WEEKEND WRAP

Feroz Khan’s Madlanga backfire, rogue planning tribunal, and Bafana Bafana unpacked

This edition of the weekly wrap covers Feroz Khan’s attempt to circumvent the Madlanga Commission, the rogue Cape Town planning tribunal, and Kirstenbosch’s struggle with neglected, poached plants. We also dive into Bafana Bafana’s setback against Mexico, a 1,600km walk across SA, an education revolution sparked by six plain Lego bricks, and shifting murder rate trends.

By Daily Maverick

12 Jun

Members for life — The capture of Cape Town’s planning tribunal

Kevin-CapturingCT — The site of the proposed River Club development (image: Supplied) | Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis addresses the City Council (Photo: capetown.gov.za) | Deputy Mayor of Cape Town Eddie Andrews (Photo: capetown.gov.za)

By Kevin Bloom. In this first instalment of a three-part investigative series that reveals some of the lesser-known facts about Cape Town’s development space, Daily Maverick reports on the political capture of the municipal planning tribunal, the official body that handles billions of rands per year in land-use applications. According to the national legislation, these tribunals are supposed to be independent. But the DA-led municipal council has passed a by-law that allows members to serve for life. Read more.

How Feroz Khan tried to circumvent Madlanga Commission and shot himself in the foot

Vince-WitnessI-testimony-crushed — Senior Crime Intelligence Officer, Feroz Khan appear at Kempton Park Magistrate's Court on May 11, 2026 in Kempton Park, South Africa. The suspect were arrested for alleged illicit precious metals transactions, corruption and related offences. (Photo: Gallo Images / OJ Koloti)

By Marianne Thamm. When Crime Intelligence head Major-General Feroz Khan launched an ex parte application seeking a ‘super injunction’ to place court proceedings in camera, he did not count on the Madlanga Commission’s swift legal pushback. Read more.

Kirstenbosch: Drowning in neglected poached plants

Don-Kirstenbosch 2 — Poaching has become a crowding problem, a record-keeping problem, a disease problem and a staffing problem. (Photo: Don Pinnock)

By Don Pinnock. The plants were stolen from the wild, rescued by the state, then delivered into another kind of danger. Inside Kirstenbosch’s greenhouses, South Africa’s plant-poaching crisis has become a grim question: what happens when confiscation saves plants only long enough for them to die? Read more.