Justice minister until end of business today to file their replying affidavits whether or not they intend to oppose his interdict to stop the president from suspending him. Sakin...

 Former Tembisa police officer, Nomia Ndlovu, has testified that she didn't kill her niece, Zanele Motha, but had tried to save her life by rushing her to hospital on the night of her death. Ndlovu is being cross examined at the High Court in Johannesburg where  she's standing trial for the killing of her boyfriend and five of her family members. She is also alleged to have fraudulently...

The Inkatha Freedom Party says despite it accepting the Constitutional Court's latest decision on the upcoming local government elections, the party believes the apex court may have erred in its judgment. This after the ConCourt upheld a decision of the Electoral Commission to re-open the candidate nomination process. The Court on Monday dismissed the Democratic Alliance's application to have the...

Minister of Home Affairs Dr Aaron Motsoaledi says there are tens of thousands of uncollected Identity Documents in their officers throughout the country. The minister has briefed the media on the state of readiness to offer Home Affairs services during the voter registration weekend. Home Affairs offices are expected to be open to issue identity cards. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to minister  Dr Aa...

The community of Enkovukeni at KwaMhlabuyalingana in northern KwaZulu-Natal has threatened not to vote in the upcoming local government elections. The island community is still without access to basic services like water and electricity. Community members who have been living here all their lives, say that every election, they are promised a better life but nothing changes. SABC's Khalesakhe Mbhen...

The department of Basic Education has announced that matric examinations will now be written from October 27th in order to accommodate the municipal elections on the 1st of November. Matric learners were scheduled to sit for their first exam on the same date as the municipal elections. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Department of Basic Education spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga...

A former police officer accused of plotting to murder six family members continues her testimony in her own defence in the Palm Ridge Magistrate's court. Nomia Ndlovu has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to our reporter Horisani Sithole for an update on the court proceedings

The bodies of two minor girls who were went missing from their home at Marobjane village in Senwabarwana, Limpopo over three weeks ago have been discovered in the bushes of a nearby village. Fiver year old Lesego Raphasha and her seven year old sister, Kamogelo, left their home in the company of a female relative who is said to suffer from a mental condition on the afternoon of the 23rd of August....

Over 50 families in Orange Farm south of Johannesburg are still waiting to move into their new RDP houses, five years after construction began. Last year all 53 were demolished due to poor workmanship. A new contractor was appointed but has only erected 20 structures with no roofs, doors or windows.  Gauteng's Human Settlements Department has more than 1300 houses across the province that are...

The ANC has expressed concern that some of its gatherings have been hijacked by criminals and gangsters. At least three people were killed at an ANC meeting to finalise the nomination of a ward councilor at Inanda north of Durban, at the weekend. And its headquarters, Luthuli House in Johannesburg, has been a protest site with unhappy branches protesting over imposed candidates for the November 1...

  Government says it has received nearly 13 million applications since the reopening claims for the special Social Relief of Distress grant in the first week of August. During his address last night, President Cyril Ramaphsa has committed that government will continue to implement measures to assist households that have been affected by the pandemic.  We have, however, been inundated wit...

Violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo continues to cost lives and drive people from their homes. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has recorded more than 1-thousand-200 deaths and 1-thousand-100 rapes this year in North Kivu and Ituri. The UNHCR says millions of people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to UNHCR representative, Liz Kpam...

Lawyers representing the families of the Marikana Massacre have asked Judge Colin Lamont to recuse himself from the class suit because he is conflicted. Judge Lamont who is presiding over the lawsuit, was found to actually own shares worth R225-thousand in Sibanye Stillwater, the new owners after Lonmin. Advocate Dali Mpofu, says he has learnt this morning that the judge sold his shares. At least...

The Director-General for the Department of Public Enterprises, Kgathatso Tlhakudi says by 2030, South Africa needs to be serviced by a set of efficient, financially sound, and well-governed SOEs. He was briefing the Select committee on Public enterprises and communications on measures its taken to improve other state-owned enterprises. This follows the collapse of SAA and others. Our reporter in p...

The Ad Hoc Committee to Amend Section 25 of the Constitution to Expropriate Land Without Compensation has considered and adopted its draft report on the Constitution's 18th Amendment Bill. The committee's lifespan was extended by another two weeks to conclude its work and report back to the National Assembly. More than 148-thousand submissions were received during the consultation process on the B...

The Auditor-General  Tsakani Maluleke, has painted a gloomy picture of municipalities whose audit outcomes remained poor. She was briefing the Select Committee on Appropriations and Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Water and Sanitation and Human Settlements in the NCOP on the local government audit outcomes for the 2019/20 financial year.  Jay Kruuse, D...

ANC veteran Bushy Maape has officially taken over as North West premier following his election by the provincial legislature this morning. 67-year-old Maape, replaces Job Mokgoro who was recalled from the top post by the ANC's North West interim provincial committee (IPC) last month. Our reporter in Mahikeng Patrick Dintwa gives us the details...

The South African economy has recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of growth, expanding by 1-point-2 percent between April and June. Despite this, the economy is 1-point-4 percent smaller than what it was prior to the covid-19 pandemic. Stats SA says the economic impact of the economic disruption, protest action, and violence in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, which took place in July, will reflect...

Police have resumed their search for the bodies of four youths in Driftsand in Delft on the Cape Flats. They are allegedly victims of mob justice. Police say they have recovered two bodies so far, however these are not part of the missing four. Police Spokesperson, Brigadier Novela Potelwa....