Update@Noon

Judge Mandela Makaula who is presiding over the Timothy Omotoso, has refused to recuse himself. This follows an application by the defence this afternoon. Omotoso’s lawyer advocate Peter Daubermann says judge Makaula is biased against his clients. He told the court earlier this morning that he does not believe that his client will receive a fair trial because he and his clients are being intimidat...

Security forces in Cameroon are on high alert, following a chaotic weekend that was characterised by botched protests, house arrests of opposition politicians, harassment of journalists and restriction of internet access. The results of the October 7 presidential election are expected to be announced today, according to the information minister Issa Tchiroma. While the opposition has protested the...

Commuters in East Londo will have to find alternative transport this afternoon after violence broke out between taxi operators some of whom have been injured. There are reports of shooting at some ranks and some shops in Oxford street have closed due to the violence. It is alleged that the fight is between Uncedo and Border Alliance taxi associations who are fighting over routes. Our reporter Xola...

The Northern Cape Health Department says TB tracer teams have been disbanded because of financial constraints. It hsa emerged that about 4000 tuberculosis patients in the Northern Cape are unaccounted for and cannot be traced by the provincial health department. There are reportedly more than 80 000 missing TB patients in South Africa, of which 4189 are missing in that province. The numbers were r...

Acting SARS commissioner Mark Kingon has offered an apology to South African citizens, and to President Cyril Ramaphosa for the failures that have happened at the revenue services. Kingon is appearing before the SARS Commission of Inquiry under way in Pretoria. The commission is expected to submit its final report in December. Kingon says he is confident that the organisation can be turned around...

A new magistrate will hear the pre-trial proceedings of student activist Mcebo Dlamini’s case when it resumes in April next year. Efforts to avoid a trial were unsuccessful after Dlamini was charged with violating a court order, theft, public violence and assaulting a police officer in 2016 in relation to the Fees Must Fall protests at Wits University in Johannesburg. Our reporter Lopang Alamu was...

Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane says the switching from the analogue system to the digital broadcasting will not be an easy process. She was briefing the media earlier today on the progress made by the Broadcasting Digital Migration Advisory Council on the country's digital terrestrial television (DTT) plan. She says they aim to have switched by 2020 but that if effective systems and int...

Police says not clear if there is a link between a threat made against ANC councillor Sbu Maphumulo who was gunned down in Umlazi, Durban last night and his murder. The ward 88 councillor and a number of colleagues were heading home after a meeting. The ANC in KwaZulu Natal says a group of residents had earlier marched to Maphumulo's home and threatened to set it alight. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to C...

Network provider Vodacom has raised operational and regulatory as some of the reasons for high data costs. Company CEO Shameel Joosub is appearing before the Competition Commission Data Services Market Inquiry underway in Pretoria. The four major providers, known as 'Telco's' in the industry, are appearing today. The aim of the inquiry is to better understand the general state of competition in th...

A social worker in Plaatfontein in the Northern Cape says the lack of parental supervision and an increased number of shebeens in the area are among reasons that children start drinking alcohol at a young age. Kgomotso Bessie,who works in that community, says children as young as 12-year old are already consuming alcohol. She says they are working towards curbing the problem and empowering parents...

The Department of Justice and Correctional Services says it is doing all it can to minimise the impact of cuts to the Legal Aid SA budget which provides free legal representation to the poor. The allocation will be reduced by a whopping R503m over the next three years. Legal Aid spokesperson Mfanafuthi Shabangu says they may have to shed jobs and that 5100 people may not be able to get a service f...

Limpopo government says it cannot act on forensic report, will commission its own investigation into the matter. It held a media briefing this morning. Several municipal officials are among 50 people that allegedly received monies from the bank. Our reporter Jabulani Baloyi attended the briefing.

Police and the community members of Witsand in Atlantis in the Western Cape have engaged in clashes as the residents protest demanding that seven members of the Cape Town Metro Council resign. They are being accused of being corruption and slowing down developmental projects. One person has been being rushed to hospital after sustaining injuries when police fired rubber bullets in an attempt to di...

South Africa is experiencing a nationwide shortage of certain antiretrovirals. According to The Stop Stockouts Project (SSP), the crisis has been developing over the past two months, South Africa has the biggest HIV programme in the world at 4.2 million people. The country hopes to initiate an additional 2 million people on treatment in the next 24 months. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to the Deputy Direc...

The End Times Disciples Ministries has confirmed that its pastor has fed his congregants dog meat with the aim to heal them from diseases such as cancer and HIV. The church says God commanded that the worshippers be fed dog stew. There has been an outcry about the video posted on the pastor's Facebook website with him showing the slaughtered dog. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty...

The first witness in the trial of Nigerian pastor Timothy Omotoso, says her family took her to a therapist after realising that she was not behaving like herself. 22-year old Cheryl Zondi who has been on the stand for four days now, has told the high court in Port Elizabeth that Omotoso raped her several times during trips to Israel, Nigeria and Durban while the church band was touring. Omotoso, w...

18 protestors have been arrested on charges of public violence in Mlungisi township in Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape. One person was earlier killed and IPID is investigating the incident. State vehicles have been stoned and it's alleged that another municipal building has been set alight in the township. Yesterday, residents torched the main municipal building in Stutterheim as well as a clinic....

EFF leader Julius Malema says the party has scrutinised his deputy Floyd Shivambu's bank statement and no money from VBS mutal bank or Sgameka was located. Malema briefed the media at the party's headquarters in Braamfontein in Johannesburg. The party has dismissed claims that it received money from VBS, while at the same time says it has no reason to doubt Shivambu. He has distanced himself from...

South Africa has announced R10 million in humanitarian assistance to refugees in Tindouf, in South Western Algeria. SA also urged the international community not to lose sight of the immense needs of more than 170-thousand refugees in the camps. International Red Crescent officials in the camps say donor fatigue and competing humanitarian crises has seen reduced international aid to the camps and...

The search continues this afternoon for the two bodies seen being swept away by flood water at the Apies River in Pretoria at the weekend. The search and rescue team from the Tshwane Emergency Service says it will continue to search for at least a week before deciding together with the police on how to proceed. Heavy rains in the city and the surrounding areas of Hammanskraal, Temba, Pretoria West...

Cheryl Zondi who is the first witness in the case against controversial Nigerian pastor, Timothy Omotoso, says she never reported him to anyone because he had told her that if she did, God would either punish her by death or that she would go mad. Zondi is testisying in the high court in Port Elizabeth today where Omotoso and his two co-accused are facing charges of sexual assault, racketeering, t...

Security company 24/7 says there has been a noticeable increase in the number of attacks on their officers where criminals target them for their firearms. Two guards working for 24/7 were shot and killed at the Nancefield hostel in Soweto last week and a video of the gruesome attack has since gone viral but the company has requested the public to stop circulating it. Police are yet to arrest the s...

Vha-Venda King Toni Mphephu-Ramabulana says he is willing to pay back the R17 million he received from VBS Mutual Bank as a gift. He has released a statement this afternoon saying he did not know that it was proceeds from fraudulent activities. This comes after a report titled "The Great Bank Heist" which revealed how more than 50 people looted R2billion's worth of depositors' money. The King's na...

As the furore surrounding the unsafe buildings in the City of Johannesburg continues, residents of Newclare and Westbury west of the city, have spoken out about the dilapidated state of their flats. They say many residents have been injured due to the unstable structure and falling bricks. The flats have not been maintained for years and some of them look like they could collapse any time. Chantal...

A Johannesburg workshop on Obesity Prevention has heard how non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure are killing more South Africans than HIV. These diseases are as a result of a poor diet and lack of exercises and have been linked to obesity. This comes as the world observes Obesity Day today. The workshop has also heard that one in five children are overweight and obese...